Enjoying a slice of life at the Free State Festival

Started in 2011, the Free State Festival is an arts festival which includes a film showcase. Because one of the festival's sponsors in the Film and Media Studies Department at the University of Kansas, (of which I am a student) I was able to attend a few of the films for free.

The first block of films I saw was the "Slice of Life Shorts". This block was named for the pizza that was served afterwards and included four short documentaries: Lend Me a Hand, Welcome to Dollar Country, Land Back to the Future, and Reclaiming Home: Remembering the Topeka Bottoms.

Lend Me a Hand

Lend Me a Hand, directed by Kat King, follows Kareen King (Kat's mother) as she explores the loneliness that comes with aging while volunteering at a nursing home. After an elderly woman, Emma Lou, tells Kareen that she is so lonely that she wants to die, Kareen chooses to become her friend out of pity, but discovers a beautiful friendship that transcends Emma Lou's death.

"I never wanted a husband, I wanted a best friend." said Emma Lou

Following this experience, Kareen dedicates her life to the woman's memory, creating a muppet-like puppet in Emma Lou's image to help entertain people she meets in nursing homes. In a panel following the showings, Kareen explained how many people "literally die of loneliness" and hoped the film could continue to spread the word of love.

The film uses calming music (created by Kareen) and vibrant cinematography to emphasize its message of love and kindness. The mother-daughter duo later explained that one of the hardest parts of creating this film was combining their two visions, which feels ironic due to how cohesive it feels.

Kat plans to submit Lend Me a Hand to more festivals in the future, so hopefully you'll be able to see it at a film festival near you!

Welcome to Dollar Country

Welcome to Dollar Country follows the host of the radio show Dollar Country, Frank, as he works to archive obscure American country music.

"Disks are voices of ghosts." said Frank.

This film was the funniest of the group as Frank has a very dry, but charming sense of humor that endears the audience to him and his cause. The film felt like watching a very well-produced vlog, and this casual feeling allows Frank to convince the audience of the importance of archiving obscure, and often bad, country music.

Welcome to Dollar Country struggled initially to be accepted to film festivals, but will be playing in Dallas and Austin, Texas soon. It will also possibly be on YouTube in the future.

Land Back to the Future

Land Back to the Future tells the two stories of the destruction of the wetlands at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. It uses a past and present timeline to show how the continuation of manifest destiny causes history to repeat itself as native lands are destroyed.

The film shows past efforts to stop the building of a freeway through the wetlands, but gets more in-depth with its present timeline, showing students caring for the wetlands and attending council meetings to stop further damage.

"We survived despite the extreme pressure."

The film took a lot of patience as production lasted two years. Having hard conversations and finding archived materials were also part of the work that went into this film, and that hard work clearly paid off. I thoroughly enjoyed this experimental take on history.

Land Back to the Future has provided many students of Haskell with opportunities and will be stored at the Haskell Cultural Center & Museum.

Reclaiming Home: Remembering the Topeka Bottoms

Reclaiming Home: Remembering the Topeka Bottoms is an oral history of the Topeka Bottoms neighborhood that was destroyed during urban renewal in the mid-20th century.

The residents of this multicultural neighborhood share their stories of the loving community that they lost with its destruction. Around 3,000 people were displaced to make room for corporations like Hallmark to move in, most of whom were people of color who would go on to face redlining and discrimination under Jim Crow laws. As many of the past residents of the neighborhood age, it's important to share this story before it's too late.

"If you don't have those stories, you don't have that part of yourself"

Feeling like a scrapbook, the film displays the sense of comfort and community that the residents found in the neighborhood and each other. They still have a "Bottom Kids" reunion to honor their past today.

Co-director Matt Jacobson (who was also one of my professors) spoke about all the work he and director Maria Velasco put into this project. After Tom Rodriguez (who was interviewed and honored following his passing in the film) released his memoir The Bottoms: A Place We Once Called Home, Jacobson and Velasco spent four years gathering over 40 interviews to put this film together.

It then has to be re-edited for its festival premiere at Free State as it was initially shown as a sort of museum exhibition at the Off-Site Art Space in Lawrence, Kansas. It needed some context to explain the Topeka Bottoms before it could start to discuss it.

"We want people to remember that there was a place called the Topeka Bottoms." said Jacobson.

In a panel after the film, Jacobson spoke of hopes that the film would show at more festivals and would someday be available through local PBS stations.

Final Festival Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed viewing these films at the Free State Festival. While each film covered vastly different topics, the panel moderator found that they were each connected by the theme of reclaiming loss. This made the block feel cohesive. The theme of reclamation allowed the films to remain light even when they covered darker subject matter.

While I only attended one day of the festival, I'm confident that I'd like to return. The other days were filled with fun music and items for sale from local artists, as well as a showing of I Love Boosters that included a panel with director Boots Riley and several Algerian films to recognize the many Algerians visiting Lawrence for the World Cup. This week-long festival clearly has a lot to offer, and I hope I'll be back next year!