Filmslang

By Barbara Goldman

In its third, and most generous year yet, Boomslang: A Celebration of Sound and Art is a multi-venue festival presented by Kentucky’s leading student-run radio station, WRFL. One of the many characteristics setting this year’s festival apart from past years will be the strong film component, including screenings and workshops which are free and open to anyone with a curious appetite.

“Boomslang is a celebration of sound and art, and that definitely encompasses film. I always envisioned film as being a part of the festival, but wanted to incorporate the groups from Lexington doing off the cusp arts events,” says Boomslang mastermind, visionary, and orchestrator Saraya Brewer. “We have opened the door to anyone who wanted to bring any original events.”

“The first year there was not a lot of film involved. There was a lot to take on,” says Brewer, who adds that one film was shown the second year. “Lots of the musicians incorporate film, videos, and projection into their shows, but we’ve never had as many full length films shown. This year has really taken shape with three full length films.”

The event of epic proportions will include a variety of “satellite events,” including a literary event at the Carnegie Center and a Lexington Fashion Collaborative event showcasing costumes and sets made from recycled materials from local businesses . The festival will be spread across 10 days and will take a more reasonable pace than previous years.

“There are not as many competing events. It’s more relaxed and not so hectic,” says Brewer.

Brewer, who can be heard on WRFL and also works as Managing Editor for Smiley Pete Publishing, says the festival wants to encompass as many creative sub-genres as possible.

“It’s not just about the music, but the overall culture,” says Brewer. “These events help enhance the community. I would love to see, in the future, a separate film event to take place in conjunction with the musical events, similar to the one that takes place at South by Southwest.”

In fact, this year’s screening line-up borrows a familiar face from Austin’s South by Southwest. Coming off his star turn in the 2011 SXSW standout Bad Fever, actor/director Kentucker Audley is Boomslang bound for a screening of his third directorial feature effort, Open Five. The screening, which will take place at the Kentucky Theatre on September 27, is being shown thanks to a partnership between WRFL’s Surreelfilm, the Lexington Public Library, and the Lexington Film League—the same partnership responsible for the Classics off the Beaten Path series at the library’s downtown theater.

“We had been trying to get something really special together,” says Chris Ritter, Surreelfilm host and Classics off the Beaten Path architect. “We are bringing in Kentucker from Memphis. I don’t know if I will believe it is all happening ’til the credits start rolling.”

The screening of Open Five will be followed by a film festival style Q&A with the director, who is also a Lexington native. The free event, which Ritter has termed a Boomslang “aftershock”, will take place the Tuesday after the weekend of the music festival at 7:30 PM.

“We wanted to do something that would ignite people’s taste buds so that we could do more events like this in the future,” says Ritter. “In the super long term we would love to see a film festival in Lexington.”

“I am very excited about it,” says Thom Southerland of the Lexington Public Library. “I saw Kentucker’s film at a festival last year. To me, it is true indie filmmaking. Kentucker has a lot of talent, but there is also a lot of thought and emotion behind the story.”

Southerland, who brought Open Five to the attention of the other organizers, notes that Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote a great review of the film.

“It will appeal to younger people but I hope it appeals to anyone wanting to see something different. It’s a chance to watch a movie with an audience, which is how a movie should be watched,” says Southerland. “The Q&A is really a good chance for people to ask questions directly and talk to a successful local director about what he’s achieved, and can be achieved here.”

Southerland adds that he hopes something can come from the Q&A for local aspiring indie filmmakers, “Bringing anything different to Lexington is always good.”

Queerslang

Open Five is only one of three films being screened at this year’s festival. The two other films are being hosted by Queerslang, a Boomslang satellite event that is new to the fest.

“We will be screening a couple of documentaries as well as a series of workshops,” says Jack Cofer, co-creator of Queerslang.

According to Cofer, the GLBT event emerged from an effort to organize an after party show. Cofer had seen similar events put together in bigger cities that also included workshops and the screening of documentaries.

“We thought, why can’t we do that?” says Cofer, who co-created the event with Ondine Quinn. “Our goal was to make it free and include everyone of all ages. It’s all about skill sharing. It has little to do with being queer and has everything to do with claiming queer and reclaiming the word.”

Cofer said event founders wanted to host something to make the community better, and hopes the event attracts people passionate about making change.

“I’m most excited at the potential number of people under 18 showing up at the workshops,” says Cofer. “If there is a capacity issue I will be over the moon.”

The event will include workshops and documentary screenings, and it will be followed by a dance party at Cosmic Charlie’s. Attendance at a workshop or screening will gain you discounted entry to the dance party if you haven’t already bought a weekend pass wristband. The cover is $15, but it is reduced to $8 if you attend the earlier events. The dance party is for 18+, but the workshops and documentary screenings have no age requirement.

Queerslang kicks off at noon on Saturday September 24 at Awesome Inc. on Main Street. The workshops have something for everyone, offering free tools for the community to grow creatively. Topics include zine making and distribution, an introduction to computer music and how to make it, a historical and instructional look at mixing and scratching vinyl records on turntables, and a bicycle maintenance and safety course that focuses on Lexington routes.

“Highlighting what we have here in Lexington was really important to me,” says Cofer in reference to the workshops. “We did a call for submissions and got exactly four people.”

Cofer says that, of those four, only one identifies as GLBT. “All four are from different walks of life but wanted to share their skills with the community. The workshops are exactly one hour long and interactive. Not one has to do with being queer. The workshop hosts saw queer in the headlines but saw the opportunity to share. And that is the entire point of Queerslang.”

The workshops will be followed by two documentary films, Whistlin’ Dixie and R.O.C.K.-umentary.

The first film is about queer bands in the south and will be followed by a Q&A with director Meredith Heil. The second documentary features the journey of the Rollergirls of Central Kentucky and will be followed by a Q&A with director Darsey Miller.

“They’re free. No excuse,” says Cofer, who emphasizes that Queerslang would not be happening without the help and support of Third Street Stuff who “didn’t hesitate to show support.” Lexington Fairness also helped make the event possible with a generous contribution.

For more information on these events go to www.boomslangfest.com, or “like” these events on Facebook, where you can learn more about them.

2011 BOOMSLANG SATELLITE EVENTS
All satellite events are free and open to the public.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
7 PM: Stars with Accents: A Literary Event (Carnegie Center)
Readings by Jane Gentry, Jan Isenhour and Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, moderated by Katerina Stoykova Klemer. Presented in conjunction with the Kentucky Women Writers Conference.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
12 PM: Queerslang (Awesome Inc.)
Community Workshops and Film Screenings.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
6 PM: Lexington Fashion Collaborative presents Neighborhood Series (Tuska Gallery)
Fashion and art installation featuring live music, live models, elaborately crafted costumes and sets using materials recycled from local businesses.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
7:30 PM: Open Five Screening (Kentucky Theatre)
Surreelfilm, the Lexington Film League, and the Lexington Public Library present a screening of Open Five to be followed by a Q&A with writer/director/star Kentucker Audley.