Cover Story

Writer recounts the experience of helping judge and set up the Rappahannock Independent Film Festival

Date published: 9/18/2008

By Brinkley Sharpe

When Ryan Poe, creative director of this week's Rappahannock Independent Film Festival, asked me this past spring to help him out, I immediately jumped on board his project.

Fast forward to the beginning of summer, when submissions started trickling in. I began to realize then that these were quality films. And they were not just from Fredericksburg either--or even the North American continent. There is definitely something to be said about the influence of the World Wide Web.

Our local festival is no Sundance; but when things started to come together, I became even more interested and involved with it. The preliminary judging began once a fair number of films had found their way to Poe. The other volunteers and I put in hours sitting in an office in The Third Floor, watching films and discovering that Jujubes (gelatin-free candies) are a bad idea.

The films, thank goodness, were far better than the Big Lots concessions. I laughed at the ultra-cute "Mango Season," nearly cried during "Vieques: Diary of a Struggle," and found myself sufficiently confused while watching (and reading the title of) "Matter, in a quiescent state, prepares itself to be transformed."

At this point in the process, we rated each film according to 10 categories, with an overall maximum score of 100 (10 possible points in each category).

I enjoyed the experience as a festival worker, and not just for the benefits of free admission and a nice addition to a college application--after all, those alone would not have convinced me to spend countless hours doing the messy task of festival decorating.

I got black paint from the stage on my blue leggings, and white from the ticket booth on my shirt; I braved ladders to hold up measuring tape; and I sustained cases of sore back muscles from sitting on the floor and in uncomfortable rolling chairs for far too long, previewing the films. But I loved every minute of it. I'll be working every day of the event as well, for at least a few hours.

It seems our efforts have paid off--tickets have pre-sold, and The Third Floor is looking clean and redecorated. I hope to come back from college next year to see that the new group of volunteers has made similar strides at the second annual RIFF festival.

Brinkley Sharpe is a senior at Chancellor High School.

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Date published: 9/18/2008