Columbia’s Film Scene Gets Funky
March 22, 2014
By Jillian Owens
March 20, 2014
Columbia’s Art Scene is growing. You might not have noticed, as it’s more of a slow decades-long tectonic shift than an eruption.
But not all movements are fast.
The best geographic example of this is Main Street. In April of 2008, Frame of Mind business owner, Mark Plessinger held his first art show. Two years later, First Thursdays on Main (now an extremely successful monthly art crawl that encompasses several businesses and galleries in the Main Street Corridor) was born.
The strength behind any art movement of this sort is in the dedication of the community behind it. Columbia is fortunate to have a large number of artists, art administrators, and art enthusiasts who are willing to perform, organize, and participate in the arts, whether the weather is fair or foul. Enthusiasm builds and crowds grow.
One subset of the Arts community that has been relatively silent by comparison until as of late is the Film Community. The Nickelodeon was the single bastion for the film enthusiast with a taste for something beyond popular blockbuster fare for decades. Columbia has several private movie clubs, with genres that vary from Asian Action to B-Grade Awfulness. But unless you know the people who are hosting these events in their homes, you’re out of luck. What if you’re new in town? What if you’ve only just discovered a love of art house cinema? What if you just want to explore different films and genres with a larger group of people?
Without a community, it’s easy for film buffs to feel lonely – relegated to online forums to discuss the philosophy of David Cronenberg or watching silent films alone on youtube. Cinema, an experience that’s meant to be shared, can become an antisocial hobby.
Much like the movers and shakers of Columbia’s larger art movement, the creators, planners, and patrons of Columbia’s Film Movement are stepping up their game. The Nickelodeon, now in it’s new-ish location has expanded its offerings with several exciting new additions, such as the Late Night Comedy Classic Series, Civil Rights Sundays, and Science on Screen. Local Celebrity/Musician /Artist Chris Bickel has partnered with The Nick to bring his favorite genres, camp/classic horror to the big screen in his project The First Friday Lowbrow Cinema Explosion (which truly lives up to its name). Other Nick standards, like The Jewish Film Festival and The Indie Grits Film Festival continue to grow every year.
This increase of nontraditional films being shown in more social settings doesn’t begin and end at The Nickelodeon. Frame of Mind has taken to showing the works of local and regional film makers, such as Chris and Emily White during their events. Tapp’s Art Center recently launched their Point of View Film Series which has started monthly showings of eclectic fare such as Barry Lyndon, Johnny Guitar, and Wise Blood. In Fall 2013, they launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to bring the disturbing Oscar-Nominated Joshua Oppenheimer documentary, The Act Of Killing to Columbia before any other movie house dared add it to their lineup.
Do you want to spread the availability of classic, campy, art, indie, and other non-traditional film viewing opportunities in our city? Do you want to help us lonely weirdos get a little social interaction? It’s so easy. All you have to do is show up. Participate. That’s how a movement gains momentum.
Why not come to the free showing of Terry Gilliam’s 1985 dystopian masterpiece, Brazil at Tapp’s Art Center this Thursday, March 20th at 7pm? Perhaps the twisted & campy Ms. 45 which is being shown on Friday, April 4th at The Nickelodeon at 11pm sounds intriguing to you? If you, as an arts patron don’t attend these events, they’ll stop happening. Let’s keep this movement going and keep Columbia’s film scene funky.
