STIFF Competition

Ha ha. STIFF Competition. I made a funny.

Aaaaanyway, "competition" isn't the word for what this year's STIFF is to me. Aside from Ordinary Angels, Dan Humphrey's Rectify and The Addict are both screening, Eddie Smith's Behind Closed Doors (produced by Dan Heinrich and starring FIVE actors from OA) is screening, and I heard tell that Heath Ward's The Ballad of Mary Jo is playing as well (but have not confirmed this yet with Heath). If so, that means a hat trick for Humphrey, DP Anthony Tackett and actors Eric Riedmann and Aaron Washington, and a foursome for Darlene Sellers. If Eddie Smith's other short, Man 2 Man*, is in the festival, that's a hat trick for actress Trish Loyd and a two-fer for actor Marcio Catalano (and a fourth for Aaron Washington). And I've just heard from Darlene that Mark Price's film Elliot's Wake is in the festival. That's at least SIX films by our little incestuous community of filmmakers. Excellent.

* Sorry, wasn't able to find an official site for Man 2 Man, and doing a search only brings up R&B groups and gay dating sites.

Now, I haven't confirmed whether Man 2 Man or Ballad of Mary Jo are screening. But even so, that's a healthy showing from the hometown crowd. There's some serious talent in this tight little industry, and it's about ready to burst out and soil the world in some good filmmaking. We used to talk with reverence about Sundance '93, when it was still a little independent festival and proved a fecund meeting ground for action directors Rodriguez and Tarantino when both Reservoir Dogs and El Mariachi screened. Who knows? In the years to come, maybe STIFF '08 will have some historical resonance as the nexus point of the new wave of Seattle indie cinema.

Or I could be completely full of shit. But it's fun to think about.

In any case, it'll be a good showing, and I'm looking forward to the films and the networking.