Found Footage Festival @ Beachland Ballroom 2/21/10

There are some strange people in this world. And if--for whatever reason--you need further proof, go to any thrift store, pick up some old VHS tapes and pop them in the VCR. Surely you'll be dumbfounded and will ask yourself: "Did someone actually make this? Is this for real?"

Or spare yourself the torture and check out the Found Footage Festival. For 18 years, Brooklyn residents Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher have scoured thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales for odd videos, bizarre home movies and profoundly stupid film footage. They find the creme de la creme of weird film footage, create a montage of the best clips and tour around the country to show off their finds. This year is their fifth anniversary of bringing their festival on the road.

Their show at the Beachland opened w/ a collection of film shorts from local filmmaker Jon Mancinetti. Then, after a brief intermission, the fest began. Pickett and Prueher, whose credits include The Onion and Late Show With David Letterman, stood next to a screen projecting their latest collection--Found Footage Festival: Volume 4. All film footage was organized into categories ("Cartoons," "After Dark," etc.) and presented as montages. Thankfully they spared the audience of sitting through an uncut home movie or crappy cartoon (like the infamous Chuck Norris or MC Hammer cartoons they presented). Pickett and Prueher introduced each category with some background info and peppered the footage with their funny comments. They seemed genuinely amused by the footage even though I can only imagine how many times they've sat through it.

"Hair and Makeup" contained a video clip about something all women need be concerned about--makeup and how awful women look without it. One of the most hilarious segments was about computers and featured what they referred to as the "whitest guy ever" explaining how to use email and a clip premiering Windows 95 starring cast members from Friends. You can probably imagine how tacky that would be. And, of course, they showed dating service clips with some of the ugliest people from the '80s, including a guy looking for "the goddess" and one who was adamant about "no hamsters."

My heart goes out to the folks (Pickett and Prueher I'm assuming) who sat through hours upon hours of uncut footage to bring us these hilarious montages. Talk about doing a service for humanity!

Overall, the Found Footage Festival was truly enjoyable. Absurd, weird and, at times, lewd but always hilarious--a true snapshot of humanity. The good news is you don't have to wait another year to see the show. You can purchase the same DVDs they show at the festivals on their website, where you can also watch some found footage gems. http://FoundFootageFest.com.

Cool Cleveland events editor Sarah Valek graduated from Ithaca College with a double-major in arts and writing. After graduation, she came back to her beloved city and served as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. She currently spends her days chasing after her toddler-age son, drinking soy lattes and digging up the coolest events around town.