The Soul 4 Reel Film Festival features independent short films in every genre with the goal to enlighten, inspire, and build the imaginations and lives of those who enjoy making films. Rocky McKoy was inspired to create this opportunity for filmmakers after his own experience with film festivals. “I was invited to participate in a festival and was treated unfairly because my film didn’t have any major ‘stars’,” he recalls. “After that, I told my wife I was going to start my own film festival.”
Now in its ninth year, McKoy and The Soul Factory Theatre have presented this year’s Soul 4 Reel Film Festival at Busboys & Poets in Hyattsville, MD where filmmakers gathered to meet and learn from other filmmakers. Movie lovers and supporters also enjoyed the premier showcase dedicated to short films.
With 17 films submitted, judges had to narrow down their selections to just two awards: Best Picture and Best Local Film. “We consider overall audience response to the film, the direction, and editing,” says Cassano Smith, former two-time festival winner and current festival judge. “But most importantly we pay attention to the story, how it was conveyed, emotionally driven, and structured in the amount of time given.”
“These are all great films,” said festival judge, Karl Bennet. “We don’t always agree. Sometimes we have to fight it out.” The entries include 12 international films and five local films.
The judges awarded Best Picture to “Limbo” a film by Anika Films about a grieving father who is struggling to accept the death of his teenage daughter. He comes face-to-face with her living doppelganger. Best Local Film award went to “Boys in the Boat” directed by Nivedita Das and Ted Hornick. This documentary followed a crew of young rowers with intellectual disabilities who thrive on the companionship and routine that come with being part of a team.
Audience members also voted on their favorite films. The Audience Choice award for an international film went to “Take Me to the Stars” by Justin Lawrence. The short film was about a young boy named Carl who has always dreamed of going to space. After losing his mother, Carl uses his imagination and love of space to deal with his grief and to try to understand his father. Lawrence, who was part of the Q&A portion of the festival, explained that he was motivated to tell this story because of the rough divorce his own parents went through. “I felt very much like my father died. I wanted to tell a story about how a child can experience trauma in different ways,” said Lawrence.
The Audience Choice award for a local film was given to “Boys in the Boat.” The official Directors’ Statement said of the documentary, “When we began filming, we were unprepared for how immersed in the personal lives of these rowers we would become and how accommodating they would be as we recorded them over two busy, involved months. We were up in the mornings with them, sometimes in unpredictable and uncertain weather, and we came to share meals and deeply personal milestones in these men’s lives.”
Proceeds from submission fees and tickets sales from the Festival went towards the “Kids Eat Free – Backpack Lunch” program. For additional information on the Festival, visit http://rockabyemedia.com/soul-4-reel.
