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New Heavy Hitting film fest makes for a Mockumentary summer

Heavy Hitting Films, the shadowy organization behind Whistler’s annual B-Grade Horrorfest...

Heavy Hitting Films, the shadowy organization behind Whistler’s annual B-Grade Horrorfest each Halloween and the debaucherous locally produced ski film Parental Advisory , has yet another trick up its collective sleeve.

It’s going to be the summer of satire this year at the inaugural Heavy Hitting Mockumentary Film Festival, set to hit Whistler this July.

"Our Horrorfest has been so well received and the filmmaker talent pool is so deep up here we just decided to give ’er another go," is the official word from Heavy Hitting’s Feet Banks, (coincidentally, the author of this publication’s scathingly funny movie review column Notes from the Back Row .)

"Mockumentaries are really fun to make because you can get creative and still shoot them on a limited or non-existent budget," Banks added.

For those unfamiliar with the genre, a mockumentary adapts conventions of documentary filmmaking for joke subject matter. A few better known feature film examples include This is Spinal Tap (heavy metal bands), Fubar (prairie headbangers), and A Mighty Wind (aging folk musicians).

Potential entrants can rest assured their Heavy Hitting mockumentary submissions are limited to 15 minutes in length.

The cut-off for entry submission has been set for July 15, 2004. A winner will be selected at the festival’s screening event in late July. The exact date and venue are yet to be determined.

Local artist and festival co-organizer Chili Thom said the festival will feature a new handcrafted trophy with a coolness factor equal to that of the Horrorfest’s silver whiskey-bearing skull. A cash prize is also in the works, to be determined by the acquisition of an event sponsor, as was the case with Horrorfest 2003.

Buoyed by existing enthusiasm for its Halloween counterpart, the Heavy Hitting Mockumentary Film Festival will undoubtedly pique the interest of the creative minds in the local film community as well as Vancouver filmmakers such as Horrorfest 2003 winner Stu MacKay-Smith.

"Really, we just want to give people an excuse to get out with their cameras and have some fun this summer," said Banks.

It’s a sentiment he’s importing from Horrorfest for good reason.

Why mess with success?

For more information on the first annual Heavy Hitting Mockumentary Film Festival go to www.514video.com/heavyhitting or call 604-902-2666.