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THE LADIES OF THE NIGHT DOUBLE FEATURE
Official Tampa Bay Film Film Festival Review. Words and pictures By C. A. Passinault
Rick Danford of Enigma
Films has long collaborated with Tampa actress and model Krista Grotte.
After many indie film projects, including the Nightmare Collection series,
Krista came up with an idea for a short indie film, and collaborated with
Rick Danford to create it.
That film was Alarum.
Upon completion of the film, it was due for a debut. Rick Danford and
friends came up with an idea for a small Tampa film festival to promote
it, and teamed up with other film makers, including Jason Laquori and
his Hocus Focus productions, to create it. The format for a double feature
film festival was created, and word spread. Jason and his film company
would provide the second feature film, Savaged, and other filmmakers
would fill the program with some shorts and indie film trailers. With
the help of the University Of South Florida’s Film And Video Association
and Rodrick Colbert, the film festival had a venue at the University.
On Saturday, June 7, 2008, I took time off from my current job assignment
(it took a few weeks and a major schedule adjustment, since my Saturdays
were always booked solid) to attend Rick Danford’s Ladies
Of The Night Double Feature film festival.
Of course, because of the title, I felt a little weird going, and didn’t
bother to tell my loved ones the name of the film festival. Don’t
judge a book by its cover is something that I live by, however, and don’t
judge a film festival by its name is the same. If there were any doubts,
March 2007's Horror &
Hotties film festival, which was awesome, put them to
rest.
So, I was off with my camera and other gear to visit the “Ladies
of the night”. I didn’t plan to go on my own, though.
I also invited my good friend, Tampa entertainer, model, actor, and singer
Ann Poonkasem.
I also realized that there could possibly be a lot of cool people, and
Tampa indie film movers and shakers, in attendance.
Oh, how right I was. Don’t let me get ahead of myself, as I have
yet to start my story (and we all know how I am about my stories).
First, I had to prepare. My camera and camera accessories had outgrown
my camera bag, which I used to use for my original 35MM film SLR camera.
I decided to wear a low-profile, all-black outfit, and I stopped at a
camera store and purchased a dark, well-built camera bag. After loading
my gear into the new camera bag, I pointed my sportscar northward on I75,
and was off to the film festival at the University Of South Florida.
Upon arrival at the University, I became a bit lost. Not in the main roads
of the University, mind you, because I was very familiar with USF from
the mid 1990's, but concerning exactly where to park in the parking
garage, which was near the Library, and across from the Behavioral Sciences
building, the venue for the film festival. I spent twenty minutes
going though the parking garage, over and over, looking for visitors
parking. I tried to follow the signs, but they didn’t lead
to what they claimed to lead to. Finally, I gave up, and parked wherever
I could.
I walked over to the film festival venue. There were a lot of people there,
mingling as they waited for the film festival to start. I located Rick
and Rodrick, talked to them, and then asked Rodrick if he had seen Ann.
He had not. I asked him to call her, and proceeded to look around. I had
peeps to converse with.
I
ran into Tampa actor and filmmaker Joe Davison, who was
seated in the back row of the Theatre. He said hi, and was actually friendly,
which surprised me. We talked for a while, and he was cool. Tampa filmmaker
Andy Lalino showed up, and I talked to him. I took out my camera, and
began to take pictures. I looked around. Where was Ann?
Rodrick walked out, and handed me his phone. It was Ann. She was running
late, and was bringing a friend, too. I shrugged. With the crowd that
was gathering, we would be lucky to find seats in the same zipcode.
There was a commotion behind the building in the parking lot. From the
ruckus, I surmised that either the President of the United States, or
the Messiah himself, had arrived. I looked over the parking lot. The source
of the attention was acting legend Joel Wynkoop, and Joe Davison walked
out to meet him.
I talked to Joel. He couldn't tell me my name, and I simply gave him an
annoyed look because I thought that he knew me. It didn't really matter,
however, because most of everyone else there did know me, exactly as it
was supposed to be.
There were a lot of cool people there. The people who had gathered were
the names of the Tampa indie film scene. Actor Rod Grant. Actress Krista
Grotte. Filmmaker Andy Lalino. Although I did not know them, I also saw
actress Debbie Rochon, actress Nicola Fiore, and actor Mike Christopher.
There were a lot of people attending, and it kind of felt like an indie
filmmaking Woodstock.
I hung around Danford, Joe, and Krista, where everyone was mingling, taking
pictures and waiting for Ann to arrive. I noticed a tall, beautiful blonde
girl in a skirt with writing all over it walk into the area, commanding
attention just by her arrival. She was talking in a British accent, and
I asked Joe Davison who she was. Joe laughed. “That’s Somali”
he replied, “Don’t you recognize her?”
Well, I did when he told me. Her accent had thrown me off, and she looked
different from the last time that I had seen her. Somali was throwing
around the accent in demonstration of some acting role that she had done,
I believe.
Somali Rose was one of the best actresses and models in the Tampa Bay
area, and I had worked with her before. I talked to her a bit, took some
more pictures, and wondered where in the hell Ann was.
Ann finally arrived, bringing with her Adrian, who was the producer of
a feature film titled Burial At Sea, which Somali
had starred in. It, indeed, was a small world. It seemed as if everyone
knew each other or was connected in many ways, kind of like the seven
degrees of Kevin Bacon.
The film festival started, and I took my seat. Somali grabbed a seat beside
me, to my left, and I cleared the seat to my right for Ann. Ann didn't
want to be rude to her friend, however, and they sat in front of me, where
several seats were available.
The festival started with some trailers and a Wynkoop film. I was busy
taking pictures from my seat and talking to both Ann and Somali, and don’t
recall some of the films or what order that they played in. I just knew
that I was taking some really great pictures, and I had my camera singing
with every frame. I was in the zone.
Alarum finally played. I was really impressed with this film,
which dealt with a woman, played by Krista Grotte and whom was the victim
of abuse, having a nervous breakdown. Brilliant film (and one that I will
review in detail soon).
There was an intermission after Alarum, which kind of reminded
me of the Theatre intermissions back in the day when I would go see friends,
such as stage actress Autumn Bange, perform in stage plays and in musical
Theatre (Hmmm... That's right, I own a stage production company, too!
What does that have to do with Indie film? Let's just say that you'll
have to find out in due time). Most of us mingled outside in the back
of the Theatre, and I took pictures of Ann Poonkasem, Somali Rose, Krista
Grotte, and just about everyone else. I then walked inside, and I saw
blogger Lisa Ciurro, who was also known as Tampa
Film Fan. Lisa and I had never seen eye to eye. She was a good writer,
but we never got along. I didn't know what her issue with me was, but
before the film festival I believed that Joe Davison had also had an issue
with me. Joe was being cool, and was telling everyone what a great photographer
I was. I decided to be civil with Lisa, and gave her the benefit of the
doubt.
Ah, well. We were all friends here. At least for today. This was neutral
ground, kind of like a United Nations for the people involved in the Tampa
indie film scene. We could certainly put our petty differences aside and
make nice for at least today. Or, in the case of some, and I am not referring
to myself, to at least pretend to be nice so they could dig up dirt on
people and case their weaknesses for future battles. God, I really hate
politics. I especially despise fake people who are not straight-up with
you.
I say be real. Be professional, and
if your disagree with someone, at least try to respect what they
do, their opinions, and their position in the industry. If
you are to be damned, be damned for who you are. In my case,
because I am genuine, I don’t kiss ass, and tell it how it is, I
am real popular among some in the Tampa indie film scene. I am loved my
many, hated by few, and respected by most. Those who hate me, though,
really hate me! For some reason, however, most of my friends are top professionals
who everyone wants to work with. I have the luxury of avoiding most politics
and pretty much do what I want to and say what I want to, without much
fear of losing credibility or any effective backlash; in most instance,
I openly state the obvious, and go on record voicing public opinions which
are no different from the ones that most keep to themselves as they try
to get along with people and be "politically correct". Screw
P.C., I'm proud to be me. Let's just cut through the fake positioning
and the pretense and lay it all out on the table, as we'll eventually
find out the hidden truths anyways. I'd rather avoid wasting time and
know who is who and what the real deal is, thank you very much. I wouldn't
have it any other way, because most of those who I offend clueless amateurs
who are not sure about what they are doing, leading to an insecure, biased
attitude, and they were never in the position to assist or benefit me
in any way to begin with. Besides, those who play nice and try to please
others, selling themselves short in the process by not being true to who
they are, don't make it. They never make it, because they play it safe,
and don't have the conviction or the backbone to be leaders or to take
a chance and do something cool which is actually worthy of the attention
of those who actually matter. Hate me if you wish, but you will certainly
respect me. I demand it.
At any rate, I was the genuine nice guy that I actually am, and introduced
Lisa to my friend Ann Poonkasem. Lisa asked Ann if she knew me and if
she was my friend. When Ann told her yes, Lisa seemed surprised.
Oh, well. I suppose that most people only believe, and only see, what
they want to. If it is my lot in life to be misunderstood and misjudged,
so be it. It all comes out in the wash. It simply takes time.
That said, back to the film festival story. There was a contest segment,
and prizes were given out. Somali had to return to a film set to film
more
of Brain Jacked, a feature that Andy Lalino was working on. They
had to leave. After that, there were some more shorts, and then the second
feature film of the night began. It was Savaged, and Ann and
her friend sat with me to watch it.
Or, try to watch it. Don’t get me wrong. I deeply respect what Jason
does and like him as a person. It’s just that Savaged has
severe issues as a film, and I deeply disliked it to the point of being
both bored and annoyed.
In my opinion, the only thing that saved Savaged was the acting
talent, and skill, of actress Debbie Rochon. She is a
great actress, although the film undermined much of what she was trying
to portray. Savaged was slowly paced, and had severe continuity
issues, especially with day and night scenes. The sound was bad. The film
footage was bad. The editing has issues. Now, I tried to respect the film
and watch it all the way through, but it was long. Really long. Halfway
through the film, I got comfortable in my seat and curled up with Super
Street Fighter 2. I am sure that Debbie Rochon, Joe Davison, and
Jason, who were seated in the back row, could see my constant victories
as I played my video game, which had the sound off, by the way.
We managed to sit through Savaged. Ann, her friend, myself, and
Super Street Fighter 2. Ann wanted to go to dinner and go clubbing
afterwards, so we left just as the credits began to roll on Savaged.
I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to anyone, but in the parking
lot Ann, and her friend, both agreed with me that the last film was terrible.
Other than enduring and being savaged by Savaged, however, The
Ladies Of The Night film festival was a blast. We all had
a great time (and this is what the 2008
Halloween Horror Picture Show should have been, too).
Oh, and regarding being civil, Joe Davison later had a meltdown over something
that I didn't do (he supposedly turned up drunk somewhere and threatened
me, which, honestly, I am not taking seriously at all, but this certainly
highlights the person that Joe is), and Lisa decided to go out and dot-com
my name (why, I don’t know, but that can’t be good- and I
don't think that it is cool at all). The rumors and the politics continue
to swirl, but you’ll see.... It’ll all come out in the wash,
and it’ll all work out... eventually.
The Ladies Of The Night Double Feature Film Festival Event Scorecard
Please note that a score of 5 is average.
Concept (1-10):
6
I loved the overall concept of this Tampa film festival,
although it was simple. But hey, simple is often better, as there are
less details to get wrong. Ladies Of The Night Double Feature
had one purpose, which was to show indie films and be a fun, and much
needed social outlet for the Tampa indie film scene. It accomplished that
with flying colors.
Venue
(1-10): 7
The Behavioral
Sciences Theatre at the University Of South
Florida was more than satisfactory as a venue for a small Tampa film festival,
although Cooper Hall over by the library, used for 2007's Horror
& Hotties film festival,is much larger, has a stage, and
would have been better. This was good, however, although the lawn sprinkler
system spraying water everywhere made taking pictures of people outside
with an expensive camera more of a challenge than it should have been.
Many people got wet, too, and the sprinklers should have been disabled
for the film festival. At the other USF venue, we wouldn't have had to
stand around outside unless we opted to (as cold and rainy as it was back
at Horror and Hotties, that event would have been a total disaster
if it would have been held at this venue!).
Vendors
(1-10): 6
There were a few vendors out front selling shorts
and DVD's of indie films. There was nothing to really write home about,
and I didn't spend much time checking out the wares, but there was a decent
selection.
Organization
(1-10): 7
Simple, but effective. The indie film program, with
the exception of the feature film Savaged, and that one forgettable,
poorly-shot Wynkoop film (that I was spared due to a conversation with
Somali), was good. The contests were ok, and the prizes were cool, too.
Entertainment
(1-10): 8
Good fun. The Ladies Of The Night Double Feature
film festival was a blast. I was entertained, well, until I had to endure
Savaged. Everyone was pleasant and nice to talk to, even the
few who were not sincere.
Attendance
(1-10): 7
Very good attendance; even better than the 2007
Halloween Horror Picture Show or the average Tampa
Film Review monthly film festival. Lots of cool people there,
and a couple that were not so cool (but at least made the effort to pretend
to be cool). This Tampa film festival was well worth it simply because
of the socializing.... It was good to catch up with so many of my friends
in the Tampa indie film scene.
Features
(1-10): 6
Indie films, lots of people, contests, prizes, vendors...
not bad, but the limitations of the venue space prevented more and better
features to be executed.
Admission Value
(1-10): 9
Free, well organized, and fun- with several good
indie films. Free is good, but we all know that free does not necessarily
equate to value, especially since time is more valuable than money. This
was time well spent, and if they were to charge admission to this, the
value score would still hold at a 9.
Overall Event Score
(1-10): 8
The
Ladies Of The Night Double Feature film festival was well worth attending.
If they decide to have another one, I will be glad to go to it.
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