Building a DIY Genre Film Festivals Web Resource to Empower Digital Scholarship and Cultural Heritage Participation

BIG FESTIVITY AND CULTURAL VALUE AT GENRE FILM FESTIVALS

There is a noticeable communal appreciation and joy for the screening of classic martial arts and action films at the Old School Kung Fu Fest in New York City. The annual festival celebrates films from the 1960s through the 1990s and honors filmgoing experiences at the shuttered and sorely missed venues in Manhattan's Chinatown and Times Square. It is a small, weekend genre film festival with big cultural value. The festival exemplifies festival memory, which, as Van Hemert argues, is how "film festivals serve as (temporary) sites of memory, through the programming and screening of films, engagement with local audiences, and promotion of film culture." Such memory is "inextricably linked to the festival staff, audience, and place."¹ At the Old School Kung Fu Fest, returning festival attendees and staff greet one another with the warmth of old friends, while newcomers are received with a welcome mat of spiritedness. Festival programmers present enthusiastic and entertaining prescreening introductions to share the films' personal impact, their experiences viewing the films in yesteryear theaters, and the broader cultural significance of the films, specific film scenes, or the actual film prints secured for the festival. Often, programmers reveal to the appreciative audience the circumstances and difficulties of obtaining rare or archival prints with a proud delight. Raffles for prize giveaways reward a lucky few audience members with genre-appropriate souvenirs of DVDs and Blurays, books, posters, T-shirts, tote bags, and the occasional odd knickknack. The empty-handed applaud their peers' good fortune, recognizing that the real reward is experiencing a special screening with fellow devotees and the curious who understand the event's merit. The downtime waiting in line in the theater lobby or in between screenings becomes an opportunity for casual socializing and networking. One can meet media critics, festival and media scholars, media makers, industry professionals, genre enthusiasts, culture professionals, cinephiles, and archivists who are eager to discuss all aspects of the films. Commonly overheard conversation starters include "how many films are you seeing today?" "how long have you been attending the festival?" and "why are you interested in this film?" Anticipation for the next screening segues into exchanges of genre film knowledge, preferences, opinions, and past festival experiences. Many festivalgoers know one another from attending other local festivals, such as the New York Asian Film Festival, Japan Cuts, and special screenings of genre films throughout the city. Conversations expand to compare or learn of programming choices and peers' experiences at Fantastic Fest, Fantasia, Toronto after Dark, Stanley Film Fest, and other out-of-town genre festivals. The discussions promote curiosity and result in the attendance of more screenings at the festival, and possibly inspire plans to attend other local and out-of-town festivals. While most profess to prefer viewing films on large theater screens, festival attendees seize the opportunity to trade media resources and suggestions to learn how to acquire or view titles rarely screened in theaters because of technological or copyright limitations, format issues, and strict cultural heritage and archival lending policies. In this regard, the festival's influence moves outside of the theater and into the attendees' homes to inspire further film culture engagement and consumption, albeit on smaller screens. The festival continues to expand its geographic influence beyond New York when attendees congregate online to share their festival experiences and knowledge through social media and internet forums.

This descriptive overview of a small, popular culture film festival conveys its evident value as an agent for cultural access and consumption. Old School Kung Fu Fest is not a large, international prestige festival with guest celebrities, panels, Q&As, and industry events, yet it is a node on the esoteric network of niche festivals that are becoming increasingly respected and recognized within the cultural landscape.² The festival promotes both personal and collective film knowledge building and event-based film experiences that are difficult to replicate outside a theater venue and festival atmosphere. Old School Kung Fu Fest provides "liveness," access, immediacy, privilege, community, insider...