Look Mom, No Studio

"Deep thinkers, shallow pockets, big ideas, small bank accounts and, as always, NO FAT CATS."

That's the motto of the Hi Mom! Film Festival, where a $13 weekend pass is the ticket to 49 independent films, a performance by Poncho Holly and the chance to mingle with the filmmakers behind the films.

Despite rapid growth and increasing success since its beginning four years ago, Hi Mom! remains a forum for creativity. "When choosing the films we try not to pick 'calling-card' pieces that may look slick with high production values, but lack originality and tend to be very market-oriented," said co-organizer Kendra Gaeta.

In addition to promoting originality and experimentation, Hi Mom! is all about just having a good time. Co-organizer Michael Connor takes pride in the enjoyment of both filmmakers and attendees.

"The best compliment for us is what my friend Kathy told me after going to the festival," he said. "Hi Mom! is the only film festival you can really just have fun at."

Even the awards ceremonies at Hi Mom! are innovative, entertaining and even incendiary. Besides $200 in cash prizes and $500 in film stock, winning filmmakers carry away flaming hand-crafted trophies that only occasionally have to be stamped out.

If festivalgoers get hungry, they'll find the food is creative and fun, too. In fact, it's personalized. Attendees can order up pancakes hot off the griddle in the shape of their initials.

There are even prizes for the audience. "We'll be raffling off a lunch date with me or the slightly less coveted date with Kendra," Connor says. "C'mon, it's just a dollar a chance. I like sushi or Mexican or Indian."

The Hi Mom! festival began as a single screening of student films hosted by the Carolina Production Guild four years ago. Gaeta and Connor, now UNC graduates, were both students at the time. They recognized the potential for the event, and created Chapel Hill's only competitive film festival as a complement to Flicker, a monthly independent film screening.

Gaeta and Connor have been putting Hi Mom! on the map in the independent film circuit via e-mail, telephone and word of mouth. Their advertisement for short, original, independent films recruited more than 300 hopeful entries from across the nation and five continents this year.

With no entry fee and an insistence on low-budget productions, anyone with something to show has a chance. "If somebody's got a video camera and an idea, that's all they need," Gaeta said.

But low-cost doesn't mean the films aren't high quality. Friday night's screening includes Academy Award nominee "Rejected" by Don Hertzfeldt. And with so many entries, Hi Mom!'s organizers can be highly selective about the films. "If a film lost us even for a minute, we didn't use it," Connor said.

This year's Hi Mom! festival features six screenings over three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The films range from half a minute to 32 minutes and are grouped according to style into different screenings.

Friday's films, shown at the Hanes Art Center and the Varsity Theatre, include titles like "Pie Fight 69," "Cucalitis" and Connor's own "JLB Television."

"They're fun, energetic and thought-provoking," he said.

Saturday's events at the Cat's Cradle, which include a performance by local act Poncho Holly, come recommended even for people who aren't really into film. "Saturday night's screenings have a lot of funny, edgy films," said Connor. "These short zingers have a lot of appeal for everyone."

The films filling the slot Sunday afternoon at the Hanes Art Center are the most challenging and furthest from a typical Hollywood blockbuster. They are mostly aimed at more serious film critics, though everyone is welcome, Connor said.

Sunday night at the Hanes Art Center, Hi Mom! will host its first-ever Locals Only screening. The nine films that will be shown were produced in North Carolina, by and for North Carolinians.

Hi Mom! has been doing so well that this year Connor and Gaeta are taking the best of the last four years on tour. They're visiting cities from Orlando to Philadelphia, and bringing the pancake griddle with them. "Filmmakers want to go on tour so bad because they're friends with musicians who are always getting to do it," Connor said.

Hi Mom! may not have the glitz and glamour of Sundance, but it offers an experience in America's real independent film culture and a good alternative to the same old things to do. The films are beautiful, intriguing, entertaining and sometimes strange. So make yourself more interesting and head to Hi Mom! this weekend.

Weekend passes are available at Internationalist Books. Tickets per screening are sold at the door.

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.