Kidz Film Festival

I went to a screening of a 17 year old's film that he made with his family. I mean, it was a family affair. Father is an analog film shooter and Mom is a professional violinist. The movie itself is incredible, since he made it on Super 8. The impressive part is the way he sounded. Assured, confident without much nervousness. It floored me since at that age, I despised being in front of an audience. I certainly didn't meet strangers like myself to speak so eloquently. Perhaps that is the European sensibility. It made me think that maybe the United States does chip away at one's self-esteem. If you think about our movie industry...we are the ONLY country whose government doesn't support cinema. Consider that a LOT of films made overseas that have depth were funded by their own government. Sure, there must be corruption when it comes to who or who cannot be funded to make a movie. But at least it's there. They assume cinema as an art form versus Americans who see it as pure commerce. So this adds to the constant competitive approach to filmmaking. People then spend their lives shitting on others efforts. For instance, there was a cinematographer at the screening who was also there to support the young man. He is a professional working cameraman (never seen a thing he's done, none of his credits are remotely recognizable) who attended the American Film Institute (overpriced, pretentious scaly people go here). I can tell right away, he wants to sell himself. To me, of all people. Everyone else is insignificant to him. And he always has a comment to put himself higher on the heirarchy of production (there is one, you=direct - me=camera). What I'm getting at is...who fucking cares? This douchebag couldn't help himself from telling the child of the flaws he saw in the movie. Idiot didn't realize it was all part of the aesthetic. He just couldn't help himself. He had that nervous shifty eyes of a person who is deeply insecure about his craft. Joined guilds and unions because that's what networking does. Otherwise, he knows tech, has very little to non-exitent ability to communicate. Kinda guy who loves to take over a conversation. Regardless of what you have to say, he has to remind you how much more important he is. This is AFI people I can't stand. Guess what...didn't ask me a single question about what I did. And when found out what I did, would batter me with his knowledge of the gear...being mostly wrong. This is someone who wants you to like them and doing it all wrong. I digress. What I was surprised at, was the level of maturity the films had. I saw TWO silly ones in front of six very deeply serious ones. Simple tropes that I'm glad young people are thinking about (racism, suicide). But I don't recall at 17-18 year old caring about that shit. I was making stupid gangster movies. Or re-enacting George Romero. Or dumb silly things. Not only were these "kids" making serious material, they SPOKE with such bravado about themselves and their project. NOT arrogantly, but very focused and intelligently. It wasn't the films they made, but the way they conducted themselves. At that age I was fighting off a shitty girlfriend and drinking myself into a stupor. So I got a glimpse of what serious people do...from young people. Again, the films had a amateurish quality. But some of them were better than what adults were doing. I was impressed and excited to see their future.