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Art installation by Gabby Zambrano

INDIE GRITS 2013 WINNERS!

2013 INDIE GRITS AWARDS WINNERS

Top Grit - Miracle Boy

$1,000 prize

Best overall film as selected by the Indie Grits Jurors.

People’s Grit - Get Better

$500 prize

Best overall film, as selected by you, the audience!

Big Grit - Euphonia

$500 prize

Best feature length film as selected by the Indie Grits Jurors.

Short Grit - April

$500 prize

Best short film as selected by the Indie Grits Jurors.

Young Grit - Moira Angela Darling

$500 prize

Exemplary film by a student filmmaker as selected by the Indie Grits Jurors.

Experimental Grit - Two Seconds After Laughter

$500 prize

Exemplary experimental film as selected by the Indie Grits Jurors.

Helen Hill Award - Dusty Stacks of Mom

$500 prize

Exemplary film by a female filmmaker as selected by the Indie Grits Jurors.

Local Grit - Twenty-One Questions

$250 prize

Exemplary local film as selected by the Indie Grits Jurors.

Animated Grit - Dusty Stacks of Mom

$250 prize

Exemplary animated film as selected by the Indie Grits Jurors.

Sponsored by Deborah Yerkes

Thanks to our jurors Mark Lotto, Katey Rich, and Daniele Anastasion, for all of their hard work watching every single film!

SCREENING SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY APRIL 21

2pm - Miracle Boy, Two Seconds After Laughter, Euphonia

2pm - April, Moira Angela Darling, Twenty One Questions, Dusty Stacks of Mom

6pm - Get Better

Closing Party to a killer fest!

Post screening haze following the premiere of Georg Koszulinki's Frankenstein Revisited

Media Literacy Expert Frank W. Baker at Storytelling Through Film at Kindie Grits

Indie Grits: Saturday, 4/20

It's the last day of Indie Grits competition, and boy, do we have a lot going on. There should be something today for everyone, so don't miss you chance to be a part of the 2013 Indie Grits Film Festival! It's been a wonderful success so far.

The last installment of Kindie Grits is today, with Frank Baker teaching about the art of storytelling through film. Young people, ages 8-14, are invited to this workshop that sheds light on some of the mysteries of how movies get made. Nickelodeon Theatre; 10AM-1PM.

The University of South Carolina's historic Horseshoe dates back to 1801. It is the most famous and beautiful part of campus, and also one of the most intact landscapes of slavery in the United States. The bricks and buildings forming the perimeter of the area were molded, built and maintained by slaves until Emancipation. Ghosts of the Horseshoe is a mobile augmented reality application that brings into view this largely unknown history. Come see a demonstration this afternoon. USC Horseshoe; 2PM.

Nicole Triche uncovers some of the mystique surrounding taxidermy as she documents a pair of competitors in the World Taxidermy Championships in Taxidermists, part of our Documentary Shorts program. Plays along with Light Plate, Yucca Mtn. Tally, Shoestrings, and See the Dirt. Tapp's; 3PM.

In STEGO-SAUR, a young girl, convinced she is a stegosaurus, arrives at her elementary school only to find it deserted. She then embarks on a magical adventure. This lovely short is a apart of Through the Eyes of a Child, a program of shorts starring children. Also screening are April, Pretty Monsters, Jesus Fish, and Miracle Boy. Nickelodeon Theatre; 3:30PM.

I Have Always Been a Dreamer is a documentary that compares two contrasting cities, Dubai and Detroit. It explores ideology, landscape, and community. Preceding it is As I Am. Nickelodeon Theatre; 5:30PM.

Georg Koszulinski is known as the Cal Ripken, Jr. of Indie Grits, having had something in every festival since the first. This is a truly impressive streak. His latest, Frankenstein Revisited, stitched together images of the original Frankenstein series with found footage from science films, newsreels and more to tell the story of a World War 1 veteran killed in action only to be brought back... again. A live score will be performed by the filmmaker. Part of our Experimental program, which also includes Sci-Fly, The White Coat Phenomenon, the Outside Comes Inside, Upstate, 588, and Sick. Tapp's; 6PM.

Red Flag, by Alex Karpovsky (Girls, Sleepwalk with Me), represents an indie filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky, who tours college campuses and independent cinemas in the South screening his new movie. As you can imagine, this intriguing film teases the line between fact and fiction. Nickelodeon Theatre; 8PM.

Finally, we're wrapping up the festival with our Southern Abroad program. This will include the following shorts: Antarctica, So Far Above Humans They Are, 21 Chikaroot, Two Seconds After Laughter, Nile Perch, and Por Dinero. Tapp's; 8PM.

Oh, and don't forget, we've got a closing party. 1734 Main Street. Last year's abandoned bank party was an absolute blast, and this one will also be great. This closing celebration will be featuring VJ Patrick Nugent, and DJ's from WUSC. Most importantly we will also have drinks from the Whig on hand, and food available from Al Amir. Come relax, hang with filmmakers, fest goers, and all the great people that have made this year's fest a success. 1734 Main Street; 10:30PM. Let us know you're coming... the password is "grits." https://www.facebook.com/events/108622722671750/

Recapping Indie Grits 2013: Dent May, Dog Bite, and People Person at the Columbia Museum of Art

Photo by Jonathan Sharpe

I had honest intentions last night, Indie Grits lovers. I was going to take extensive notes on all three bands and create a beautiful piece of writing that paid appropriate tribute to the magical night of music the festival brought to town last night at the Columbia Museum of Art.

Instead, I danced.

I did take one note, that I stored in my faithful phone, and am looking at right now. Here's what it says:

"Do things your own way."

The line, which echoed across all four walls of the museum last night as Dent May played one of their final songs in a set that inspired an all out dance party complete with slow dancing strangers, is the only note I wrote down last night.

In a lot of ways, I think it's the only one that matters. It sums up what Dent May is about: creating joyous musical lessons on how to live a good life on your own terms. The dreamy, well-crafted pop songs were filled with timeless melodies and by the set's end, not a soul in the house stood on still feet. Even when the band slowed it down, the dancing did not stop. The crowd slow danced their way through those three minutes like it was the most natural progression in the world. By the set's end, no strangers existed at the museum. We were all a part of this Dent May-created collective, having experienced the reprieve from life's stressful messes as presented through a series of gorgeous pop songs reminding us to do things our own way.

-Ashley Solesbee

PS: The band's record, "Do Things," is available for purchase from their website, www.dentmay.com. Every track is gold.

Win a a basket of Local Food Favorites at tonight's screening of Pride and Joy!

The festival has been in no short supply of outstanding documentaries this year, and Joe York's "Pride and Joy," which screens tonight at the Nickelodeon Theater, is no exception to that trend.

The film takes a close look at Southern Foodways Alliance, who strives to combine cultures and embrace diversity at the dinner table.

In celebration of that mission and the film itself, the Southern Foodways Alliance, SCETV, and several local farmers in the area have come together to build a basket to be given away at tonight's screening. You can win the door prize just by showing up and supporting the film.

The screening is set for 6 pm and will take place at the New Nickelodeon Theater.

Indie Grits: Friday, 4/19

We Cause Scenes, in case you missed the last two screenings, will be playing for a third time this afternoon. It's a really remarkable documentary about a remarkable organization. Nickelodeon Theatre; 3:30 PM.

It wouldn't be Indie Grits without a documentary about the unique foodways of the South, the gastrointestinal cradle of America. Pride and Joy follows some of the bearers of the South's culinary traditions, providing an intimate portrait of people and places. Nickelodeon Theatre; 6 PM.

This year's crop of Student Shorts are outstanding. One of them is Kosmonauts, a mystical buddy-cop movie where three Avant-Garde Investigators pursue an absurd cult dedicated to the Third Eye Man. Deconstruction, ahoy! Other shorts are Ditching School to Whistle, Passing Through Traveling Down, Die Like An Egyptian, Infinite, Barr-Price Funeral Home, and Moira Angela Darling. Tapp's; 6 PM.

In Euphonia, stale sounds of the suburbs send a teenager out with a sound recorder in search of better ones. Listening with this device he begins to build his own soundscape and drift away from his surroundings. Plays with Holy God Holy Mighty Holy Immortal Have Mercy On Us and Reed. Nickelodeon Theatre; 8:30 PM.

With a program name like Masters of Puppets, you know there has to be a metalhead on staff. Too bad we couldn't find a program to name after Megadeth (Peace Sells, But Who's Buying? might work for some anti-war films, but I digress.) Anyways, all of these films, in some way, involve puppetry. Program includes ...78 Years Past the Happiness Bomb", BeeSting, Apocalypse Meow, Supine: A Dream, and The Mystery in Old Bathbath. Tapp's; 8:30 PM.

Finally, we have even more music planned tonight. Burnt Books and Happiness Bomb are going to be rocking Hunter-Gatherer. HG; 11 PM.

Indie Grits: Friday, 4/19

One last weekend of Indie Grits, y'all. We have so much crammed into these last couple of days, it'll make your head spin. It's such good lineup of films and other entertainments that you simply can't go wrong.

We Cause Scenes, in case you missed the last two screenings, will be playing for a third time this afternoon. It's a really remarkable documentary about a remarkable organization. Nickelodeon Theatre; 3:30 PM.

It wouldn't be Indie Grits without a documentary about the unique foodways of the South, the gastrointestinal cradle of America. Pride and Joy follows some of the bearers of the South's culinary traditions, providing an intimate portrait of people and places. Nickelodeon Theatre; 6 PM.

This year's crop of Student Shorts are outstanding. One of them is Kosmonauts, a mystical buddy-cop movie where three Avant-Garde Investigators pursue an absurd cult dedicated to the Third Eye Man. Deconstruction, ahoy! Other shorts are Ditching School to Whistle, Passing Through Traveling Down, Die Like An Egyptian, Infinite, Barr-Price Funeral Home, and Moira Angela Darling. Tapp's; 6 PM.

In Euphonia, stale sounds of the suburbs send a teenager out with a sound recorder in search of better ones. Listening with this device he begins to build his own soundscape and drift away from his surroundings. Plays with Holy God Holy Mighty Holy Immortal Have Mercy On Us and Reed. Nickelodeon Theatre; 8:30 PM.

With a program name like Masters of Puppets, you know there has to be a metalhead on staff. Too bad we couldn't find a program to name after Megadeth (Peace Sells, But Who's Buying? might work for some anti-war films, but I digress.) Anyways, all of these films, in some way, involve puppetry. Program includes ...78 Years Past the Happiness Bomb", BeeSting, Apocalypse Meow, Supine: A Dream, and The Mystery in Old Bathbath. Tapp's; 8:30 PM.

Finally, we have even more music planned tonight. Burnt Books and Happiness Bomb are going to be rocking Hunter-Gatherer. HG; 11 PM.

Dent May, closing a perfect set with dance party madness at the Columbia Museum of Art.

Dent May is for lovers! Another perfect evening with Indie Grits Festival for 2013!

Dog Bite, joining the Indie Grits Festival Crowd all the way from Atlanta. Dent May, our headliner, is up next!

People Person

A Look at Tonight's Family Portrait, and a look back on Comedic Shorts!

Excitement and libations flowed in abundance as we prepared to screen the Comedic Shorts of Competition Day 1 to a sold out crowd! The line up included Fish and Chicks, I'm Dracula for Pete's Sake, The Space Coast, Twenty-One Questions, and Aryl & Ybur. And wow, what an awesome first night of competition!

The festival has already been awesome in so many way and now that the Competition is upon us, we feel like the already incredible Indie Grits has been imbued with new energy! As promised the films were hilarious, thoughtful and creative. Last night the audience got to get involved in casting the ballots which decide the Indie Grits “People’s Grit” award. Isaac displayed one of the lovely statues the winners will take home and the filmmakers in attendance were kind enough to answer a few questions for the audience after the screening. We learned that 21 Questions was shot in only 2 days! Also, the “crotch fell out of the space suit” during the shooting, according to the star of the film who sat in the audience. Yikes!

Two of the filmmakers,Patrick Coker and Frank Heflin, are Columbia’s own! It’s inspiring and exciting that we can boast such talent, creativity and filmmaking acumen, locally. Many thanks to cultural institutions dedicated to supporting the growth of arts and culture here in columbia such as Tapp’s Art Center (who provided a beautiful venue complete with Filmmaker’s Lounge. Shout out to Molly and the student volunteers in the lounge!) The Nick, Columbia Museum of Art, The South Carolina Art’s Commission and many others who strive to keep the arts thriving in Columbia SC.

Join us tonight for Competition Day 2 Family Portrait at Tapp’s Art Center as we screen incredible films which center around family relationships and childhood:

Quinn’s New Video Game- Heather Freeman; The Places Where We Lived- Bernardo Britto; Grandpa Give You the Bird- Mark Maximov; Daddy: A Cinematic Experiment- Ashley Leach; December 1990 #2 Cecil Decker and Dusty Stacks of Mom: The Poster Project- Jodie Mack.

See you tonight!

Get your tickets here.

Indie Grits: Thursday, 4/18

Video Games! Programmers will exhibit their latest creations, inviting attendees to play them. Come see some, creative, unique, and independent games produced by local talent. Come spend some time and game a little. This event is free, too! Nickelodeon Theatre; 2 PM.

The Historic Columbia Foundation is offering a walking tour of Main Street and its former movie theaters. Indeed, Main Street once offered a variety of different theaters, each with a distinct personality. This tour promises to be very informative. Main Street; 5 PM.

Work, Play, Incarcerate: Images from the Palmetto State. The University of South Carolina's Moving Image Research Collections will present selections that showcase examples of South Carolina on film throughout the 20th century. Three curators, Gregory Wilsbacher, Heather Heckman and Lydia Pappas have compiled an assortment of film clips that feature people, places and events in South Carolina from news films, home movies and regional film collections. MIRC's collections are deep, and their curators incredibly knowledgeable. Nickelodeon Theatre; 5:30 PM.

In Present, a traveling performance artist and his kid sister revisit the childhood hometown where they grew up, discovering the things they once remembered are vanishing, and things they've kept inside themselves never go away. Tapp's Art Center; 5:30 PM.

Our next program, Family Portrait, features a collection of short films about, well, family, including Quinn's New Video Game, The Places Where We Lived, Grandpa Give You the Bird, Daddy: A Cinematic Experiment, and December 1990 #2. Dusty Stacks of Mom: The Poster Project is a particular feature. It's an animated musical documentary examines the rise and fall of a woman's poster wholesale business and the shifting role of physical objects in an increasingly virtual social and commercial landscape. Check it out. Tapp's; 8 PM.

Our other films tonight are Get Better, which follows a week in the life of Ellie Alexander and her chronically ill father, Roy, and Don't Kill the Messenger, a short about the luxurious life of a process server. Nickelodeon Theatre; 8:30 PM.

If music's what you're feeling tonight, Dent May, Dog Bite, and People Person will be rocking the Columbia Museum of Art. Each act is unique and well-worth seeing, so come to the event, maybe even after seeing a film! Columbia Museum of Art; 8 PM.

Filmmaker Check in!

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