Sidewalk

Ten years of the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. I can't believe it has been that long. Erin and I went to the first one back in 1998. Thanks again to Erin for inviting me this year! First we met up at Java and Jams, a neat little coffee shop downtown, for a bite to eat and a chance to catch up. Then we headed over to the Harbert Center for our first show, I Think We're Alone Now. This was a documentary feature about two fans - obsessed fans - of the pop singer Tiffany. We got to know quite a bit about these two fans, including the deeper issues affecting both people that contributed to their obsessiveness of this pop star. Really, it just made me so sad. There were people in the theater laughing through parts of this film, but I could only feel sad for these two and the state of their lives.

From there we moved from one fanatic documentary to another, albeit more lighthearted, called Rock-afire Explosion. Raise your hand if you remember the Rock-afire Explosion. Think Showbiz Pizza Place. The Rock-afire Explosion was the animatronic band that played and entertained in the eating area at Showbiz. There are folks out there who not only have some nostalgia for the times when they got to go to Showbiz and see the great show, but who have become what you might call extreme fans and collectors of Rock-afire Explosion items. Many of them now own and maintain their own Rock-afire Explosion shows. The film introduces us to some of them and gives a little background about the show and the company. Here is a trailer for the documentary:



Here is a video of one of the fans' modern Rock-afire Explosion shows:



After both of the fan documentaries Erin had to go home, but I stayed to see the end of Jump!, a movie about competitive jump rope, and Crawford. Crawford was pretty interesting. It was a movie about Crawford, TX from the residents' points of view. The filmmakers interviewed residents and followed many of the changes the town has gone through since the Bush family came to town.

I wish that I could have gone to the festival on Sunday because it seems like most of the best films were shown that day. Well, next year I'll just plan better so I can attend all weekend!