Homegrown Auteurs

The County Theater hosts the fourth Bucks Fever FilmFest.

By: Kara Fitzpatrick

Benji Bakshi is the producer, director and cinemaphotographer of Vibrations, one of the winning entries in the Bucks Fever FilmFest.

   The films screening at the Bucks Fever FilmFest share at least one trait — each takes on a life of its own, whether its purpose is to experiment, document history, provide narrative or act as a vehicle to help someone across the globe.
   In total, 54 short independent films from high school, college and emerging filmmakers were submitted to the jury.
   The 15 films selected for the fourth annual festival, to be held June 19-20 at the County Theater in Doylestown, include, among others, Best in Festival Vacationland, a story that follows two brothers during a bike ride across the back roads of Maine; McCarter UpClose, a documentary that tracks the history of McCarter Theatre in Princeton at its 75th anniversary; and Breakfast With Maurice, an experimental piece that uses eggs to reflect on the broader subject of evolution.

PHOTO: DAN BAYNES

Daniel Salau Rogei and Susan Naserian Nkitoria of the Maasai tribe of Kenya, East Africa. They appear in the documentary Quenching the Thirst.

   "When people look at eggs, they instantly have this evolutionary stigmatism," says Breakfast With Maurice filmmaker Monica Hoge. The six-minute film, which will be screened at the festival as Best Emerging Experimental, follows a man through his morning routine of making eggs — six of them.
   "It all takes place in one room and in one stretch of time," says Ms. Hoge, a Syracuse University film student. "I wanted to look at cycles — like a morning routine is a cycle."
   The short has no words, but is full of "deliberate" sounds, says Ms. Hoge, whose short animation Viol also will be screened at the festival. "I wanted the sound (to be) ambient sound, but to also interact and play a role.
   "I layer the sound and work with it in terms of what’s going on thematically," she continues. Achieved by reusing sounds made from a variety of methods — for example, to gain a perfect egg-cracking noise Ms. Hoge crushed garlic cloves — the film aims to involve the ears as well as the eyes in the viewing process.
   In a different vein, Quenching the Thirst was created as a student project but has gone on to do much more.
   Jennifer Ellsworth, who heads Frog Pond Productions — a company that produces videos for non-profit organizations — assisted two Bucks County students, Skylar Bird, 13, and Patrick Rodgers, 14, in creating the six-minute documentary.
   Quenching the Thirst tells about the need of Kenya’s Maasai tribe to generate water sources. It has generated widespread interest in assisting the Maasai and is raising money to purchase a $30,000 well.
   Skylar and Patrick, along with Frog Pond Productions, worked on the film from Thanksgiving to January, says Ms. Ellsworth. The process "was full of these wonderful little moments of serendipity, as we like to call them."
   The story behind Quenching the Thirst began in May 2004, after Doylestown, Pa., resident Phyllis Eckelmeyer met five men in tribal clothing at a New Jersey train platform. She struck up a conversation with the men to learn that they were members of the Maasai tribe, based south of Nairobi, Kenya, and were on their way to New York City to attend the United Nations forum for Indigenous Tribes. At the forum, the men said, they were to speak on their area’s pressing need to create water sources.
   Ms. Eckelmeyer and the men exchanged e-mails, beginning a long-distance friendship. Shortly after Ms. Eckelmeyer met the men, she formed the nonprofit Maasai Cultural Exchange Project — an organization that hosts Maasai tribe members who perform their native songs and dances for area schools, churches and community organizations.
   With that exposure, Skylar and Patrick became aware of the Maasai tribe’s dilemma and decided to produce a documentary to educate others.
   The Maasai tribe members, two of whom will be present at the festival for the screening, "are these wonderfully rich people with this tremendous culture," says Ms. Ellsworth.
   Quenching the Thirst was filmed in Philadelphia and Bucks County. Much of the footage was taken in the fall when a handful of tribe members were in the area. Some footage was taken in Africa by Ms. Eckelmeyer, who traveled to Kenya to visit her daughter, who was teaching for a year in the region.
   "The teenagers literally did all the editing, which was really remarkable," Ms. Ellsworth says.
   The film, says Ms. Ellsworth, has so far been "very well-received. People watch it and they are just drawn to it — it’s really telling when people ask, ‘Can I see it again?’"
   With the positive feedback came encouragement to delve further. "We are in the works to produce a feature length documentary with volunteer professionals," says Ms. Ellsworth. The documentary will focus more thoroughly on the Maasai tribe needs for the valuable natural resource.
   "The overall aim is to build them a well," she says, something that will be possible with the donations from those who are touched by the cause — something that Ms. Ellsworth hopes is the result of the film’s increased exposure.
   The documentary — both the short and the feature length to come — is a tool that will get more eyeballs focused on the problem, says Ms. Ellsworth. So far, she believes it’s working. The project, she says, "has blossomed into something that people are really excited about — they want to know more."
   When creating McCarter UpClose, which will be screened as Best Emerging Documentary, Seth Mellman sought to revisit history in order to educate his viewers.
   "McCarter Theatre just celebrated its 75th anniversary," says Mr. Mellman. "I have a lot of close ties to the McCarter — I am a huge fan."
   He tracked down about 25 people who, in the past 75 years, have played a role in making the history of the well-known establishment.
   "I tried to get the best cross-section of people that had worked at the theater," he says. Included in that cross section are actor John Lithgow, who began his career at McCarter, and pianist Andre Watts.
   Suited for a moviegoer of all interests, the festival will feature animation, music videos and narrative, and promises to be an event that judge Mike Lemon calls "highly entertaining and effective."
   Judge Jeremy Kipp, who received the Best of Festival award last year, says, "This year’s festival will boast the strongest overall collection of shorts to date with a showcase of excellent films.
Bucks Fever FilmFest screenings will take place at the County Theater, 20 E. State St., Doylestown, Pa., June 19, 4 and 7 p.m. Encore showing featuring the "Best of the Best": June 20, 7 p.m. Ticket cost $8, $4.50 Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce/County Theater members. Tickets are on sale at the County Theater box office and the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce. For information, call (215) 348-3913. On the Web: www.bucksfeverfilmfest.com