Hi, folks! Are you as excited as I am about IC DOCS? What’s that? You don’t understand? You’re asking if I’m saying, “I see dogs?” No, you silly bastards! The sentence “Are you as excited as I am about I see dogs?” makes zero literal or syntactical sense. I’m referring to IC DOCS, the Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival.
We’re pretty cosmopolitan here: This is one of at least two film fests we fest in the IC. Intrigued? You should be. It’s going to be a hoot; the kind of hoot that can only be found by sitting calmly in the dark and engaging your brain-muscles.
What wonders await? Let’s take a sneak peek, shall we?
The Apocalyptic Apiarist (April 12, Bijou)
With all this crazy cold weather we’ve been having, wouldn’t you just love to be transported to the sunny beaches of rural Johnson County, Iowa? That’s the backdrop for The Apocalyptic Apiarist, a little short about a wily beekeeper, whose hobbies include shooting cans and getting stung by bees. Everyone enjoys a little bee-stinging now and then. And guess what? It’s about an Iowan, by one of our handsome (probably) Iowan men (John Richard, UI alum) … As an added bonus, the apocalypse is involved. Oooh, suspense! A chicken or two make a guest cameo.
Ghost of Yesterday (April 13, Bijou)
Maybe guns and bees aren’t your thing. Perhaps your thing is rotoscoping and experimenting with ephemeral representations of consciousness. If so, then boy, does director Tony Gault (also UI alum, also probably handsome) have the film for you! I think you know which local short nonfiction-experimental film I’m talking about. Why, Ghost of Yesterday of course! I can’t be the only one who gets all hot and bothered when films poetically explore the connection between the deterioration of analog formats and the fade of memories themselves. I know; I’m such a cliché. Will girls ever tire of experimental nonfiction formats?
Busca Vida (April 13, Bijou)
What’s that you say? You hate Iowa? First of all, how could you, you heartless son of a bitch? What, you think you’re better than us? Second of all, IC DOCS features non-Iowan films and directors as well. Take Busca Vida by Daniel Cardenas. One viewing of this portrait of the direct effects that a country’s politicians’ changing doctrine have on a scrappy young beggar boy will have you appreciating Iowa in no time. Hint: the politics’ effects on the adorable street urchin are not positive. You ingrate.
Ingrate? No, not you. You support your community and the cultural opportunities it affords you, right? IC DOCS will take place April 11-13 at the Bijou and Public Space One. Worst case scenario, if you hate the film you’re watching, the good news is it is guaranteed to be less than 30 minutes long. It’ll be over before you know it, just like this wonderful festival, so get down there!
Kit Bryant lives in Iowa City with her valid alibi and several innocuous non-lethal pastimes. Outside the workplace, she enjoys sarcasm, light spanking, and fleeting moments of hope and levity. Her blog is popslashcorn.wordpress.com
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