Flagstaff: A Cinema Mecca?

"The Push Bike"screened at the Manhattan Short Film Festival last Thursday.

  Has anybody else noticed that Flagstaff is becoming a film town?

  For instance, this week on Tuesday, the College of Arts and Letters is screening "The Bicycle Thief;" on Wednesday, the NAU International Film Series is screening the German film "Nobody's Perfect," and the Orpheum is screening "Ride the Divide;"  The Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival is showing over 60 films Thursday - Sunday; and there is the Fashion Film Festival on campus, this Saturday.

  Film, anyone?!

  Just to warm up for this week of extreme film-viewing, I attended the Manhattan Short Film Festival last Thursday at Cline Library.  The Manhattan shorts were taken from 10 different countries.  We, as an audience, got to choose our favorite, and vote for them.

  The screening was fantastic, and a great chance to see shorts in Flagstaff.  The only speed bump in our experience was the young man in front of us who couldn't stop playing Monopoly on his cell phone, smack dab in our line of vision.  My friend asked him to turn it off or leave; turning it off seemed to be too hard for him, so thankfully he eventually just left.

  But back to film in Flagstaff.  I can't believe how many people have put their hard work into making these film festivals happen.  A lot of them are free, or deeply discounted for students.  They are usually films that you will never get to see at Harkins, and probably not even on Netflix.  The festival organizers want everyone to see them, to experience them, to think about what they are saying.  It's a labor of love, just so we can see good stuff on the big screen!    

  Film is one of the most accessible forms of art in this town, and it's open to everyone.  It's so great to enjoy with people of all ages.  Maybe I'll see you in the seats, watching the silver screen this week.