Has this ever happened to you? You are at a regular film festival, and you have just watched your third indie film about a sensitive child growing up in a rural area with an indie-folk soundtrack and thought, “I could really use some weirdness.” Or you are at a horror festival, and you have seen your seventh film about a group of young people being eviscerated in various ways and thought, “Some superhero action would be nice.” Or you are at Cannes, and you just watched Will Smith in…anything and thought, “I wonder what someone could accomplish with no money.” If it has, or you just enjoy genre films in a low-pressure setting, GeekFest might be for you.
There is a lot that separates Geekfest from other film festivals. For one thing, it’s not over. It’s a traveling show. So when I tell you about films I like in it such as A Typical Fairytale, To Your Last Death, and Game Girls, you still have a chance to see all of them. Because Geekfest works out deals with local comic and sci-fi conventions to show their programming. This means the convention doesn’t have to curate content; they just need to provide a space. This also means the Geekfest doesn’t have to find locations; they just have to curate content. From this symbiotic relationship, a traveling film festival was born.
Also, because of this symbiotic relationship, you aren’t inundated with a constant barrage of sponsored messages shoved down your throat at every opportunity. Every square inch of real estate isn’t taken up by advertising. You don’t have Dasani giving out free bottles of water, or the Cannon photo booth, or the Delta airlines urinal cakes. You can enjoy a low-key film festival in a low-key genre convention.
“…Geekfest works out deals with local comic and sci-fi conventions to show their programming…”
If Geekfest isn’t coming to a convention near you this year, it might be next year. All you have to do is send a message to your local convention organizers and then “cc:” to Geekfest to get the ball rolling. And soon independent genre films from all over the world could be coming to your town.
It also has a lot to offer new filmmakers. Not just prize packages brought to you by the likes of Sony Software, Boris FX, Fanbase Press, Beachtek, Graphic Lab Tees, Valiant Comics, Top Cow, Zenescope, Coscards, Boom! Studios, American Tourister, Shot Lister App, Top Cow Productions, Zenescope Entertainment, Geek Eyewear, ConQuest Journals, Truffle Cottage, WOWWEE, Boston Metaphysical Society, and Alterna Comics. You also have an opportunity to have your work seen by a larger audience than most film festivals. All add professionals like Alicia Malone, Amy Jo Johnson, Keahu Kahuani, Scott Mantz, Chris Dinh, Jeff Wadlow, Yuka Kobayashi, and (the legend) Lloyd Kaufman, who will be judging your work.
Geekfest is a great opportunity and a great weekend of fun for aspiring filmmakers and lovers of genre films. I enjoyed myself immensely when it made a stop at the Long Beach Comic Expo, and I know you will as well.
