Hub City Film Festival hosted its second annual festival showcasing films at theCO and the Catbird Studio on Thursday, Sept. 26 through Saturday, Sept. 28.
The festival featured short films and documentaries by local filmmakers. The screenings started at noon and went into the evening on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the Catbird Studio opened at 10 a.m., and a red-carpet event was held at The Ned on Saturday evening.
The festival coordinators showcased a variety of films including “Frog-Man V,” “Matinee Memories” and “Soul of the City,” a documentary.
Shelby Tyre is the director of the Hub City Film Festival and an employee at theCO. Tyre helped produce “Ghost Light,” “Frog-Man V” and “Matinee Memories,” which she also wrote and directed. “Matinee Memories” was not eligible to win an award because Tyre did not want any bias, but she mentioned she was just happy to share it.
Tyre explained that last year they accepted every film submitted to the festival, but this year it was more competitive.
“We didn’t expect to get more than 30 films; we got 55 films this year,” Tyre said.
Jessica Galvan is the festival coordinator and assistant director of “Matinee Memories.”
“I just feel grateful to be able to share our art with the community and hopefully inspire them to make their own art,” Galvan said.
Many people from the Hub City community came out to support local film arts. A film that garnered a lot of attention was “Frog-Man V,” a short horror film directed and edited by Rachael Camp, a professor of communication arts at Union University.
“’Frog-Man V’ is a coming-of-age comedy about fear,” Camp said. “Using quirky humor, it pays homage to ’90s nostalgia and kitsch horror while exploring adolescent fears of the unknown.”
Camp’s husband, Austin Camp, was the screenwriter for the film. Rachael Camp also collaborated with Scott Lancaster, director of photography, who is a multimedia producer at Union. Ben Trainor, a Union alum, worked with audio and sound mixing for the film. Skyler Norcom, one of Camp’s former students, was assistant director.
“The Union network was really working hard on this [film],” Camp said. “All the students and alum were very eager and excited about getting to do something and work on something.”
The current Union students and graduates were said to be encouraging on-set and off-set. Camp explained that they helped create a positive atmosphere which made shooting the film better for everyone.
According to Camp, she first screened her film in March with a smaller audience. She felt nervous about showing her movie in front of a larger crowd in Jackson. Camp explained how one’s fear of the unknown can be related to coming of age.
“The movie certainly is about confronting your fears — and fear of the unknown,” Camp said.
She believes the media has a large impact on how women and young girls view themselves. Camp felt that it was important to create a horror film that made women feel empowered instead of vulnerable.
Though the films included various topics, many explored common themes of grief, change and facing one’s fears.
After the screening of “Matinee Memories,” Tyre answered questions and discussed the process of making it. She encouraged other people in the community to create their own films and promised to help other creators make their films.
“If you have an idea, I’m here for it and I’m here to support you — and we’ll learn together,” Tyre said. “I want to be a part of the world that we are creating here.”
