Ladely has high
hopes for his
festival’s future
FESTIVAL from page 1
won’t be doing that”
He says this in half jest but has serious confidence
and faith in his festival. To Ladely, these are more than
just movies, they’re opportunities, dreams, people and
most of all they are die great plains
“Really, the two ideas of4he festival are, one, the
region itself and two, to focus on the diversity of the
region, and we’ve really had that focus since die begin
ning,” he says. “The film industry is really ran by white
males and though focusing on the great plains limits us
somewhat (as far as entries), I really don’t care to have a
festival of national scope. I think it’s more important to do
a regional one.”
io stay true to his commitment to promote the great
)lains region, Ladely enlists the help of a number of local
citizens to do the initial judging of the films before a
celebrity panel of judges, all of whom have done exten
sive work directing, writing or producing independent
films, makes the final cut.
This year there were 99 entries in five categories.
Sheila Reiter watched 47.
“I am the queen of judging,” says Reiter, a
Lincoln resident and writing professor at Doane
College. “I try to see as many entries as possible.”
Each of the 47 films Reiter judged were
then judged by four other local judges before
— were decided upon.
Heiter herself is a huge film buff,
[y sees between 3 and 5 films a
hopes that her participation in
eat Plains Film Festival will offer
nakers feedback important, not
r for the individuals, but for the
elopment of independent films in
plains as a whole. It is an
dshe takes it pretty serious
“I don’t know how many
times I’ve written the words ‘this
is a hard call,”’ she says. “Sure
it’s fun to have a voice, but as a
writing teacher I know how
important communication is,
so I’m really writing to
those people when I write
the critique.”
She says often times
film can have a very
slick production quali
ty, but fail in toms of
actual storytelling,
so she considers die
director’s options
and budget and decides if the film is as good as it could be
within those restrictions. Sometimes it’s a hard call, some
times it’s not.
“You watch a stinker and you have to stop and say
‘Jesus Christ, somebody made this movie.’ But to just say
‘throw your camera away ’ isn’t the right way to do it. What
I say is ‘how come you did this, why did you do this, what
is this about?’
“I think someone entering who got zilch could still
walk away and realize that what they’re doing is important
and they need to keep doing it It’s an opportunity to get
real critique instead of just ‘you win? you lose.’ It’s very
academic in that sense.”
Herb Thomas, a manager at the Grotto restaurant 11th
and O streets, and one of the festival’s preliminary judges,
says he too considers more than just what’s good and
what’s bad when reviewing films.
“It’s realty interesting seeing different people’s points
or views and how they manifest themselves,” Thomas
says. “When you start out on any particular film you start
by trying to figure out what they point of the film is and
then by the time you finish you have hopefully decided if
the filmmaker was successful in getting that point across
to you.”
Bob Byington, a former Lincoln resident and director
of “Olympia,” a film entered in the festival as a dramatic
feature, said he appreciates any feedback, regardless of the
critic’s background in film or social standing
“If anyone is critical about the movie, it’s me because I
wrote it, directed it and lived with it for a long time. I’m
very aware of what I don’t like and it’s very interesting if
people pick up on that,” Byington says.
“With the Los Angeles Times and New York Times, the
lead reviewers are pretty sketchy. It depends on what they
had for breakfast when they review it, so someone
who can articulate why they didn’t like that is really
helpful.”
For Thomas, the interaction between someone
sitting in the seats and the person behind the cam
era is worth he time he spent voluntarily watching ]
22 films and filing out 22 sheets of critiques. j
“The audience for independent film is, in |
general, better educated and more sophisticated 1
and I would say I’m a pretty average viewer in ■
that sense, and therefore I think my views a lot of flj
the time would be shared by people who are also
interested in this kind of film,” he says. “It B
makes me feel good to be a part of that”
Back in Ladely’s office people are busy fi
organizing the films to be shown, looking at
the new posters and finalizing all the upcom- £
ing events. From the festival’s committee B
meetings to the living rooms of the local B
judges the festival has been a team project. ££
Just how Ladely wants it. fi
“This appeals to me because it does give B
people here some ownership and participa- B
tion in the festival and that’s what’s impor- fi
tant to me.
“I want as many people who live here fi
to get involved in it so it’s really a commu- fi
nity festival.” fi
MattHaney/DN