| | Issue #19.25 :: 01/16/2008 - 01/22/2008 | DIY
Worlds collide in Augusta’s thriving independent film community, where two crews filming separate movies side-by-side is not an unusual occurrence
| BY STACEY HUDSON
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AUGUSTA, GA - Chris Forbes was filming a scene from his new movie, “The Mark,” at 8th Street Tobacco when he and the cast and crew heard gunshots.
“This is Sunday! I mean, it’s not Saturday night and there’s people out here shooting firearms in the street!” Forbes said. “What’s happening?”
So they hunkered down in the store, waiting for the warfare to die down. But a few minutes later, shots rang out again, followed shortly by two police cruisers. But this was not a remake of “Boyz N the Hood.” It was closer to “Cinema Paradiso.”
“It was another movie right next to us!” Forbes laughed. Local filmmaker Noah Weisel had a production crew going on a new independent work. “But, of course, we had no way of knowing they were shooting blanks.”
These scenes play out all over Augusta, according to the man who made successful independent films like “Firewall” and “Basketweave.” With passionate local artists such as Michael Hennessy, Steve Gillam, Duane Brown, Hodges Usry, Weisel and Forbes, the local film community has begun to find support in one another.
“This is kind of a happenin’ town because we’re having film crews collide. That is beautiful,” Forbes said. “You go to Atlanta and there’s not this kind of thing going on. Noah’s shooting his feature, and we crank out one or two features a year, and other people are playing stuff and there are a lot of short films going on.”
In addition to Forbes’ own recent work, and “Sons of God” by his partner, Steven Gillam, award-winning filmmaker Hodges Usry teamed up with celebrated chanteuse Julia Easterlin to create a music video for Easterlin’s new release, “Straightaway.” The two, now studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design and Berklee College of Music, respectively, hadn’t seen each other since they were both kids at Lakeside Elementary. (See the video on the Metro Spirit’s Web site.)
“We just all started doing it on our own,” Forbes said.
And with the demise of the Southern Fried Flicks Film Festival that had been previously hosted by the Imperial Theatre, Forbes and friends didn’t want that all to crumble. And even before the festival was let go, they had been talking about doing something for genre films such as horror, sci-fi and action. So they started their own mini festival, the Poison Peach Film Showcase, which will play two nights at Le Chat Noir.
“Those types of films on the whole have a tough time making it into festivals to begin with,” Forbes said. “Most of the time they’re not very arty; they’re kind of program-type films and that’s all right. There’s nothing wrong with that. I enjoy that, and they’re entertainment as opposed to works of art.”
Forbes will debut his latest horror feature, “Vampitheatre,” starring Dana Cheshire, Dave Mercer, Keri Newton, Amanda Cliatt, Joel Hodges and legendary scream queen Linnea Quigley. The 74-minute film follows the exploits of “Theatre Peace,” a goth-rock band whose members happen to be vampires.
As a break, comedian Goeff Franqui, who won last year’s HaHaPalooza contest at the Imperial Theare, will do a set at 9 p.m. each night.
And then they’ll showcase short films like Gillam’s “Pumpkin Knight;” “Thief in the Night,” by Randy Adamek; “Incident at 211,” by Michael Harp; “Lost and Found,” by Tommy Tanner; “Lunchroom Perspectives,” by Alex Taylor; “Poof Fantasies,” by Jade Hawk and both “Rozwell” and “Sorry” from Hodges Usry.
It’s a chance to look at filmmakers in Augusta who might rather watch “Sean of the Dead” than “Dead Man Walking,” which means the Poison Peach filmmakers are probably more fun. And bring your own hot dog. If their films are any indication, they’re the kind of people who know 100 creative uses for ketchup packets.
Poison Peach Film Showcase
Le Chat Noir
Friday, Jan. 18
Saturday, Jan 19
$6-$8
706-722-3322
lcnaugusta.com
myspace.com/theatrepeace
forbesfilm.com
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