Day 4: Milwaukee Film Fest #mff2 @mkefilm

Double Feature Sunday!

Waiting For Superman - this film can make Education the key political issue it deserves to be, leap frogging the Inconveniet Truth / Being Green social issues last election cycle. I love that the director's last name is Guggenheim - if that's not a filmmakers name, I don't know what is. It makes me feel like everything is legit. Michael Moore is one too many untucked shirts away from everyone taking him seriously but you get a dude named Guggenheim (married to Elizabeth Shue / Ali with an I holler!) in his Land Rover and we're on the edge of our seats twittering #SMH comments left and right about whatever social poop he's diggin up. I sat next to a retired principal from an elementary school near 50th and Hampton. She asked if I was an educator and I thought about telling her how I'm schoolin people every day. I saved that comment and told her my mom was an elementary teacher for 25 years in the Bronx and I got an "alright". Bronx name drop always works. Whew. Lights went down and bam - she soul-clapped the shit out of this film. I got a few lean over whispers of "you see" and I thought I got a "no they didn't" but maybe I was wishing for one. The credits rolled, we exchanged nods and went our separate ways: me to my phone checking fantasy football scores, her to something meaningful. (note to self: do more meaningful things on days off or at least have an aire that you are in the midst of meaningful things like lady from Waiting For Superman screening).

This is documentary filmmaking at its finest. If you wanna get all riled up and have some democratic ammo for the elections, see this film. Shame all those conservative no-child-left-behind Sensenbrenner supporters.

It's Kind Of A Funny Story - cute festival filler equation goes like this: get Zack GalafanInEveryThing, some clinically depressed emo-kids, one flew over the coo coo's nest hospital zanies, a Zoe Kravitz boob grab and you're half way home! The guy next to us was swigging Vodka throughout the film. Now that's what festivals are all about. Seeing the people that see films like these.

One note: the two films I saw today already have distribution and are within a week or two of premiering in Milwaukee, on their own, at our independent theaters. It seems like films WITH STARS and WITH DISTRIBUTION shouldn't play so close to their actual premiere dates. Hmmmm. I hope the Oriental Theater gets paid out for hosting festival sponsored previews of films they are about to show themselves. Discuss.

as ever,
Otis