FILM/Festivals/Minnesota
The Bearded Child Film Festival
August 6, 7

Grassroots film fest directed by local student/film buff Dan Anderson, who wanted an indie film fest for the folks out in northern Minnesota.

The Bearded Child Film Festival started as a small "micro cinema" at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2000. As the founder tells it, the fest was set up thusly: projecting 16mm on the wall with a "found-in-the-high-school-dumpster" Bell and Howell projector, and bootleg videos through the "wall of televisions", the event attracted crowds ranging from one (a visiting filmmaker) to forty (on free Belgium waffle night).

Year two of the festival attracted over 50 films; the tiny homegrown festival has since received entries by indie filmmakers artists from all over the US, Canada, Austria, Australia, Singapore, and Japan, making "Bearded Child" a small-town magnet for off-beat films.

Highlights:

"Gulliver's Travels" (3 Minutes)
Held hostage by her dolls, a girl is forced into a showdown between good and evil in this offbeat, stop-motion short.

"AlieNation" (5 Minutes)
A shocking expose on the real reason pods, er, cubicles exist. Watch in horror, as aliens use corporate American culture to breed...stupidity.

"The Guilt Trip" (14 Minutes)
Stop-motion road movie starring Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

"Pumpkin Phi" (6 Minutes)
Film based on the Fibonacci Spiral, a geometric spiral which uses the Fibonacci Numbers (0,1,1,2,3,5,18...) as its dimensions. The director was experimenting to see what 'mathematical perfection' would look like on film.

"Tom Hits His Head" (8 Minutes)
Ever since Tom hit his head he's been getting dizzy spells, indulging in eBay, and having conversations with the devil. This film is a comedic short film about a not-so-funny time in the director's own life.

[Shown: "Tom Hits His Head"]

Find it: Myles Reif Performing Arts Center
Grand Rapids, MN
Get info: [email only] info@beardedchild.com

Find other film festivals worldwide, in the August 2004 issue of "Arte Six".