By Janay Boyd | Reporter
The annual Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival is back with a diverse lineup of films from 22 filmmakers. This festival, held for six years now, celebrates creativity and storytelling in all its forms.
“I think it is very important to celebrate and show off these smaller filmmakers because of how stale the movie industry is getting,” said Philadelphia senior Josh Joseph who is planning on attending the festival. “These independent filmmakers … can truly express themselves and their ideas.”
One of the films being featured at the festival is “Over the Shelter,” a 13-minute hybrid short film directed by Ian Cardinali. The film explores the “overview effect,” a cognitive shift that occurs when someone sees Earth from space, and the emotional framework that comes with such an experience, Cardinali said.
According to Cardinali’s website, the film follows an astronaut attempting to explain to her son what it feels like to view Earth from space. As she describes the experience, her words merge with the child’s imagination, resulting in an intimate exploration of existential questions.
The concept of the story is inspired by “The Overview Effect,” a book by Frank White.
“I managed to talk to Frank White and I mentioned whether the rational aspect of an adult is a limitation in explaining this, explaining and communicating to convey his experience, and he said ‘probably, yes,’” Cardinali said. “So perhaps the freedom of a child in his fantasy is key to communicating this aspect, and that’s where the idea of an adult speaking to a child, and a child trying to blend his imagination into conveying his experience.”
Cardinali emphasized the theme of interconnectedness, a concept also explored in White’s book. He said that while our connection to Earth is constant and often transactional, the challenge lies in finding a way to truly portray that relationship.
“Obviously when you have an experience like the overview effect, which I never had, so this is purely speculative, but I presumed and I thought and I imagined that once you see it, it’s like a crystal-clear proof of that experience and that it had always been in the back of your mind,” Cardinali said.
Cardinali hopes audiences experience the film rather than analyze it.
“Rather than understand, I would like [the audience] to feel something,” Cardinali said.”It’s also a very visual film and graphic film, so it’s also to be lived as an experience. And perhaps give a glimpse, a very tiny glimpse of the overview effect experience. So it’s a movie that I would like people to just go in and feel it rather than watch it and understand.”
For Cardinali, having “Over the Shelter” included in the festival is both an honor and a motivation to continue his work.
“Although I have never been to a film festival if I have spare time, I would be interested in seeing what could potentially revolutionize the movie industry,” he said. “If anything, I like movies that are art first, entertainment second.”
The festival will take place from Thursday to Saturday. Tickets for the festival range from $5 to $200 depending on additional event access, such as the “Champions Award” reception and a dance concert.
