Bridgeport Film Fest is ready for its close-up
The Bridgeport Film Fest will be returning for its third annual happening from Sept. 8-10 at the Klein Memorial Auditorium. For Jason A. Coombs, the event”™s artistic director, starting and maintaining this event rivalled many of its films for drama and adventure.
“It’s been a journey ”“ there”™s definitely been ups and downs,” he said, noting that his challenges have including retaining sponsors and building an audience in a city where there are no cinemas. “The first year was super strong ”“ we had over 500 people virtual and in person. Last year, it was in July and we had a really big heatwave that weekend, our attendance was a little bit down. We”™re moving into September because we want to get college students and high school students involved, and that’s really hard during the summertime when a lot of them are on vacation.”
This year”™s event is operating as a 501 C-3 initiative under City Lights & Co., the Bridgeport arts venue. Also supporting the event is comic Lisa Lampanelli, who is returning to lead a two-day comedy writing workshop for attendees.
“She has been such a huge supporter of the festival,” Coombs continued. “And this year, she was like, ”˜What can I do to help you?”™ And I was like, ”˜Wait, you actually want to do this again?”™ She’s like, ”˜Yeah, what do you need?”™ And I was like, ”˜Well, do you want to do something like a workshop?”™ And she’s like, ”˜I have an idea.”™ She was open minded and open hearted ”“ and she was like, ”˜I’m good at comedy writing. So let me do that with you.”™ And I was like, ”˜Sure, whatever you want to do. We’ll take it.”™”
Also on tap is a two-day “Virtual Reality for Good Workshop,” which is designed to combine with the festival”™s social justice mission. The first day of the workshop will use VR to put participants to understand the experiences of Black Lives Matter protestors during the 2020 demonstrators following the death of George Floyd, while the second day will use VR to replicate challenges faced by transgender people.
“We”™re putting people in their shoes,” Coombs said, adding that he was working with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, on the high-tech aspect of the workshop.
As for the big screen attractions, Coombs stated this year”™s festival is the biggest since the event began.
“We’re showing 92 films this year from 14 different countries, which is up from our first year where we showed 75 films,” he said. “All our films are short films, between three minutes and 25 minutes. We put them into blocs, so we have 12 different blocs this year. We have a Connecticut filmmakers bloc, which is going to be kicking us off on Friday night. We have a horror film bloc for people who want to get a little spooky. We have an LGBTQ film bloc for LGBTQ films and creators. We have a Black stories bloc and a Latina filmmaker bloc. And we”™re doing a documentary bloc.”
As with the previous festivals, there will be a virtual component along with live screenings. The event will culminate with awards presented by a jury of entertainment industry professionals.
While the Bridgeport Film Fest shares stories from diverse communities and different cultures, Coombs also believes the event can give its host city a boost of positive publicity.
“We all know that Bridgeport has a negative reputation in the media,” he said. “Our hope with this initiative is to inspire the local community to change the narrative and tell their own stories.”
Looking ahead, Coombs envisions the Bridgeport Film Fest as a “SXSW of northeast Connecticut. There’s so much art and culture here that I want to see a flourish.”
The full schedule and ticket information for the Bridgeport Film Fest is available online at BridgeportFilmFest.org.