While South Boston has not had its own movie theater since the closure of The Bug House back in the mid-80s, the first-ever Southie Film Festival opened its doors at the Seapoint Bar and Grill on Saturday, bringing a little bit of Hollywood back to the neighborhood.
The event is the brainchild of neighbor Andrew Connelly and Ted Omsley. With half a decade of filmmaking experience each, the duo said they wanted to make something more approachable than your typical film festival – a real working man’s Sundance.
“We basically want a film festival that’s accessible to everyone,” Connelly said. “A lot of other film festivals, not a lot of people who aren’t filmmakers go to them.”
Film festivals can be launchpads for careers in the industry, with household names like Quentin Tarantino, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Michael B. Jordan all originating on the festival circuit. Unfortunately, gaining entry into festivals can be a burden for many independent creators, who face high submission fees and the risk of funding, shooting, and submitting a film only to have it rejected.
Connelly and Omsley designed the Southie Film Festival to break down the bulk of these barriers with a low $10 entry fee and a profit-sharing agreement on ticket sales. “We want to have the profits go to the filmmakers afterward rather than them paying a boatload of money to get into a festival and then possibly getting denied and getting nothing out of it,” Connelly said.
Though the event received more submissions than could reasonably be fit into a single day, the duo said they were excited about all 18 films on display. The festival’s programming was organized into the Townie, New Englander, Feature, and “Friggin Scary” blocks for local, regional, feature-length, and horror flicks, respectively.
Though Boston has its share of Damons, Afflecks, and Edebiris, Omsley said he has high hopes for the city as a place where films are made.
“A lot of big projects are coming through, and just a lot of people are getting into the independent space. There’s a lot of good stuff,” he said. “It’s not like Atlanta or LA or something. I think it’s special that there’s this pool of talent here that is making fantastic films.”
Friggin Scary award-winning director Jimmy Martin said his film, “Lights Over Lakeview,” drew from legend about the Bridgewater Triangle, so being able to share it with a more local audience felt extra special.
“Festivals often have to go through their share of growing pains in their first years, but I thought the Southie Film Fest team curated a wildly entertaining selection of movies and brought together a lot of talent for a fun day,” Martin added. “I think it’s a testament to the indie filmmaking scene in Massachusetts and I’m just happy to be able to contribute to it.”
Dhanya Lott, who starred in three of the evening’s films, said that the indie filmmaking scene is where cinema really thrives.
“Boston is honestly an incredible community for film because there’s a lot of indie. Bigger things do come here, but a lot of times it’s a lot of indie work,” she said. “Being able to break into that community, I think, is what has helped me prosper so much as an actor.”
Lott added that the indie film scene is tight-knit and that working on any one project connects her with other creatives who have projects for her to be part of.
A second Southie Film Festival is being planned for sometime next year, with Connelly hoping to make it an annual event.
The first-place winners in each category break down as follows:
Townie block:
A Debt To Die For
Jackson Mirmina
New Englander block:
Sloppy Sunday
Christoff LeBlanc
Feature block:
Redshore
CJ Howey
Friggin’ Scary Block:
Lights over Lakeville
Jimmy Martin
