Muskegon Film Festival showcases international and local projects

January 31, 2008
By Deborah Johnson Wood
Rapid Growth

From bizarre true stories to strange comedies, this year’s Muskegon Film Festival is where filmmakers from all over the globe converge to show off their best stuff. Beginning at noon on January 31, and running through February 2, the festival will showcase nearly 40 films at the historic Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts.

Mr. Art Critic by Traverse City’s Rich Brauer and The Organic Opportunity by Muskegon’s Chris Bedford join films from Australia, Spain, Scotland, and across the US to entertain, shock, and inspire their audiences.

A student film competition spurred the creation of many of the films—like the true story about a guy trapped in a train’s freezer car and the chalk writings he leaves on its walls during his final hours. Or the one about two people who fall in love while waiting for their significant others to pick them up. Or the one about two people who visit a nursing home and convince some of the residents that they’re related to them.

“RIFFRAFF, made in Chicago by GVSU students John Ottobacher and Justen Naughton, is a feature length movie about lifeguards on a beach in Chicago, a kind of summer love movie aimed at the early 20s crowd,” says Mat Moore, film festival president.

“Nightmare in New Guinea, produced by GVSU students in conjunction with the Library of Congress’s living veterans history program, tells about the longest nonstop combat siege of WWII, fought by the 126th Infantry Regiment. Most of those guys were from Muskegon, Holland, and the Grand Rapids area.”

Tickets for the party, individual films, all-event passes, and Saturday passes are available at Star Tickets Plus and the Frauenthal box office.