"A" FOR AWESOME >>>

I hope you haven't forgotten about OAFF. Back in March I reported on the first-ever Olympia Awesome Film Festival and the regrettable delay of its world premiere. Since the event's original venue, The Loft on Cherry, closed its doors earlier than expected, organizers had no choice but to postpone and scour the city for a new location.

Mission accomplished. The date: Saturday, May 14. The time: 6 to 11-ish p.m. And the place: The Olympia Ballroom (116 Legion Way, Olympia).

The only dancing going on there shall be your eyeballs after eating up hours of movie badassery.

Years from now, the story of OAFF's humble birth might make its way into the annals of cinematic legend, but the memory still burns clearly for those who witnessed its inception. A few members from the small film collective Mutually Assured Productions gathered at a bar one evening last summer. Not surprisingly for this group the conversation turned to movies, and someone nonchalantly suggested that MAP start its own festival.

Now, the bar milieu has a way of unlocking the greatest world-changing notions (or the most idiotic bullshit) from the human mind. Fortunately, the concept formulated that night belonged in the former category. And as a bonus, it didn't dissolve in a fog of cigarette smoke and next-day hangovers like so many before it. These brothers of film banded together to make their idea a reality.

Each member has offered their individual talents to OAFF's construction. Ken Carlson (whose short Senator Feelgood won the runner-up vote this past weekend at The Grand Cinema's 72-Hour Film Competition) and sometimes-actor Travis Blood spent months finding event sponsors. But would businesses take a chance on an all-shorts fest with no track record?

"It's actually been pretty easy," says Carlson. "Almost any local business that we approached ... was more than happy to sponsor."

He, Blood and others also formed a committee that ranked all the entries - most from Washington, several out-of-staters and even a film from Ireland. Similar to the Grand's contest, OAFF will hand out Judges' and People's Choice awards (immediately dubbed "the Oaffie" by yours truly). Olympia's Studio23 Metalworks handcrafted the trophy, which resembles a WWE belt. (I've always craved a prize that doubles as a fashion accessory to show off at parties.)

Besides this one, I can't recall any other festival assembled from scratch by actual moviemakers, folks who breathe creativity on a daily basis. While Kyle Scott prepares the program layout, Charles Chadwick conceptualized many of the bold retro graphics and built the website (oaff.org). There you can watch the highly informative and entertaining promo videos produced by Mutually Assured, which span a range of topics including What is OAFF?, Why OAFF, Why Now and Why Come to OAFF? To all these perplexing inquiries Johnathan Texidor has a succinct response:  "One word. Orgasm."

Awesome.

I spoke with Carlson about growing up in Oly, his lifelong passion for storytelling and making stop-motion movies starring his Ninja Turtle toys with Mom's VHS camera. OAFF simply grows out of this and the rest of Mutually Assured's mutual love of entertainment (emphasis on that last word). His team avoids at all cost both making and watching what Carlson calls "art films," an aesthetic he defines as "blurry camera work with some dissonant jazz music." Enough festivals already exist that eagerly embrace this style while snubbing the cinema Carlson enjoys.

It will offer certain filmmakers more exposure. It will serve up excitement and guilty pleasures to audiences seeking shelter from purposefully puzzling art. Most importantly, it seems OAFF will deliver on its promise of grade-A fun.  

[The Olympia Ballroom, Olympia Awesome Film Festival, Saturday, May 14, 6 p.m., $3 suggested donation, 116 Legion Way, Olympia. oaff.org]