Volunteering at the 2021 SLIFF

This past week, I worked three volunteer shifts in the 30th annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF), which began on 6 November and runs until next Sunday (21 November).

My first shift was last Wednesday night (10 November), in the Winifred Moore Auditorium of Webster Hall at Webster University. The documentary "Chuck Connelly: Into the Light" ran that night, but there were only two paying customers. I watched the movie after making sure my volunteer work (handing out fan ballots and festival surveys to attendees). Too bad there were so few viewers, as I though this was a very interesting film about Connelly, a neo-expressionist painter who battled alcoholism and continued to work.

I was back at Webster University the following Saturday night (13 November) for my second shift. This time, there was a much larger crowd for a trio of French surrealist movies from the 1920s and early 1930s. This started with two short silent films, "An Andalusian Dog" and "The Seashell and the Clergyman." These films were accompanied by live music composed for these films and performed by The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra, a local group.  The night concluded with the 1930 feature "L'age d'or" (The Golden Age), a surrealistic classic directed by Luis Bunuel. These were some most interesting movies to watch, to put it mildly, but they and the orchestra did get my attention.

This afternoon, I was the Brown Hall of Washington University for a third shift. There were a handful of patrons for the documentary "And So I Stayed," which dealt with three New York State domestic violence survivors who served prison time for killing their abusers. It was difficult to watch at times, seeing these women failed by the criminal justice system, but not impossible to watch. The directors, Natalie Pattillo and Daniel A. Nelson, were on hand for the screening, and they fielded questions posted after the movie by Cinema St. Louis Executive Director Cliff Froehlich and audience members. I congratulated Pattillo and Nelson on their superb film, and thanked Froehlich for his and Cinema St. Louis' work. (Barry E. Albrecht, a member of Cinema St. Louis' Executive Committee, was the venue captain during my shift.)

My fourth and final scheduled volunteer shift is this Saturday afternoon (20 November) at the Tivoli in the Delmar Loop. SLIFF concludes one week from tonight.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

St. Louis International Film Festival: St. Louis International Film Festival | Cinema St Louis

Webster University: Webster University | Homepage

The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra: The Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra – Premiere Silent Film Accompaniment Ensemble

Washington University: Washington University in St. Louis (wustl.edu)

Cinema St. Louis: Cinema St Louis

Once More at 2019 SLIFF

Last Saturday night (16 November), I drove to Webster University (http://www.webster.edu/) to work my third and final volunteer shift at this year's St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (https://www.cinemastlouis.org/festival-home). Winifred Moore Auditorium at Webster Hall was the venue I was at, during the showing of the documentary "Varda by Agnes," which told the story of French film director Agnes Varda. It was filmed shortly before her death earlier this year. It was fascinating look at a film legend, told by Varda through stories she told live audiences about her life and work.

We had a nice crowd that night, in which I distributed patron surveys to those who had not filled out one earlier in SLIFF, then collected them after the show. I also helped count fan ballots for this movie, which mostly got very high scores. SLIFF ended the next night with the awards ceremony. (I didn't attend; I had an early wake up call the next morning for work.)

This was my tenth year of working SLIFF, and I was very happy to have done so. I find a certain satisfaction to helping an organization devoted to movies and to the filmgoers who love them.

Later.

Volunteering at 2019 SLIFF

Last Sunday morning (10 November), I went to the Brown School at Washington University of St. Louis (https://wustl.edu/) for my first volunteer stint at this year's Whittaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (https://www.cinemastlouis.org/festival-home). This marks my tenth year volunteering at this festival. On this day, I arrived by the Brown School's lecture hall to check in with the venue captain, and receive my SLIFF t-shirt, which I wore during my shift.

I helped pass out fan ballots and patron surveys to attendees before the movie was screened. Then, I was able to get a seat at the back of the hall to watch the film, a Brazilian/US documentary titled "Restless" ("Sem Descanso"). It looked at the 2014 killing in police custody of a young man from a poor neighborhood in Brazil. This film followed the efforts of the man's father and a newspaper to investigate what happened to the man and to find his remains for proper burial. This story is weaved with the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri the same week. The film was most interesting and thought provoking regarding police brutality towards people of color and poverty.

After the film, there was a question-and-answer session with Chris King, editor of the St. Louis American (http://www.stlamerican.com/), who was interviewed in "Restless." As the audience filed out of the hall, I collected the ballots and surveys to bring to the venue captain. It was a fine start to SLIFF for me.

The following Wednesday afternoon (13 November) found me at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema (https://www.landmarktheatres.com/st-louis/plaza-frontenac-cinema/) for my second SLIFF volunteer shift. I stood outside the two theaters SLIFF was using to take tickets from attendees, while other volunteers passed out ballots and surveys. The Italian drama "Twin Flower" ("Fiore gemello") was playing in one of the theaters. I was tempted to watch it, but figured I was needed outside the theater in case more volunteers didn't show up. In the end, those volunteers did come and all was well. I did help collect ballots and surveys from the people who saw "Twin Flower."

I will do my third and final volunteer shift of this year's SLIFF tonight at Webster University (http://www.webster.edu/). The festival runs until tomorrow night. Hope to see you!

Later.

Volunteering at the 2018 SLIFF

This past week, I did four volunteer shifts at the 27th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (https://www.cinemastlouis.org/about-festival), which ends tonight. The first of those shifts was one week ago today (4 November) at Brown Hall on the Washington University (https://wustl.edu/) campus. I helped to hand out festival program, fan ballots, and festival patron surveys. The latter two items were collected after the film. That day, I saw two documentary features. First was "Letter from Masanjia," about an Oregon woman's discovery in some Chinese-made decorations she bought of a letter from a prisoner in a Chinese labor camp. This story soon went viral and China soon closed its labor camps. The film interviewed the prisoner who wrote the letter and follows his quest for freedom. Leon Lee, the director of "Letter from Masanjia," was present and spoke to the audience before and after the film.

Then, the documentary "Time for Ilhan" was screened. It told the story of Minneapolis, Minnesota resident Ilhan Omar's successful 2016 campaign for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She became the first Somali-American and Muslim-American woman elected to office. (Last Tuesday, Omar was elected to the US House of Representatives.) Norah Shapiro, director of this film, spoke before and after it was screened.

Wednesday night (7 November), after my off day from work, I headed to .ZACK (http://www.kranzbergartsfoundation.org/zack/) in the Grant Center Arts District (http://www.grandcenter.org) of Midtown St. Louis for my second shift. That night--after helping hand out ballots and surveys--I saw the narrative short film "Ashlock," which employed dance to help tell the true story of a troubled marriage in Missouri's Old Lead Belt. Then, it was the documentary feature "Bisbee '17." This told of how residents of Bisbee, Arizona--a small old mining town near the Mexican border--reinacted the Bisbee Deportation of 1917, in which 1200 immigrant miners were forcibly removed from town by a deputized force. The miners were put on cattle cars, sent to the New Mexico desert, and left to die. It was unusual for a documentary, in that there was no historic film of the Deportation used. The story was mainly told by the reinactors, several of whom were descendants of both the deported and the deporting force. Rather interesting. The film's director, Robert Greene, was present and spoke before and after the film.

After work on Friday night (9 November), I arrived at Plaza Frontenac Cinema (https://www.landmarktheatres.com/st-louis/plaza-frontenac-cinema) for my next shift. Myself and other volunteers were stationed outside the two auditoriums of the six-screen facility where SLIFF films were playing. After passing out ballots and surveys, I went inside one auditorium to see the Hungarian film "Eternal Winter" ("Orok tel"). This was based on the true story of Hungarian women of German origin who were seized by Soviet troops late in World War II and sent to labor camps in the Soviet Union and working in coal mines. A depressing tale for sure, but fascinating in seeing how one woman seeks to stay alive in the camp and mine with the help of a fellow internee.

Late this morning, I drove to The Stage at KDHX (http://kdhx.org/articles/16-inside-kdhx/964-the-stage-at-kdhx) in the Grand Center Arts District for my final volunteer shift of this year's SLIFF. The venue hosted a conversation with six directors making their first feature films. This event was part of the festival's New Filmmakers Forum (NFF), which includes five feature films (one co-directed by two people). Panelists and guests enjoyed free coffee and pastries before the filmmakers discussed their films and filmmaking in general. It was quite an interesting discussion, I thought.

After my shift ended, I treated myself to a light lunch of soup and ice cream at The Fountain on Locust (http://www.fountainonlocust.com/) before going home. SLIFF concludes tonight with the awards ceremony.

Later

A Weekend Around the Lou

Mid-morning last Saturday (27 October), I drove to the Enterprise Fleet Management (https://www.efleets.com/) in Olivette, Missouri, where a Trunk or Treat was organized for the children of their employees. I came by to lend my support to this event. Several vehicles had their trunks open so kids in costume could come by and get treats in a safe, friendly environment. Two employees I knew brought their children along. It was quite a lot of fun to see.

Then, I drove to the American Czech Educational Center (http://acecstl.org/) in south St. Louis for their Fall Czech Festival. I stayed rather briefly--just over an hour--but enjoying hearing the Czech music and wandering among the vendors for crafts, food, and drink. I entered a raffle for a few donated items--didn't win, though. Still, a good time.

Before leaving South St. Louis, I stopped at two venues--a Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/) and a Schnucks supermarket (https://nourish.schnucks.com/)--to drop off promotional postcards for the St. Louis International Film Festival (https://www.cinemastlouis.org/).

I then came home to rest for awhile, then headed to the Schlafly Bottleworks (http://www.schlafly.com/bottleworks-brewpub/) in Maplewood, Missouri for their Full Moon Festival. The parking lot was transformed into a festival site, with open fires, a stage for entertainers, dining tents, and booths selling food and beer. I had a pork sandwich with a Schlafly White Lager. It was all very nice. I also ventured inside the Brewhouse to use the men's room and to browse the souvenirs on sale. A good time had at this festival.

The next morning, I was at the Kirkwood Community Center (http://www.kirkwoodmo.org/content/City-Departments/1856/community-center.aspx) for the Midwest Model Vehicle Association--St. Louis (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/MMVASt.%20Louis.html) Fall Show. Bill Wagner and I represented the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) at the MMVA show, where IPMS/Gateway had a table. Bill and I brought some models to display, along with flyers for our contest in September 2019 and information on the club's website and social media pages. We had a number of people stop by to look at our models, pick up our flyers, and talk with us. The show was nice, with a good turnout of car models, plus I brought two kits--an aircraft and a ship--from vendors there.

After the show, I stopped by a Saint Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) in Sunset Hills to drop off another SLIFF promotional postcard, and have a snack before going home.

Later.