Moxie local filmmaker series worth the watch

I had the chance to attend the first of the Queen City Cinema series at the Moxie last night and was impressed with the local talent featured at the presentation.

The series – featured in the Springfield Business Journal Daily update yesterday – is to take place every first Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. at the Moxie, 431 S. Jefferson Ave. It shows pieces produced by local filmmakers.

The first of the series kicked off with “This is the Orange Line,” a nine-minute film by Nathan Maurolico about the Chicago Orange Line L Train. The film was shot in black and white and took the audience for a trip on the train itself, showcasing the beauty of what some might call the minutia of a city. The piece wowed with its representation of the train, set to beautiful, classical-esque music.

“One Piece at a Time,” by Max Rosen, a 10-minute short about a man and his mail, ended up being more than just that. The production value of the film was top notch, and it was at times funny and other times sad. It’s difficult to run the gamut of emotion in 10 minutes, but this film did just that.

“Mill Man,” a 12-minute film by Chris Beckman, was shot at the abandoned Tindle Mills feed mill near Drury University and Ozarks Technical Community College a week before it was demolished. The film was a funny look at white-collar versus blue-collar jobs. But the true star was the mill itself, which was portrayed nicely in the film.

The 20-minute film “Loose Cannon,” by Brook Linder, is about a cop avenging the death of his partner, who died at the hands of a one-eyed, mustached bomb maker. The movie had the audience laughing with its B movie style jokes and action. The bomb maker, in particular, was hilarious.

Chris Beckman’s film “oops” also was shown. The 10-minute experimental film, made entirely from YouTube video segments, has gained national attention, winning the experimental video category of the Vimeo Awards and being selected to appear at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Utah. With that much clout surrounding it, it was neat to be able to see a first screening, so to speak. The film definitely earns its genre of “experimental.” The clips were interwoven, typically with someone dropping a camera, making it appear that all of the clips formed one, larger piece. The effect was interesting, and I can only wish Beckman the best of luck at Sundance.

The films shown at the first set of the Queen City Cinema series were filled with local flavor. What was even better was seeing the filmmakers themselves in the audience when the lights flickered back on after the show was over. Getting up close and personal with filmmakers is rarely afforded to people, but with this series, Springfieldians can meet with these talented people.

The next set of films will be shown Feb. 1. Both the Moxie and co-host the Missouri Film Alliance are encouraging local filmmakers to submit their work.

Though many of these films are available online, seeing them on the big screen makes them seem that much more amazing. And best of all, the series is free (with donations accepted).