Hey there!

We’re thrilled to start announcing CCFF’s music lineup along with Fusion Shows.

Thursday, April 11 :: Opening Night
The Mowgli’s and Family of the Year
with special guests Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers
(Tickets here)

Friday, April 12 :: Day Two
Lydia
with special guests From Indian Lakes and Sweet Talker
(Tickets here)

Admission to all concerts are also included in the cost of a CCFF all-access pass, on sale soon for $50. Stay tuned!

When it comes to a film festival, it is good to have selections with a few laughs.

I love documentaries about collecting soup can labels in North Korea, and tense dramas about a divorced couple ordering take-out as much as the next guy, but we can all benefit from a laugh or two. A few chuckles help break up the seriousness which (usually) dominates film festivals. Change is good (especially at an arcade).

I am happy to say, this year’s Capital City Film Festival has plenty of laughs to go around. We had several chuckle-inducing shorts submitted, and most of them made the final cut. Comedy can be difficult to pull off well, which is summed up best by the oft-used quote, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.”

Hippy Ninja offers up action and comedy in one hilarious, and well-shot, package. Fans of Kill Bill and other such films will get a kick out of this martial arts spoof (pun intended, because I don’t know any better).

For those who enjoy monologues or stand-up, Bathing and the Single Girl will scratch that itch. The entire short is the star sharing a monologue about dating younger men, and no, it does not star Demi Moore.

Kickstarter gets a much needed lampooning in Cliffstarter. One of the shortest films to make the final cut, Cliffstarter offers up plenty of absurd humor, just like my last IRA audit (I still say a Boba Fett costume is a legit business expense).

If footballs to the groin are more your style of humor, don’t miss Cotton County Boys. The boys have more fun shooting embarrassing videos than my ex-wives’ private detectives.

Speaking of awkward romance, courtship humor abounds in Street Pillow or the Sidewalk Sleep. Plus, it features Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman in a show stealing scene.

Death does not always have to be serious, as seen in Horizontal Accidents and The Extraordinary Life of Rocky. The former features con-men trying to make a buck of the dead, while the latter is like if Amelie and Royal Tenenbaums had a baby. A well shot, hilarious baby.

Finally, there is After School Special, which is a great example of a slow-build up, followed by a killer punch line. Leave the monocles and martinis at home for this one. While this year’s CCFF features some well-made, but super-serious submissions, there are more than enough funny shorts to balance things out. But, like alternating between dessert and salad at a buffet, watching some of each will make you appreciate the other much more.

–
Daniel J. Hogan is a member of the Selection Committee, and the geek half of Ginger and the Geek. His mom thinks he is funny. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

I’m sure you know by now that the Film Festival is more than just film.

If you do not, then please see me after class.

For this year’s festival we’ve partnered with Fusion Shows to put together four amazing nights of music. Our headliners have impressive resumes that include SXSW, world tours, and industry awards. This is exactly the kind of thing many people say needs to come to Lansing more often. Well… it’s coming.

Murder by Death is a band I’m particularly excited to see again. I caught one of their live shows at the Intersection in Grand Rapids a few years ago, and it was fantastic. They’ve been likened to Nick Cave, the Decemberists, and Johnny Cash – probably because vocalist Adam Turla sounds shockingly like the legendary man in black – but their music has an amazingly unique and authentic feel to it. It’s like a colonel’s secret recipe consisting of equal parts indie rock, classic Americana, folk, a pinch of soul, and a dash of country (the good kind, not pop-country).

Making this show even better is a set of supporting acts that we’re lucky to have sharing a single night. Bars of Gold (former Bear vs. Shark), The Fencemen (former Small Brown Bike), and Flatfoot are honestly worth the price of admission. This night will not disappoint.

Friday, April 13th, $13.00.

Awesome, or spooky? Both, but mostly awesome.

-Jake “Don’t make me Rocky you” Pechtel

Hey friends, we’ve got news.

Beginning March 23rd, you and your li’l buddies have 2 weeks to make the best friggin’ movie in the world. Cash prizes of $3500, so do a good job. Registration for the Fortnight Film Contest is now open and includes 2 full-festival passes.

Full-festival passes are on sale now. This year, they get you into all 4 days of films, concerts and TEDxLansing. The best 50 bucks you’ll ever spend? We think so.

And in case you missed our music lineup announcement, catch up here.

Details on films coming soon. Don’t go anywhere.

-Dominic Cochran, CCFF Director 

This April, I’ll be going to the Capital City Film Festival. It will be my first time experiencing a film festival of any sort, and honestly I cannot wait. I’ve always thought that to go to something like this I’d have to be in Chicago or LA or some really artsy city, so I’m pumped that a film festival of this size and quality will be right here in Lansing! I’m eager to see all the different types of films that will be shown and to really explore what independent film making is all about. Aside from the films, I’m also looking forward to the band performances, the red carpet launch, and the after parties. Most of all though, I’m excited to see our city of Lansing turn into a “mini” Hollywood for a few nights. My countdown to the Capital City Film Festival has officially begun. 43 days!

-Jenn, CCFF intern

We’re thrilled to announce this year’s music lineup along with Fusion Shows! April 12-15 we’ll be welcoming the following artists to Michigan’s capital city:

Thursday: Greensky Bluegrass
Friday: Murder By Death
Saturday: William Elliott Whitmore
Sunday: LIGHTS

For tickets and stuff, read on.

There’s more than film in Lansing. Indeed.

-Payal Ravani, CCFF Coordinator 

Putting together a festival of any kind is SUPER easy. All you need is the idea and a couple hours of free time each week. 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there, and boosh, you have a totally amazing and hugely successful festival. The hard part is counting all of the money. 

If any of the above statements were true, I’d be writing this blog post from a hammock at a location where fall, winter and spring are known as summer part two, three and four. 

The truth is that event planning is hard even if the event is just two hours long. The Film Festival spans four days, and it takes place at venues all across Lansing. It takes a lot of people and support to pull off – which is exactly why ancient executives invented the intern. 

It is also believed that interns were invented to go on lunch runs, copy things, make coffee, hide bodies, and obtain narcotics for performing artists. The last two are pretty specific to the entertainment industry. 

We have a rocking set of interns this year who will be sharing all kinds of festival insights and news with you by posting updates on the CCFF blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts. They are Chelsea, Amanda, Chanda, Jenn, Liz and Alex. At this time, they are more organized than the rest of the Festival coordinators could ever hope to be. For their hard work, they will be paid handsomely in t-shirts, stickers, and tickets. Maybe cookies too… but that depends on how well they hide the bodies. 

-Jake “I’m gonna need a blank check” Pechtel, CCFF Entertainment Director

Hey there cinephiles. It’s been a minute.

We’re thrilled to announce the return of the Capital City Film Festival, happening April 12-15 throughout Lansing.

Last year’s festival drew thousands of people to the capital city for Michigan-made and international films, lively discussions with filmmakers and diverse nightly entertainment.

This year, CCFF is all that and then some. TEDxLansing, an independently organized TED conference highlighting “ideas worth spreading” joins the CCFF line-up. MSU’s Media Sandbox welcomes Ben Fry and Jared Cocken. But that’s not all.

The Fortnight Film Contest gives filmmakers two weeks to create a short film with designated elements for a chance to win $3,500 in cash prizes. The contest begins March 23 and registration opens soon. Build your team now.

-The CCFF Team

Trying to describe Aardvark, from director Kitao Sakurai, is a lot like trying to describe a color.  You: “What does red look like?” Me: “Red”.  You: “What is Aardvark like?”  Me: “Aardvark”.  It truly is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and that fills me with a type of excitement about film I rarely feel.  I can’t stop talking about it, to the point where I think I’m starting to annoy my friends.  But I haven’t talked to you guys before! :^D (Excited face, plus my big nose)

The story of Aardvark is simple.  A blind man named Larry, in continuing attempts to keep his alcoholism under control, decides to take Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lessons.  A friendship forms with his instructor, and a horrific act of violence sends Larry on a quest to understand what happened and who is responsible.  Like I said, very simple.  The narrative of this film isn’t what makes it so compelling, one of the reasons it’s so darned hard to explain the appeal of it.
 
So let’s try the hook: Larry and his instructor Darren aren’t actors, they are the actual people that inspired this story!  Using a combination of real and staged footage, the film slides seamlessly from documentary to fiction film! Crazy!

Did I just blow your mind? Probably.

But this isn’t just a gimmick.  You don’t spend the entire film wondering what’s real and what’s not, that becomes clear pretty quickly. But rather, the reality of the characters intensifies everything about their performances.  Larry is actually blind, so while he’s wandering around the city alone, it makes him seem so much more vulnerable than if it was just an actor.  It’s tense, believe me.  This isn’t to say he isn’t capable, he really is, but he’s also alone.

This is in addition to the oddly beautiful cinematography.  Most of the locations are downright ugly, but they’re shot in a way that is somehow beautiful.  The camera moves slowly if at all, and the shots tend to be pretty minimal.  It fits the tenor of the film perfectly.  There is a “blindness” to the way the camera isn’t showing us everything or whipping around like an excited dog. While the shots can linger a little too long at times, the music more than makes up for the lack of action.

Ultimately, this is a strange film, and the music is strange.  The group “Fall On Your Sword” produced some pretty intense and unusual electronic music for the soundtrack.  Immediately after watching the movie, I looked them up to see if they had any other releases.  When’s the last time I did that?  A LONG TIME AGO! The music keeps you from getting too comfortable during the moments of downtime.  You’ll be thinking, “Whew, they’re just driving, I can relax now… what is this music?!  I can’t relax at all!”

The thing is, I’m really struggling to describe this film.  Talking about the individual aspects of it isn’t really satisfying, so I think I’m just going to let you in to my brain while I was watching it.

“Damn, this guy is really blind, not acting.  Crazy!”

“This must be real footage of their Jiu-Jitsu lessons. IS IT REAL?!”

“This is so well-shot, even though on paper, it shouldn’t be, I guess.”

“WHAT IS HE DOING I’M SO NERVOUS!”

“This movie is so crazy.”

“What is this music?  I want an album of this music so I can drive to it and pretend like I’m in a strange independent film.”

“WE WILL BRING THIS MOVIE TO LANSING AND THEY WILL REJOICE!”

I’m so excited for you all to see it.  

I just hope this post makes you want to see the film, even if it doesn’t really do it justice.  But maybe having Darren, the jiu-jitsu instructor, on hand to answer questions will make you want to see it more.

Oh yeah, by the way, he will be at the festival!  OMGOMG I KNOW!  I have so many questions for him!  You will, too!

Get your tickets for Aardvark ——-> here <——- For a full schedule visit www.capitalcityfilmfest.com
-Dan Hartley, CCFF Co-Programming Director 

Friday April 15th is sure to be a memorable night at the fest. We’ll be screening the Hip-Hop documentary Respiration(directed by Matt Ortlieb), followed by a full-on show featuring national and local favorites.

Danny Brown, Buff1, Othello and the Third Coast Kings, SelfSays and Blat! Pack will all be taking the stage for a concert the likes of which Lansing hasn’t seen since, well, Respiration! The screening and all performances will be taking place at The Loft above Harem Urban Lounge on Michigan Ave. in downtown Lansing. Local artists DJ Ruckus and Blat! Pack will be the hosts for the evening.

A classic Respiration flyer:

Danny Brown

“Brown raps like he’s crossbred and full of cold blood. He’s a reconciliation of ostensibly antithetical schools. His voice is all nasal-drip and comic exaggeration, the rap equivalent of a Looney Tunes chase, a lunge at impressive velocities with bulging eyes, flying feet, and clouds of choking dirt.” -L.A. Times

(@xdannyxbrownx on twitter)

Buff1

This dude has been blessing shows in the Capital City since the days of those classic sweaty Vinyl Addict basement parties. He used to roll with his whole crew from the Athletic Mic League, but after 3 critically lauded solo efforts, the man’s work surely stands on it’s own. Will he bring some AML friends this time? All I know is that he’s always full of surprises.

(@buff1der on twitter)

Othello and the Third Coast Kings

Othello, a performer known world wide, will be playing with a live band, The Third Coast Kings.

“(Othello’s) lead single “Active Balanced” featuring Now On and Mayer Hawthorne is an ode to every beat maker, to every basement studio, every emcee who ever wrote lyrics on loose leafs… sitting in their apartments in love with the music… in love with the grind and passion and honesty in the struggle of making that music…” -sphereofhiphop.com

(@OthelloONE on twitter)

SelfSays

Metro Times article Who The F&%k is SelfSays?  ‘nuff said.

Oh wait, you can also download his new EP courtesy of Urb Magazine.

(@selfischarles on Twitter)

Blat! Pack

Our hosts for the evening are a well rounded collective of local hip-hop artists who are making a name for themselves all over the mitten and the country. Just back from SXSW!

(@BLATPack on twitter)

DJ Ruckus

Local favorite DJ Ruckus will be the host DJ for the evening. Anyone around the scene in Lansing for any amount of time knows he never disappoints!

Tickets are on sale now for this epic night of hip-hop entertainment. Our full-festival passes and full schedule are available on our website and individual ticket sales will start next week!