Digital Gym Cinema is San Diego's last stronghold for truly independent film programming. This weekend it proves that point with a Bonkers Half-Assed Midnight screening of the 1995 cult classic "Mosquito" on Saturday and the iVIE Awards and Student Film Festival on Sunday.
I mentioned "Mosquito" on last week's Midday Movies, but I will shout it out again since it is screening this Saturday. This goofball, gorefest creature feature has tiny mosquitoes turn into human-size killers after drinking some alien blood.
Matt Rotman, author of "Bonkers Ass Cinema," hosts the screening, which starts at 10 p.m. (Half-Assed Midnights get you out by midnight). Rotman does not screen these low-budget genre films as "guilty pleasures" or "so bad they're good" offerings. Instead, he celebrates them for their DIY spirit, ingenuity and bonkers love of filmmaking. Films like "Mosquito" are just a rollicking good time and succeed despite budgetary limitations.
"Mosquito" boasts practical creature effects from the folks behind Sam Raimi's "Army of Darkness" and Tim Burton's "Batman Returns." The carnage is over-the-top ridiculous. The film also serves up a starring role from Gunnar Hansen, best known as Leatherface in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
iVIE Awards and Student Film Festival
On Sunday, Digital Gym has a wonderful showcase of student films from all over San Diego County. These films were completed over the last school year, and more than 100 short film projects will be shown.
The iVIE Awards ceremony will precede the screenings and will take place in the Forum at UC San Diego Park & Market. iVIE is sponsored by the Media Arts Center San Diego, which describes the program as "a K-12 student video competition and festival conceived to encourage and reward teachers and students who recognize the power of video as a creative educational tool. iVIE receives 500 submissions annually, which are judged by media arts professionals and curated by Media Arts Center San Diego (San Diego Latino Film Festival, Digital Gym Cinema and more)."
The schedule is as follows:
- Awards ceremony: 10 a.m.
- Elementary school screening: noon
- Middle school screening: 2 p.m.
- High school screening: 4 p.m.
I was one of the judges for this year's iVIE Awards, and I can attest to the fact that there is a lot of young talent out there with some very impressive films to show.
I hope you will come out to support our next generation of filmmakers — and our indie-spirited Digital Gym Cinema — this weekend.
