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Kern Projections goes global
Topics: Kern Projections Film Festival, Bakersfield, Bakotopia, october, 2007, independent film, Greg Goodsell, blog, arts, Culture, Film
Posted by Bakontributor Wed Oct 3, 2007 13:31:14 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Location: 1622 19th st., Bakersfield, CA 93301

Kern Projections goes global
Local film fest to feature local and world cinematic talent this month, October 10 - 14 at the Spotlight in downtown!




By Greg Goodsell, Bakotopia.com contributor

The Kern Projections Film Festival, to be held Oct. 10 through 14 at the Spotlight Theatre, 1622 19th St., promises to be a truly global affair. Submissions from across America - and sometimes the world - will be featured at the festival, covering eclectic types of subject matter in diverse mediums. The exciting news is that the festival found room for works by local filmmakers, movies that were shot in Kern County - and a documentary on a quirky former Bakersfield resident.

Kern County filmmaker's - the Trost brother's (Brandon Trost and Jason Trost,) have no less than three short films to be screened this year. The 13-minute short “The F.P.” displays ample ambition and hectic energy in its story of a dystopian, post-Apocalyptic world. As its official synopsis reads, “a young man, JTRO, must compete with his brother to rescue the small town of Frazier Park from the evil clutches of a gang leader, I Dubba E, by winning an underground tournament.” The vaunted tournament is revealed in a hilarious twist. Think Mad Max Goes to the Mall!

The Trost’s second short film, two-minute-long “The Day the Dead Weren’t Dead,” seems to have been inspired by phony movie trailers used in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s recent send-up of drive-in horror film fare, “Grindhouse.”

“When a devastating plague begins to turn the earth’s inhabitants into the undead, it’s up to an elite military unit to save the world.” This breathless imaginary advertisement for a (more than likely) nonexistent film likewise features a twist that can be discerned by a careful reading of the short’s title.

The brothers Trost rounds out his entries with the third and final music video, “Little Bo Peep.” This beautiful and simple short features one-man band Phillip Roebuck as he goes on a quest into the horizon with his version of the title track. Little Bo Peep features a funky tune set against a stark, rural landscape told with pixilation effects.


(Scene from 'Cold Ones)

Speaking of Frazier Park - a feature film that may very well be the “sleeper” of the festival - “Cold Ones” was partially filmed there! C. Thomas Howell (of Spielberg’s “E.T.: the Extra Terrestrial”) stars as K.C., a “floater” who has recently turned 40 and published one novel years ago. He gets tossed by his current girlfriend, but sees it as an opportunity to write one more novel off in a remote mountain cabin without distractions. However, when he arrives the small-town locals (played by Geoffrey Lewis, Kim Darby, Duane Whitaker, Joe Unger, Janet Tracy Keijser, Kirsty Hinchcliffe, Adam Nelson and Patrick Thomas) could not be more distracting. They all want a piece of K.C. and what he represents to them.


(Howell in 'Cold Ones')

Rounding out the festival is the remarkable “Finding Kraftland.” West High School graduate Richard Kraft forsook Bakersfield and worked as an usher at a local theatre in order to pursue his big dreams in Los Angeles. There he became a high-powered talent agent for film music composers, such as Danny Elfman.

When his older brother died from a rare and incurable disease, Kraft began to drag his son through an obsessive quest to recapture his own childhood through a globetrotting trek riding hundreds of roller coasters, collecting thousands of toys and transforming his home into “Kraftland,” a shrine to Disneyland and American Consumer Culture.



A love story between father and son emerges via an almost maniacal pursuit of happiness. The film’s official Web site reads, “The film captures a life filled with huge and cartoonish contrasts. It delves into the psyche of collecting as an obsession. And ultimately, in its own strange way, it is about finding the real meaning of family.”

Visit: www.findingkraftland.com to sample some of Krafts’ rather staggering collection of American ephemera.

Visit: www.kernprojections.com to learn more about the various films and show times at the Kern Projections Film Festival.

*Originally printed in Bakotopia Magazine, Issue 12, 10 - 5 - 07

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