B Movie Celebration - Franklin Indiana
This was the second year for the festival and it has grown quite extensively. Vendors set up tables in the Johnson County Museum. The corner bar, The Willard, spilled its business out onto the streets as movie fans crowded around large outdoor screens to watch such wondrous features as Attack of The Crab Monsters.
Inside the Artcraft, larger productions filled the seats. Night of The Living Dead took a top spot, along with Sukiyaki Western Django. The opportunity to see films like these on a large screen is a rare one, so I took in everything that I could. On the small screens, Troma hosted their 2008 TromaDance festival, featuring over three dozen short and independant films from regional and low-budget film makers.
It's great to see Lloyd Kaufman (Troma Films) taking such an interest in the Franklin festival. A man as controversial and stalwart as he is in the realm of independant film making is not to be dismissed lightly. It doesn't take a flight of fancy to dream of Franklin becoming home to the best and brightest in indie sci-fi/horror movies on a yearly basis.
Joining Lloyd as guests were industry professionals such as Harry Manfredini (composer), Tom Holland (writer/director), Lt. Col. Paul Sinor (military technical adviser to filmmakers). There were plenty more on the bill, who talked about things such as Net Neutrality and what it means to film makers, budgeting a film and marketing strategies.
