What's with all the film festivals this time of year (Venice, Telluride, Toronto, NY, American Film Renaissance)? If you haven't heard of that last one, [Their slogan: "Doing films the right way"] for heaven's sake don't tell anyone; they'll know you're not one of them.
AFR is a conservative film festival full of true believers; Bryan Curtis, who must've drawn the short festival coverage straw over at Slate, does a bangup job of unpacking the messages of this obscure, oppressed, voiceless underclass.
After laughing endlessly at cruel Michael Moore fat jokes, Curtis reports how the crowd grew uneasy and confused at David Balsiger's screening. The head of Grizzly Adams productions, Balsiger greenlighted his company's latest film, on George Bush's faith, after commissioning Gallup polls on what's hot with big swaths of Middle America. Yay, Capitalism? Wha? You'd think these people hadn't seen Austin Powers.
Sundance for Republicans [Bryan Curtis, Slate]
American Film Renaissance [what, no invocation?]
Grizzly Adams film and television
