In a place like Grand Rapids — a smallish-to-medium-sized city taking a real solid crack at becoming a creative hub — the plight of a creator finding the right avenue to do their thing seems to be a pretty common yarn.
For some, say musicians, the path around town is relatively well-worn; cultivated and maintained by a kinetic network of people with a hand in putting shows together.
But for those that wander other corners of the creative cosmos, filmmakers in particular, finding a home has been trickier. A Friday night rock show graced with cheap drinks isn’t a real tough sell — but where might you go to see what West Michigan’s filmmakers are up to?
For a little over a year-and-a-half now, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in downtown Grand Rapids has been playing host with their Open Projector Night series. On Wednesday, March 26, they’ll be celebrating their seventh installation of OPN.
The basis for OPN essentially has stayed the same since it’s inception, said Brandon Belote, an audio/video tech at the UICA. Each event screens a number of short film projects, with subject matter and aesthetics of every variety, and at the end of the night, the audience votes on their favorite piece.
“I originally envisioned it becoming a type of ‘Gong Show,’ where the audience cheers and boos at videos,” Belote said. “Instead, the spirit has been very thoughtful and respectful. A number of filmmakers have told me that without [OPN], there’s no motivation to work on new film projects.”
Having the right outlet is kind of the fire under the cauldron, Belote said, who recounts his early days of trying to set up showings around town with some frustration. Fresh out of Kendall College of Art and Design and working a food service job to get by, his first attempts at putting shows together were blunted by both technical shortcomings and the lack of an engaged audience.
“I tried showing a couple times in town, but I found very few venues were set up to run video,” Belote said. “Most of those venues didn’t attract many people. It was clear there needed to be a venue that show film projects the way they were meant to be seen, and also where people would come to see these shows.”
Recalling a story he had heard of a theatre in Los Angeles where filmmakers met up to show every month or so, Belote reckoned finding the right place was key to getting something similar to take off in Grand Rapids.
He found it in the UICA, which boasts a pretty wicked 197-seat theatre, well suited for visiting filmmakers who are able to come and utilize the venue’s setup without huge personal expenses.
Since the first OPN, the lineups have become more streamlined, said UICA staff member Matt Boman.
“In the past, we’ve tended to have a few strong pieces that were integral to the show with other shorts that operated more as antitheses to them,” Boman said. “Not that they were bad, but they worked more as opposition pieces rather than unifying pieces.”
The amount of submitted work has only helped the cohesion of things. A larger volume of films also has allowed the staff to create more thematic shows.
“This show, in my opinion, is the strongest in terms of an overall streamlined running concept, which is a place where I’d rather [OPN] be,” Boman said.
However, Belote and other staff members at the UICA consistently are working to spread the word and boost involvement. A good chunk of the Grand Rapids film scene consists of students, Belote said, whose involvement often sputters post-graduation.
Just like any community trying to build a reputation for themselves, it can be a struggle to keep local talent in the area, rather than jumping ship for something better-established. But that’s not to say the West Michigan film community isn’t making a name for itself, said Boman.
“ ... I hope people recognize the potential Michigan has in terms of film production and have the outside world take it seriously,” Boman said. “Time and time again, I’ve heard from people who’ve moved out to the coasts to work in film say they’ve been praised for their hard work ethic. Obviously this means the people here are more than capable of breaking out into it.”
Grand Rapids-based artist Casey Huizenga, who studies painting at Kendall, has submitted pieces for five installations of OPN. His most recent submission, entitled “Party Marty,” won the audience vote. Huizenga calls it a film concerned with “social identity, consciousness and conscience within the human condition.”
Note: I know Huizenga personally, and have seen “Party Marty.” In laymans, it’s a short film of an ultra-inebriated man on a street corner, cut with some truly fascinating and wildly surreal sequences. He describes it as a juxtaposition of good (awareness) and evil (inebriation). While an audience member might not be quick see it that way, one of the perks of OPN is an open question-and-answer panel at the end of the night, so you can ask filmmakers about these sorts of things. (It’s sort of like someone farting in the room, and after some internal deliberation, opening up a discussion about what they ate that day — it’s awesome.)
“We do strive to achieve a balance between entertaining people and fostering discussion about regional art,” said UICA staff member Katie Jones. “Discussion is crucial to the development of a self-aware community of filmmakers, and entertainment keeps the event from taking itself too seriously. There’s a really interesting complexity that happens when both things are present.”
Film, just like music or journalism or any potentially digital media, is changing, Belote said, along with audience expectations.
“I want to see what people are making and what people want to experience,” Belote said. “When an audience sees a cinematic short film next to a music video followed by a home movie, it makes the viewer experience this contrast, too. Hopefully they form questions about film and video.”
Regardless, filmmakers and new faces continue to sweep through the UICA, giving the event a continuous sense of dynamic collaboration. Local filmmaker Jeremy Knickerbocker says what you may take away from it varies.
“I would hope for an Open Projector Night audience member to take away with them some sort of elevated consciousness; whether it's an expanded awareness of the cinematic happenings in their community, an insightful thought or an inspiration to create,” said Knickerbocker. “I don't think that art and entertainment need to be thought of as mutually exclusive here, as cinema has a great way of blending the two.”
Open Projector Night No. 7 takes over the UICA theatre at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 26. The event is free for UICA members, $4 non-members. For more information, visit uica.org/event/openprojectornight/
