Watching independent movies year-round
Plus: crying my eyes out at Tallgrass, 'Mom and Dad's Nipple Factory'
Per usual, I had a delightful time at the Tallgrass Film Festival, held Oct. 5-8 in Wichita. Afterward, I made my usual pledge to see more movies in theaters over the next year.
This resolution is not without precedent, but I mostly don’t follow through. I’m out of the habit in general, and I tend to let smaller films’ short or one-off runs pass me by.
While I was writing this newsletter about going to see more movies, Documentary Magazine published a story called “Hungry for More: A New Crop of Independent Film Organizations Thrives in the Great Plains” by Wichita-based writer Jeromiah Taylor. The story covers orgs like Stray Cat Film Center (Kansas City), the Transgender Film Center (Olathe, Kansas), and mamafilm and Tallgrass (Wichita).
Embedded in the story is one good reason to catch films in theaters:
“There’s something about being in a movie theater that’s important,” [Stray Cat programmer Dave] Alpert said, testifying to the communal power of film-going. “Agreeing that we’re going to be there together, watch this thing together, and share in that.”
I’m proud to report I’ve done that twice since Tallgrass, albeit in chain theaters (“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” and “The Holdovers”).
To add more indie-movies-in-theaters to my diet, I’ll turn to the Tallgrass Film Center, which presents recent independent and classic films in its 30-seat theater inside the Lux, 120 E. 1st St. N. It’s easy to find street parking on First or Market (free after 5 p.m. and on weekends) and the seats are pretty comfy. I have tickets to see “Nellie Don the Musical Movie” later this month, and I previewed the documentary “Mom and Dad’s Nipple Factory,” which is playing this weekend.
I’ll report back on how my movie-theater-going resolution pans out.
‘Mom and Dad’s Nipple Factory’ plays at the Tallgrass Film Center
Brian and Randi are a conservative Christian couple from Eau Claire, Wisconsin who started a prosthetic nipple business from their small home.
Their oldest son also happens to be a filmmaker, and it’s Justin Johnson’s drive to understand his parents that grounds “Mom and Dad’s Nipple Factory” in a scenario familiar to many children of the Midwest: the rift that forms when one member of the family strays too far from the value system they were raised to embrace.
Sometimes a shared hobby or affection for a sports team works to bridge the gap. For Johnson, it was his fascination with an entrepreneurial venture that seemed at odds with his parents’ conservative natures. Brian and Randi consent to talk on camera about how they got there: Brian’s serial entrepreneurship, Randi’s breast cancer, and the difficulty of surgically reconstructing a nipple (especially after a single mastectomy).
“Mom and Dad’s Nipple Factory” plays today (Nov. 4) at 4 p.m. and tomorrow (Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. at the Tallgrass Film Center inside The Lux, 120 E. 1st St. N. Tickets are $12.28 with taxes and fees, and you can buy them online.
Looking back on a weepy Tallgrass Film Festival
I cry a lot while watching movies. And TV. And sometimes … commercials. But as a rule, I am not big on crying. On the rare occasions I burst into tears when I’m not in front of a screen, it’s usually unexpected, unwelcome, and embarrassing. But in a dark theater, I can relax and let my limbic system do its thing.
I cried a lot during the 21st Tallgrass Film Festival, and never more than during the very first screening, the documentary shorts program. “Sanctuary” introduces Krista Wyatt, a former firefighter, EMT and city council member in her hometown of Lebanon, Ohio. Wyatt resigned from her position on the council after the city passed an ordinance declaring it a “sanctuary city for the unborn.” Then Wyatt must decide whether there’s still a place for her there. Other short doc standouts included “The Script,” an investigation into conversations that take place between doctors and patients seeking trans-affirming heal thcare; “Friday Night Blind,” about a league of sighted and visually impaired bowlers in Milwaukee; and the animated doc “American Sikh,” in which Vishavjit Singh’s reconciles his love for American pop culture with the discrimination he experiences in the U.S.
Tearstained, I rolled right into “To the Moon and Back,” a narrative film about a teenager who decides to make a movie based on a sci-fi script written by her late father. It was preceded by the short, crayon-drawn animated film “Rosemary A.D.,” in which filmmaker Ethan Barrett imagines what his daughter’s life would be like if he died by suicide. Oof.
On Friday, “Your Fat Friend,” about writer and podcaster Aubrey Gordon, got me more than once, but I nearly lost it completely at the scene during which she’s giving a reading at Powell’s Books and her father leans over to tell the woman next to him, “That’s my daughter.”
I’d already watched “Chasing Chasing Amy” twice by the time we saw it at Tallgrass (because I wrote about it for the Eagle.) Even though the documentary about Sav Rodgers’ unlikely obsession with a Kevin Smith film had already made me cry, I still teared up. This time I was struck by different scenes, like when screenwriter Guinevere Turner talks about how Kevin Smith’s career took off after “Clerks,” whereas she and her fellow “Go Fish” filmmakers were regarded as “just a bunch of dykes.”
Was the programming particularly sad this year? I don’t really think so — I just happened to catch some real weepers, particularly during the first couple of days. It made for a different kind of festival experience, though not an unwelcome one.
Meanwhile, if you have theater-going tips for me, please share!
Till next time,
Emily