Those who missed the Insomniac Film Festival have a second chance to watch the movies it featured at the Third on Third Art Gallery.
The exhibit featuring the Insomniac films officially opened on Friday. The purpose behind the Insomniac Film Festival is to challenge entrants to create a short film in 24 hours of less.
"The Arts Council held a film making competition in July," said Len Barry, program director for the Arts Council for Chautauqua County. "We gave the contestants 24 hours to make a short film between 2 and 4 minutes long. They started on a Thursday night and turned in their films on a Friday night. We screened them at the Reg studio theatre, but we had some open space in the gallery this fall, so we decided to put them into rotation up here in the gallery. We will screen the five shorts that were part of the film festival upstairs on one half of the gallery, and the other half will be dedicated to movies made by local middle schools."
Article Photos
The Third on?Third Gallery hosts a movie that was part of the Insomniac Film Festival.
P-J photo by Remington Whitcomb
The Insomniac Film Festival featured short films by Cody DeLong, Eric Basile, Barry Meyer, Don Hill and Paul Schermerhorn.
"It's great having your work shown at a gallery, especially here, because this is such a great gallery," Basile said. "I really encourage everyone to come here and visit the gallery for at least a few minutes while (this exhibit) is up. There really is a thriving art scene in Jamestown, and it's good for people to come here and see who's who with regards to (filmmaking). The big goal is, I would say, that we continue to get people and keep people interested in filmmaking so we can continue to make bigger and better things."
Basile's film, which was entitled "Successful Steve" took second place in the Insomniac Film Festival, runner-up to Cody DeLong.
"(The film) is about a young man who finds out what happens when he calls his own phone number from his own phone," said Basile. "The results are somewhat disturbing."
Basile said that completing the video within the 24 hour time limit wasn't too difficult, but he enjoyed the challenge it placed upon his creative process.
Another filmmaker from the Insomniac festival, Don Hill, attended the opening for the exhibit. Hill's movie is called "Red" and is described as an extremely condensed version of "Little Red Riding Hood."
"I was the director and Amanda Wickmark was the only actress in the film," said Hill. "This movie, since we only had 24 hours - I wanted to have a very small cast. I did all the writing and directing and (Wickmark) did all the acting. I'm excited that my film and all the other films will be displayed at the Third on Third Gallery, because it gives the community the opportunity to see what is going on in the Jamestown area with regards to (filmmaking). The videos have been posted online, but there hasn't been a tremendous response there, so it's nice that people can come here and see what is going on in the community. I look forward to next year when we will showcase more local talent."
Hill, like many of the other filmmakers in the contest, is an active member of the local art and entertainment scene. In addition to writing and directing short films for the Insomniac Film Festival, he is cast as the role of Professor Callahan in JCC's production of "Legally Blonde," which will open Nov. 2 at JCC's Scharmann Theatre. Additionally, Wickmark is cast as Brooke Wyndham in the production.
The Third on Third Gallery is open to the public from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on weekdays. Admission is free.
Private viewings off-schedule may be made by calling 664-2465, ext. 227.
For more information, visit www.artscouncil.com.