October 15, 2014
by corinna | Oct 15, 2014 | MFF 2014, Parties |
The 2nd Annual MFF: Recap!
We can’t believe it’s over! During the many months of planning and preparation it seemed like the 2nd Annual Motorcycle Film Festival would never arrive, and just like that, it’s a wrap! We are so happy to report that the event blew away our expectations, and we sincerely hope that all in attendance would agree. Here’s a recap of the event, along with pictures if you weren’t able to take part in the action:
Wednesday afternoon saw our tireless MFF Pit Crew Volunteers get to work setting up for the evening’s opening Pre Party Art Show, hosted at Genuine Motorworks, curated by judge Stacie B. London. A chance for VIPs, Judges, and Staff to meet and mingle before the first screening of the week, we had exhibits and pieces on display from the MFF family, including Paul Cox, Paul d’Orleans, Ultan Guilfoyle, JP, Chris Logsdon, Lorenzo Eroticolor, Amos Poe, Buz Ras, and our very own founder Corinna Mantlo.
After perusing the excellent works and enjoying tasty libations from our friends at Sailor Jerry & PBR, the party shifted venues right across the street to The Gutter, where the week’s screenings and after parties would be held.
Screened in front of a sold out, standing room only audience (a theme that would run through the weekend), Take it to the Limit (1981) officially kicked off the the films, with director Peter Starr on hand to answer questions and regale us with stories.
Thursday afternoon found the founders and Judges brunching at Park Luncheonette (a much loved MFF tradition after working so closely together for months by phone). Meanwhile, attendees from all over the world enjoyed the beautiful weather and local surroundings.
Thursday’s Screenings began at 6:00pm and were once again shown to full house audiences! Thursday featured the Best of Festival winner in Daniel Rintz’s Somewhere Else Tomorrow.
Friday began with a fun brunch for all our VIPs hosted by Bar Matchless, allowing another opportunity for the judges, filmmakers, staff, friends, and family to get to know each other a little better. With visitors from Italy and South America, and Australia, as well as a couple who rode their Honda Trail 90s from Oregon (you really DO meet the nicest people on a Honda…follow their travels HERE, and Anna Grechishkina who found out about the MFF just that morning from a friend in Chicago, while on her travels all the way from the Ukraine on a KTM (check out her story HERE), not to mention the dozens of filmmakers who traveled from all over the world to be here with us. brunch was a great way to spread the motorcycle love!
Screenings began at 2:30 and closed with the North American Premiere of On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter.
The lights came up for a brief set-change, then back down for the after party, featuring DJ Nosebleed, followed by the seductive and flirtatious music of vintage Triumph riding Julia Haltigan and the musically eclectic Dr. Sick. We highly recommend checking them all out!
Saturday was an beautiful day on N14st. The Ride & Repeat was set to get your very own bike portrait taken by Ryan Handt Photography, and the delicious pizza from Park Luncheonette never stopped. The entire block was lined with bikes and it was a blast. It was also our heaviest day for screenings, the first block including Drue Pennella’s The Badger: Made in Trenton, winner of this year’s People’s Choice Award and then the Judge’s Pick for Feature Narrative for Shooter & Whitley by Laura Stewart.
The early evening screening block of Shorts featured two more winners: Django by Jim Demuth and Posy Dixon took the win for Experimental Pick and Vincent Black Lighting, a delightful animation in the shadow puppet style by Cat Bruce won for Short Narrative.
Our final screening block of the weekend was to feature two more Judge’s Picks in the short No Ordinary Passenger by Cabell Hopkins for Short Documentary followed by Todd Huffman’s Penton: The John Penton Story for Feature Documentary.
Riding the tide of excitement following our final screening, we segued directly into our Awards Ceremony. Speeches, applause, and tears were doled out, as were the trophies (made this year by our own co-founder Corinna Mantlo of Via Meccanica, and Buz Ras of Seattle Speedometers) and beers for everyone else!
Saturday night’s after party featured the musical stylings of DJ Sommer Santoro, the soulful, heavy, psychedelic boogie band The Golden Grass, and roots and blues rock high-energy Daddy Long Legs.
The screenings a wrap, Sunday marked the final day of the event and the Closing Party hosted by Lady Jay’s. Beverages, BBQ, handshakes, stories and swapped contact information was in abundance as the weekend winded down.
To perfectly cap the weekend, Kate Morris provided a live reading from her script for the upcoming Michael Schmidt film Going to Fugle, in which she shares her own journey as a young female journalist riding cross country with an outlaw MC. It should be noted that Kate went from a self proclaimed “20 mile a day rider” to piloting a Harley Davidson 48 with some hard-core fellows from LA to XXX. The reading from her script perfectly describes the freedom of the road, and all the emotions that can go along with it. We can’t wait to see more from this project!
And just like that, it was over. New friends and family from as close as the next block to as far as over oceans shook hands, exchanged hugs and went their separate ways. We hope to keep in touch and see you all again. Spread the word and watch this space, because we have more in store, as NY is only the first stop for the MFF this year. Keep those wheels and cameras rolling.
We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our sponsors, especially Honda Powersports, for their support. Without Honda and our other sponsors, this would not have been possible.
And finally, we want to thank all of you. It is only because of the films made and submitted by you, watched by you, and loved by you that there is an MFF at all. You are the MFF. Thank you.
-Matt ‘Howl On Wheels’ Howell and The MFF Crew
August 12, 2014
by corinna | Aug 12, 2014 | MFF 2013, MFF 2014, Press, The Films |
follow the event on the facebook page THE BORN FREE RIDE
Part of MFF’s grand plan has always been to bust through borders and boundaries to reach motoheads around the world – and we’ve wasted no time doing it. First stop – India, where event partner EVENTZ 360º will screen the best of the 1st annual MFF ’13 at the Freedom Ride, to be held in the city of Pune on Friday the 15th of August to commemorate India’s Independence Day. With over 750 riders expected to roll in on the day, MFF’s India debut is assured a massive audience of like-minded moto-crazies for the screenings of the four award winning films, The Build (Best Short Film), White Knuckle: The Motorcycle Cannonball (Peoples Choice), The Best Bar in America (Best Feature Narrative) and Why We Ride (Best Feature Documentary & Best In Fest). So if you happen to be in or around Pune this week, what are you waiting for? Take the ride.
The Born Free Ride in the DNA India EPAPER
June 4, 2014
by corinna | Jun 4, 2014 | MFF 2013 |
The only flaw with last years beautiful, limited edition festival posters featuring art by Adam Nickel (who also created our MFF helmet logo), and which were hand silkscreened on 22″ x 14″ 100cc French Paper by Jessica Meany at Haven Press was that they sold like motor oil to a British bike owner (of which I am one).
Thankfully, Jess was kind enough to crank out a second and final run of 50 posters. Available for sale conveniently on the MFF website and sent direct to your home, so you don’t have to figure out how to get it home by motorbike!
ORDER YOURS IN THE SHOP TODAY!
Read all about Adam and the poster design HERE
April 10, 2014
by corinna | Apr 10, 2014 | Films, MFF 2013 |
Filmmaker: Brian Darwas
Film: White Knuckle: The Motorcycle Cannonball
Q: What’s the name of your film in the MFF?
A: This year The MFF screened my film “White Knuckle: The Story of The Motorcycle Cannonball”.
Q: What’s it about?
A: “White Knuckle” follows a few of the riders on the first ever Motorcycle Cannonball, a cross country endurance run on antique bikes (pre-1916) that pitts the man against his machine, and his machine against the unforgiving back roads of The United States.
Q: What inspired you to make this movie?
A: I spoke to a friend who was building a bike for the run. Before he could get finished telling me about the trip I interrupted and said “that’s sounds crazy, I need to come along”. I hung up the phone and drove straight up to his place to film him finish assembling his bike. . . and a week later we were on the road to the starting line. I figured this would be the perfect chance to show the world why people get out on their bikes and do crazy shit like this. You get to learn about the people, see their struggles, and gain a whole new respect for people who ride.
Hopefully someone will see this movie and gain a better understanding of why some people are so passionate about motorcycles. . . and maybe it will inspire the younger generation to get out there and build something.
Q: How did you find the MFF?
A: It wasn’t to hard, you guys did a pretty good job promoting the festival. I know Corinna and when I heard that she was putting together a film festival I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I like to get behind any DIY effort. If people are out there making something happen I want to be a part of it anyway that I can. It’s a small world, we all need to support each other.
Q: Have you made any other films, and If so, is there a common theme throughout your films?
A: To date I’ve made five films, and I’m currently editing my sixth. All my films are documentaries that look at people who build and ride/dive anything with an engine. From period correct Hot Rods on The Bonneville Salt Flats, to the vintage bikes you see in “White Knuckle”. I like to give the world a peek into a subculture that they’d have no way of getting a look at, while preserving what’s going on today for future generations. When I build anything I’m always looking back to books and magazines from the 1940’s / ’50’s. . . I’d like to leave a record of what’s going on today for people to look back on sixty years from now. I think telling these stories is an important part our culture.
Q: Do you ride a motorcycle? If so, tell us a little about what you ride, and why?
A: I build cars, period correct hot rods. . . but I have respect for anything mechanical. If you can build it and it runs, I can respect it.
Q: As a filmmaker, what about the MFF and motorcycle films in general speaks to you?
A: Hot rods and motorcycles got hand and hand to me. They’re both built to go fast. . . well, fast for what you have in it, lol. I like to see other people doing what they love, whether it’s building a bike from scratch, or making a movie. . . and with The MFF I get to see both of those things come together. So it’s like I’m getting the best of everything.
Q: Have you had a chance to attend the MFF yet?
A: Yes. . . and it was spectacular.
Q: Possibly impossible question: Favorite bike movie?
A: That’s easy. . . “The Savage Seven“.
Q: What’s next for you as a filmmaker
A: To keep filming anyone who’s willing to get in front of my camera with a story to tell. I like sharing people’s stories.
*Check out all of Brian Darwas’ films as well as the cars he builds on his website Atomic Hot Rods
*Read an review of the classic 1968 biker film, The Savage Seven by filmmaker Brian Darwas, on the Cine Meccanica blog.
April 4, 2014
by corinna | Apr 4, 2014 | Uncategorized |
Filmmaker: Eric Ristau
Film: The Best Bar In America
Q: What was the name of your film in the 1st annual, 2013 MFF?
A: The Best Bar in America
Q: What’s it about?
A: About a guy– a writer– on a cross-country ride on a 1960 BMW R60/2 with a Velorex sidecar. He’s been hired to write a guidebook of every bar in the West. After he splits with his lady friend on the side of the highway, he runs around like a drunken maniac trying to find his soul. A couple of wise, old badasses help him out along the way. Oh, and he does some nasty on a pool table.
Q: What inspired you to make this movie?
A: My brother (and co-writer/co-director) and I have always liked bikes, bars, travel, the desert, Wild Turkey, and sleeping on the ground. We decided to write a script about as many of the things that we love as possible and jam them into one movie. That way, if the film completely failed, we would have had a great time making it. We succeeded.
Q: How did you find the MFF?
A: We were looking for film festivals that weren’t pretentious bullshit. The name sold us too.
Q: Have you made any other films, and If so, is there a common theme throughout your films?
A: Most of the other projects we’ve done have related to travel, searching out what matters in life, and the way that certain machines can affect a culture. It’s been a mish-mash of work for clients and films for our own enjoyment, but those are some of the common threads that come to mind.
Q: Do you ride a motorcycle, and If so, tell us a little about what you ride, and why?
A: I ride a 1974 BMW R75/6 with a 1973 Spirit of America sidecar (the hack comes off easily, however). Riding a motorcycle is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. To me, it falls smack in between Zen meditation and flying an airplane at low altitude. The idea that that you can jump on this elegant machine and head out on the road with no other thoughts but which direction to go is pretty damn sweet.
Q: As a filmmaker, what about the MFF and motorcycle films in general speaks to you?
A: Having attended some of the biggest mainstream film festivals, the concept of a motorcycle-oriented film festival really appeals to me. First and foremost, I love motorcyclists more than most any other group of people. Secondly, unlike a mainstream film festival, no one comes to the MFF with thoughts of seeing celebrities, getting discovered, or making a million-dollar deal – and therefore, people don’t act like assholes. They watch good flicks and bullshit with people they actually have something in common with.
To me, motorcycle films inherently speak of adventure, stepping outside the norm, and maybe taking a different perspective on life – all things that relate to actually riding a motorcycle as well. In my experience, motorcyclists have characteristics that most people equate to long-held, traditional American ideals– independence, individualism, self-reliance, bravery in the face of danger, and an adventurous spirit. While these characteristics may be less and less common in the wider modern world, they remain extremely common (perhaps even necessary) traits in a motorcyclist. Films about these people, and their ways of life is about the best topic for a movie that I can imagine.
Q: Have you had a chance to attend the MFF yet?
A: I missed out on the last one, so my positive remarks about the MFF above may be complete bullshit. But I don’t think so.
Q: Possibly impossible question: Favorite bike movie?
A: My favorite bike movie is an Italian film that will be released to the general public this spring. It’s called 1 Map for 2. You guys should screen it at the MFF next year.
Q: What’s next for you as a filmmaker?
A: We have a couple of documentaries in the works. One is about people who take their dog in the motorcycle sidecar. The other is secret. Long term, I’d like to do another narrative feature.
For more information on Sit Stay Ride: The Story of America’s Sidecar Dogs, check out and support the Kickstarter campaign by clicking the image below.
