The Super Gr8 Film Festival returns to Harrisonburg this weekend after a several-year hiatus. It’s chance for aspiring filmmakers to shoot a short movie with a Super 8 camcorder and a single roll of film, with the final product shown for the first time to participants and audiences alike. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn spoke with Paul Somers, one of the Super Gr8’s founders, who detailed the festival’s return.
Paul Somers: COVID kind of shut the lights out on everything. So, we haven't picked it back up since then, just kind of talked about it each year and kicked it down the road. And then this year, the Arts Council really pushed us to try and do it as a part of their 25th anniversary celebrations. And so we were happy to do that and glad that we finally got it off the ground again.
WMRA: And from what I've seen, it looks like, I mean, there were a lot of entries this year. How many films do we have this year?
Somers: This year we have 35 films and they'll be shown over the course of the two nights of the film festival. So approximately 18 each night.
WMRA: Is the two day of showings a new thing or had it been one night before?
Somers: It had been two nights. The original Super Great in 2010 When we did that one, we just kind of weren't clear on how much interest there would be. And so we just did it as one night. I think there was like 17 films. And, just the theater was just completely busting at the seams. And, people were really excited. And we're like, you hate turning people away for something that they really want to see and you really want to share. And so we were like, well, let's do two nights. And then we did two nights. And then it was the same problem just over the course of two nights. We had people just like, not able to get in because the theater was completely full.
WMRA: Now, for those who are new to this, who had never heard of this event before, what sparked it? And could you just, could you walk through how it works exactly?
Somers: Yeah, well, Tim Estep, who's a professional filmmaker and a great friend of mine, and I, you know, we're talking about kind of putting together an event and We were both passionate about Super 8 film. I'm A photographer, he's a filmmaker. And so we both had old Super 8 cameras that we just thought were so cool and we loved the format and we loved shooting Super 8. And so we wanted to share that feeling with other people. And so we thought, you know, what if we did a film festival and everything was made on Super 8? And Tim had a film class where, you know, the assignment was to shoot a single cartridge of Super 8. and then just, give it to the, turn it into the professor, and then everybody watches them. And so we kind of based it off of that assignment. And so, in the format of the Super Great Film Festival, you get a single cartridge of Super 8 film. You get a camera from us to borrow, unless you have your own, which is fairly unusual, but some people do because they get into it, or they have been into it. and you go and you shoot that single cartridge of Super 8, which is 3 minutes and 20 seconds, and you have to shoot all your scenes in the order that you want them to show because there's no post editing and nobody sees their films before the night of the film festival. And so that creates a lot of excitement. So the filmmakers come from all walks of life, you know, not a lot of, you know, filmmaker professionals or anything like it's like artists, poets, writers, creative people in general. And they make these films and they kind of go for broke with them and really push themselves to do something that's cool and unique and it kind of accentuates the format of Super 8 film. And then they return them to us and give us audio. And then we put the audio on each one of the films with just like a single sync point.
WMRA: And a sync point, that's where it's like, all right, the music starts here. Or if it isn’t music, some kind of audio?
Somers: Yeah, exactly. And so, you know, your ability to time out what you're doing on camera is somewhat key if you're really trying to do something very specific with the score or the soundtrack. But a lot of people, you know, kind of leave it up to chance somewhat and kind of collaborate with the chaos and just let it go. And you end up with a lot of happy accidents sometimes and like, oh, I didn't even think that these two things would line up so perfectly. But it did. And everybody loves it. And I mean, it just the look of Super 8 film is really cool because of modern technology of scanning film to a digital format, we're able to project it on these much larger like cinema projectors for a movie theater. Whereas previously Super 8 was developed just to be projected onto like a 6 by 6 screen at the biggest at your house. And it was what people would shoot their home movies with. But because the format was one of the cheaper options, for filmmaking back in the day, people would, film students and stuff were using Super 8. And then, because it got used so much and we've seen it so many times, the Zapruder film is on Super 8 and all these other things that we've just grown up seeing all our lives that have been put on Super 8, it kind of has developed its own aesthetic. And a lot of people really appreciate that. And when you take a little 8 millimeter piece of film that's, you know, like half the size of your pinky nail, and you blow it up to the size of a massive screen and you don't have any pixelation or anything, you just see the film that big. It's just an incredible sight and it really just goes to show just how incredible a format film photography and film cinematography can be.
WMRA: I know that one of the staples of this whole endeavor is that the filmmakers themselves can't see the final product until it's until it's debuted. And I can only imagine that the level of excitement, but also anxiety with that.
Somers: Yeah, it has like a Christmas morning effect to it because, and a lot of people have said this, you know, when we did it for 10 years, every year. And people were like, this is like creative Christmas. Like if you're a creative person and you're into like art and culture and you're involved with this, it's just like, it's like sitting under the tree of the super great film festival. You know, you're just waiting to see your film or, you know, maybe you acted in a film or maybe you did this small part for a film. And yeah, everybody's anxious as hell and excited and happy. And then, you know, it's like you have so much support in the room It's like, when you're making something on your own, you make it and you're like, I don't know, like you beat yourself up about it. But it's like when you have a room full of other people that have done the very same thing, like everybody becomes so supportive of each other. And it becomes this environment where it's like, you know, you're not capable of really being self-critical of yourself. You just appreciate what you have done and with these other people. And it just becomes a really wonderful celebration. But it does come, you know, at a high stake because, you know, this is old technology. Super 8 film was developed in the 1960s and used for, right up until now, obviously. So some of these cameras are like 50 years old. And most people aren't super familiar with the format. You know, we've kind of educated a lot of people on Super 8 film and Super 8 cinematography, but, you know, it's still an old medium and old equipment. And then you have the chance of the film not turning out, or maybe the camera malfunctions and everything's overexposed or underexposed, or what we had this year happen with two films, the film cartridge jammed. And so, you got to call people and be like, hey, I know you put, hours and hours of your time and the time of all these other people that you worked with on this film. but there's nothing we can do because the film just didn't advance in the cartridge. And, it's utterly earth-shattering. And so, there is a bit of a gamble involved. And, but that kind of also just, it builds the excitement.
WMRA: And the fact that the filmmaker's doing this, like having to be at the mercy of this analog technology, which was the case for anyone who was filming in this format for so many years. It creates, it seems like a sense of parameters. It's like you have a vision, but the parameters there, you do still have to work within those. And at that point, the results are, you can only control so much. And I think that's beautiful, honestly. I love that.
Somers: Yeah, I liken it to writing a haiku a lot of times because you are so limited by so many different things. But then you have to work within those confines. And those confines, it's like a ball bouncing around a room. when you have the room shaped in a certain way, it's like, well, the ball can only bounce around so many ways, but then you start doing it and it's like, wow, this is amazing. The way that this can, the ball can traverse all this space and do these amazing things. And the constraints of the format of Super 8 is the same. when you have a single cartridge, you got to let go of a lot of stuff that you might want to do in making a film. But in letting go of all that stuff, you kind of liberate yourself and liberate your creativity into making something that's just different. And we tend to think of the things that have the most polish and the most technological advancement are the things that people want to see. But the reality is in a format like the Super Great Film Festival, it's like what you end up seeing is just like a deep-seated humanity of everything doesn't always turn out exactly how you want. Everything is a little like tarnished in our everyday lives and everything is a little clunky. But it's unique and it's wonderful. And if you have the right perspective on it, can really be a life-changing event just to see the films, let alone to make the films.
WMRA: Just off the top of your head, would you be able to share what some people could expect to see this year?
Somers: Yeah, I mean, we've got some great action in the films. You know, there's one film my friend Chris Hughes made called Corbin Dynamite. And it's just, it's really cool and action-packed. Like just crazy. And then there's other kind of like personal self-explorations by, my good friend Jay Zehr, who, was just a hilarious guy and I think he's done like every year or maybe didn't for one year, but he always kind of takes this like approach of self-exploration and he's kind of an anxious guy. And so it kind of takes you into the, deep into his anxiety. But it's, like a crystalline structure of, it's just amazement. You know, he's just such a brilliant guy and he looks at the world in such a unique way. And, you know, he's kind of delved into Harrisonburg as a place and, you know, himself as a person and the Mennonite community. I mean, it's just, I always say he's kind of like the “Larry David” of the Mennonites.
WMRA: The idea of film genre is something that I kind of just didn't even really consider, but it's a given though. Have there been, or at least this year, are there any genres of films that haven't been explored and super great before that you're seeing for the first time this year?
Somers: We've got a film about the lanternflies. So that one I've definitely never seen before, but it's like right on time. Yeah, Jessica Young. and Nick Walger or they submitted that film and that one's pretty cool. And it's cool because it people pick up topics that are pertinent right now. And we've just all been seeing these bugs around. And so of course there's going to be a film about that. There's a film about COVID and there's man, there's like, there's murders, there's like all kinds of things that happen in these films because they're just so wildly different. But there's quite a bit of breadth to it all. And, everybody has their kind of their approach and they just kind of work with these old cameras and get everything that they possibly can out of these old cameras to make what they want or get close to what they want. And then, sometimes they you arrive at a place that you could not have found if you looked for it. it's like you're just kind of searching through the woods of creativity and you come upon this, beautiful cathedral. You could never get back there. This is the only time you'll ever see it. But it's kind of like that, you know, it's there's just a lot of mystery to it. Like you think you're going to do one thing, but then you end up, you know, taking a wrong turn, but then you end up somewhere that's even better that you could not have got yourself to by any other means, and you'll possibly never return to again. But that's what's so beautiful about just the finite kind of quality of this festival.
WMRA: I'm curious too, like, have you heard of anyone else in any other cities like, you know, doing this since you all started?
Somers: There's definitely film festivals around the world that use Super 8 or that like feature and focus on Super 8. I haven't done a deep look this year like I had in previous years, but there were some that were similar, but there's nothing quite like what we do here with the single cartridge, but there's, you know, there's versions of it and whatnot. But yeah, it's a very unique Film Festival here and it's really reliant on a bedrock of creative individuals in the community that these are people that I've come to know and love because we have a lot of repeat offenders people they make a film and then they come back and make another film or help somebody else with their film and it just it links all these different people up I mean babies have been made from connections that happened at the Super Great Film Festival and So it's a really magical thing and the way that it involves and engages so many of the creative people here is, it's just a wonderful display of the talent that we have and the ingenuity that we have here and just the people that are, going out doing normal things every day, but they kind of harbor this deep sense of creativity and this deep joy that they experience by being creative and making things and doing those for an audience. And, as an art maker, you're always looking to make art, but you're also looking to connect with people. And the connecting with people part can be the hardest thing. You know, there are artists that work in solitude their entire lives only for their like Henry Darger's whole collection to be found after he's already dead and everybody's like, this guy's sick. And he got none of that for his entire life. It's very tragic. And so, you know, the Super Great Film Festival does a really good job of giving these people an audience and the feeling that you have in the room watching the film and everybody's clapping and laughing and maybe shouting things even during your film and just really taking it in. And you get to see all that in real time and you're experiencing it with them. It's just like, just getting good feelings just dumped on you with a bucket. It's a lot of fun.
WMRA: We have no shortage, you know, in this area of artists across like so many different mediums. So, to have people who aren't typically in filmmaking to try their hand at this, It yields interesting results.
Somers: Yeah. It's just, you know, there's a letting go that happens. It's like, well, I, you know, this isn't going to be perfect. And sometimes that's the best thing you can accept about any situation. But certainly when you're creating art, it's like, you know, because once you start holding those things against yourself and doubting yourself, you know, you don't do anything. You don't get it done. You don't make a thing or you end up crumpling it up and throwing it in the trash. And this is an opportunity that really celebrates that aspect. It's like, you're not going to know how to work this camera very well. Like, we will train you on it the best that we can. But I've made countless films on these cameras and I love these cameras, but you know, they are finicky and they are really old. And you know, we're constantly testing them and everything. But you just got to let that go. you get in the moment and it's just like, yeah, I don't have a production crew here to help me with all this either. So we're just going to have to make do. And it kind of reminds me of some of the films that Andy Warhol would make, you know, where you can see the production in the finished film and it's just like, you know, and it has kind of like a ragtag feel. And so you get some of that and it's really amazing and it's hilarious and funny and then of course, everybody's, the critical aspect of Super Great is just almost non-existent. it's like everybody's really just enjoying the films for whatever they are. And no matter what people get shown in front of them, it's like everybody claps at the end of each film. And it's really cool.
WMRA: There's a cohesion of community there that I mean, the only other event I can think of in this area, in this scene that has some similarity to that would be Rock Lotto.
Somers: Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. I should have mentioned this before, but that was part of our idea in the beginning in 2010 was, you know, we, me and I had just coordinated the Skate and Worshippers art show for the first time in 2009. And my friend Tim Estep came out and checked it out and we were talking there. It's like, you know, we got to do something. like this for film, because the Skating Worshipers was great for engaging artists and skateboarders, and we put on a really cool show and had skateboarding and everything, and just, when you see community coming out to those kinds of events, it's just a wonderful feeling, especially when it's something niche and involving of the arts. And so, we were talking and he was like, Rock Lotto is so cool, and it'd be really cool if we could like make these like Frankenstein, like film production crews and then give them Super 8 to make it and all these people just make making films on their own and then we just show it. So it is very much like the Rock Lotto format, which is such a cool thing. And of course, we still do that every year at the Golden Pony and we host it at the Golden Pony and it's just so cool to see what people can do when they get together. And again, it's a letting go. It's like this format doesn't allow you to be Captain Anxiety. You know what I mean? It's like, you're not going to have time. Like, shut up, dude. Like, just play a guitar riff. How about that? And then it just gets worked out and everything is good.
WMRA: Speaking for myself personally, I mean, that's what got me. out of my shell into playing music. And I think that for a lot of people who have that, this is veering back to super great, but I think there are a lot of people who have that desire. And sometimes a project or an event like this is the kind of push that they would need in order to break out of that shell in order to do it. And yeah, just to see, yeah, just to see the results from that is it's something else.
Somers: Yeah.
WMRA: Just so we have it here, where can we see these films and when this weekend?
Somers: The films will be shown at Court Square Theater in downtown Harrisonburg and right there on Court Square. The doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8. And we're going to have a brief intermission in between each night. And there will be an award ceremony and after party following the film festival at the Golden Pony. where we're going to give away awards for best audio, best performance, best visuals, and best film. And so I encourage everybody to come out and check it out and enjoy the show and maybe come a little bit early because we do fill up. But the doors will be open at 7. We're going to have some festival t-shirts for sale and it's going to be a great time.
WMRA: I'm excited to see it finally coming back.
Somers: Me too.
WMRA: Paul, is there anything else on your mind that I didn't think to ask while I got you here?
Somers: Yeah, I think the only other thing I was thinking about is just how the film festival kind of erodes this kind of anxiety. That's a really poignant like piece of it. And the kind of social structure of, you know, the things that we consume in a capitalist society, a lot of that bad stuff in there gets eroded in the process of something like this and everybody gets to make something and everybody makes something good no matter what. And it's about the process. And I think there's something really special about that. And so, it's an honor to be a part of it. It's an honor to witness it. I usually make a film every year myself too. So, I appreciate having that opportunity.
WMRA: I'm looking forward to it. I know there are so many others in this area who are too. So, Paul, thank you so much for coming in and talking about this. I'm excited to see what we have this year.
Somers: Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me, Calvin.
