Saturday, April 3
AJ 225, 5:00-7:30 p.m.
The stakes were high in the Arts and Journalism Building on Saturday, April 3. But in what was promoted as one of the strongest Frog Baby Film Festivals in years, Ball State's student filmmakers -- for the most part -- didn't disappoint.
After a short montage of clips from the films and a short introduction by Cardinal Filmworks president Dave Owens, the lights in AJ 225 were quickly dimmed. Kevin Murphy's racing documentary, "An Historic Passion," kicked the festivities off. The film later won "Best Documentary." After polite applause, some technical problems and a lot of fiddling with the projector remote, Owens led us into two more hours of student films -- some good, some not good and some not even worth the free admission.
The festival was divided into two halves; Jaron Henrie-McCrea's "Untitled" was a highlight of the first half. Using a haunting soundtrack and a variety of canted camera angles and tight close-ups, the short narrative explored a couple's push-pull relationship. The film provided a few laughs but mainly impressed with its restrained style.
The first of Tony Kubek's two documentaries, "Magic Man of Muncie," was a brief look into the life of the owner of a Muncie-based magic shop. His second film, "Gary," shown during Frog Baby's second half, was about a bird lover who happens to work at Ball State as a janitor. In both of his films, Kubek managed to find sympathetic main characters. He didn't interfere with their appealing personalities; he let them tell the stories. In a festival where comedy was rewarded, Kubek's simple, touching films made for a pleasant change of pace.
Ben "Mouse" McShane's "Free Will" concluded the first half of Frog Baby. In a subtle "foreign" farce that poked fun at film conventions, McShane told the story of a man determined to change the world, only to meet his demise at the hands of his own creation -- a talking robot. Carefully measured, McShane's film was a bright end to a mediocre first half.
With gained momentum from "Free Will," Frog Baby's second half made the festival. With "A Quilt ... ," a strong narrative film about a couple separated during the Holocaust, Murphy again led off.
The Pioneer Project offered the festival's next highlight, "People in my Profession," created in part by Henrie-McCrea and McShane (who accepted its "Grand Jury Prize"). The amusing, complex narrative was reminiscent of "Requiem for a Dream," with its repeated, rapid photography, and Guy Ritchie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," with its interweaving storyline.
After raucous applause supporting "People in my Profession," "Jimmy the Dragon" was shown. The crude, yet charming, animation/experimental film submitted by "Anonymous" told the story -- in rhyming couplets, no less -- of a fire-breathing dragon that wreaked havoc on a village. "Jimmy the Dragon" ended up taking two awards at Frog Baby, including the "Ars Maxima Prize" for best overall film.
Anne Werner's "Gleisrauschen" was shown last, a well-crafted film about a daughter's strained relationship with her father -- and a tricky cigarette machine. Werner's actors were subtle, yet powerful, and her winning script was the platform for the film that would win "Best Narrative."
The initial hype about Frog Baby might have done the festival in if it weren't for a strong second hour of inventive, talented filmmaking. Though the festival started slow, the majority of the films proved to be solid and the filmmakers creative; Frog Baby's five judges -- John King, Jim Needham, Leslie Coffin, Chris Shea and Tom Chester -- and Saturday's standing-room only crowd can attest to that.
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