CROQUET BALLS, COINS AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY AT OXY’S FILM FEST
Martha Carol

The Occidental Weekly
e/paper1200/news/2010/03/03/Entertainment/Croquet. Balls.Coins.And.Cultural.Diversity.At.Oxys.Film.Fe st-3883077.shtml
March 3 2010

PrintEmailArticle ToolsPage 1 of 1 The 2010 Occidental College Student
Film Festival brought laughter in celebration of anthropomorphized
pennies and croquet balls, silence in awe of social injustices and
physical strife, and giggling at naughty, college student jokes. Over
150 curious students gathered in Johnson 200 this past Thursday for
the evening showings of the 13 selected films.

The two-hour presentation of student-produced films delivered stories
far beyond the Occidental campus while simultaneously bringing issues
from our very own campus to the fore. Two of the more salient social
queries were imported from filmmakers’ travels abroad. But between
accounts of domestic injustice and loss of culture, a majority of
the films stuck to a lighter portrayal of the human experience,
even going beyond light humor into the politically incorrect.

The contradiction within the film festival – between the tossing about
of chauvinistic humor and the emphasis on the seriousness of social
injustice – showed two very different sides of the college. Several
of the films featured jokes objectifying women. Although the jokes
may have been questionable, most were made at the expense of the
objectifiers in question. Contrarily, another good portion of the films
focused on social issues and maintained a foundation of political
correctness. Coming from a school where liberalism and valuing of
humor reigns, the films were an accurate sampling of this duality
within the student mindset.

The film that claimed first prize – a copy of "Final Draft"
screenwriting software and gift certificates to local eateries and
theaters – dealt with neither such topics. As per last year’s festival,
the judges – art history/visual arts (AHVA) Professors Gabor Kalman,
Paul Reinsch, Pablo Frasconi and digital production manager Kjell
Hilding – looked to a more innocent comedic piece for the highest
quality of story, subject matter, variety of film and intricacy
of visuals.

A comedy much like Blue Sky Studio’s "Gone Nutty" and "No Time
For Nuts," Zak Stoltz’s (senior) "In Frame" depicts a young man in
combat with a temperamental camera frame. Actor Jonny Rodgers (junior)
fights his way through the Occidental campus, bound by the encroaching
blackness of the edge of the screen. Supplemented by a cute premise,
well-maneuvered special effects and captivating cartoonish vocals, "In
Frame" is perhaps the descendent of traditional slapstick comedies. In
the face of personal detriment, the protagonist of Stoltz’s film,
similar to his comedic predecessors, responds with exaggerated ruckus
and harumphing.

Complete with smacked heads, stubbed toes, befuddled egos and a couple
of prosaic stoners, the film is a charming comedic short, perhaps even
more original than the typical Oxy film. After so many college love
stories, sexual puns at the expense of a woman or two or meaningful
documentaries, watching a sympathetic character bumble around to the
clash and clatter of a nameless, lifeless opponent is delightful. As
the winning films of the past few years have done, the film held a
distinct lightness of mood and presented humor for humor’s sake.

Second place was awarded to a filmmaker whose inquiry into the
assimilation of her cultural relations depicted a compelling story.

"Armentsi" follows Anahid Yahjian (junior) in her search for
understanding as her family and fellow Armenians assimilate away
from their cultural origins. The filmmaker’s genuine bewilderment at
the abandonment of a culture she holds so dearly gives the film an
edge above the common documentary of privileged students documenting
social discrimination.

Elizabeth Hodgman (senior) claimed third prize through her depiction
of the classic story of a young artist coming to Los Angeles to be
found by the music industry titled, "Making a Living at It." Hodgman
follows acoustic musician Eric Kufs to his weekly performances on
the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. In the film, Kufs’ humble,
charming, boho attitude is best exemplified when he says, "I get up
at the crack of noon and decide what t-shirt I am going to wear."

Hodgman’s documentary is a well-shot insight into the process of
trying to break into the music industry. While the winning films
were all-around well done, the most interesting topic of the night
was mentioned early in the evening in Julia Bleckner’s (senior) "The
Perfect Woman." Bleckner’s series of recorded interviews explores what
it means to be the ideal woman in Indian society. These interviews
brought to light the cultural existence of women in India that can
seem so distant from the culture of the United States.

The most intriguing facet of the film was its discussion of
skin whitening practices, specifically the cosmetic product Fair
and Lovely Cream. This synthetic manipulation of skin tone and
racial identity provokes questions of racism. The practice of skin
lightening left the audience questioning whether this is any more
controversial than the darkening of skin with tanning lotion or in
tanning salons. However, the film did not mention that such products
are entering men’s cosmetics as well. The answers given by the Indian
women were insightful and even disheartening. However, the film did
not have a strong enough focus and flow to reach its full potential
as a documentary.

A stressful portrayal of one woman’s workout, the humorous collapse
of a movie set and a lovely, clever, romantic piece entitled "Wallet
Love," among others, were also screened. Although not award-winning,
the remainder of the films elicited many laughs and provided intriguing
narratives. The 8th Annual Film Festival scored high merits for the
AHVA department and student filmmakers.

The AHVA department will be showing more student -produced, -directed
and -acted films with the presentation of senior film comps on Friday,
April 9 in Thorne Hall. Refreshments will be served at 7:00 p.m. with
the films to follow at 8:00 p.m.