The bike stars shined bright at the fourth annual Filmed by Bike film fest that went down on Friday at the Clinton Street Theater. 550 people packed two shows (250 were turned away!) and the fest brought out everyone from a Metro Councilor to the Belligerante biker gang.
According to festival director Ayleen Crotty, the fest was “a raging success” and she’s already considering taking the show on the road to other cities in need of bike movie love.
The place was so packed that bike parking was nearly impossible for a one-block radius around the theater. I spoke to one couple who said they had to circle the block a few times to find a spot.
I didn’t stay for the late show, but I heard it was rowdy and crazy. “Bikakke”, a film that Bikestation honcho Todd Boulanger called, “Zoobomb-erotica”, wasn’t shown on the early show. It would have been fun to hear the crowd’s reaction to the film’s climax (if you saw it you’ll know why!).
All the movies were cool, but my personal favorite (it was tough to choose) was “Levin’s Bicycle” by Benjamin Parzybok. This was a subtitled ode about a philosopher’s deep and intimate relationship with his bicycle. People were getting hysterical and wish I had some of the quotes written down.
It was an awesome show and great event that had all of Ayleen’s typical flare. If you missed it, you can get the DVD from the Filmed by Bike website and definitely plan on showing up next year!
Photo conditions were tough, but here are the rest of my shots.
After the late show, about 60 people joined in on the Midnight Mystery Ride. This month’s rendition was led by Filmed by Bike poster artist Shawn Granton and ended up under the Morrison Bridge on the Eastbank Esplanade. Read the full report on Shawn’s great blog.