CS film festival to show Fishbone history

  • By Robert Saucedo
  • Posted: Thursday, March 31, 2011 7:00 a.m.
  • Text size: A A A

This weekend, the Texas Film Festival returns to College Station -- bringing with it a strong sampling of independent films from across the country.


Programmed by the Aggie SWAMP (Screenwriting, Acting and Movie Production) Club and sponsored by MSC Aggie Cinema, Texas A&M Film Studies, Drifting Creatives and the Association of Former Students at Texas A&M, the 2011 Texas Film Festival will run Friday-Sunday.


Each day will feature a variety of films -- both short and feature-length -- panels and question and answer sessions with visiting filmmakers.


The festival kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday at Rudder Theater with a short film line-up followed by the Texas-shot feature film A Savior Red. Written and directed by Brian Scott Hunt, A Savior Red is a thriller about a group of friends affected by a drug deal gone wrong.


On Saturday, the filmmakers behind A Savior Red will start the day's programming with a panel discussion in Rudder Tower. A selection of short films will follow the panel -- screening both in Rudder Tower and Rudder Theater.


At 8:30 p.m. in Rudder Theater, Turkey Bowl will screen. Having played at the South by Southwest Film Festival to rave reviews, Turkey Bowl tells a real-time comedic story of an annual football game between friends.


Sunday will feature more workshops and short film line-ups -- including a compilation titled Aggieland, I Love You, a collection of short films that explore Texas A&M's devotes.


The closing night film for the Texas Film Festival is Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone. Directed by Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler, the movie is a hugely interesting look at the hard-to-classify late '80s heavy metal/punk band Fishbone. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, the film explores the band's origins as a motley group of eccentric friends growing up in Los Angeles. Despite a meteoric rise to fame and a record deal, Fishbone never found themselves able to connect with a mainstream audience -- drawing huge critical acclaim but left in the dust commercially by contemporary acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction.


Everyday Sunshine uses an appropriately piecemeal assortment of animation styles to bring to life the band's story -- a story told via a wide assortment of interviews with band members, friends, family and fellow musicians.


Especially fascinating is the band's present day struggles -- the story of which is intercut with the band's history. Left mostly broke and without a career to stand on, Fishbone struggles to reassert themselves as a viable act after half of the band leaves for a variety of reasons including clashing egos and mental breakdowns.


The movie is exactly the type of music documentary that thrives in a film festival setting. Experimental, honest and high in energy, Everyday Sunshine is a documentary that truly honors a groundbreaking musical act.


The Texas Film Festival is an excellent way to enjoy some unique films that won't necessarily be playing at the local megaplexes. Whether they are from first-time directors, college students experimenting with their creativity or up-and-coming talent destined to be tomorrow's stars, the films screened at the Texas Film Festival should prove much more worth watching than anything being distributed in wide release this weekend.


For more information about the festival, tickets and the complete line-up, go to www.txfilmfest.com.



• E-mail Robert Saucedo at robertsaucedo2500@yahoo.com

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