The San Francisco Furry Film Festival

by Patch O'Furr

… only exists in my imagination. BOO…

BUT WAIT. This isn’t so far-fetched. Many festivals thrive on weirdly specific subjects. I submit:
The Internet Cat Video Festival, the International Moustache Film Festival, and 9 more of “the world’s weirdest.”

The idea perks up my ears. Now, I say with love, many furries will watch ANYTHING with furries in it… no matter how bad. There’s no harm in that! I love me some bad low budget movies. (By reputation, we could name Alpha and Omega.) Lovingly compiled programming dedicated to furries seems likely to attract a core audience. And for curiosity and weirdness sake, probably nerdy movie lovers too.

Start with fantasy programming. Obviously, screening rights to many fan favorites aren’t even in the same world as us. Disney would sooner let random furries screen the X-rated Mickey Mouse cartoon (that I just totally made up), before letting them charge admission to the Lion King. But after making a fantasy list, actual choices would be left for a practical, lets-do-this film festival, with deliciously one-of-a-kind flavor.

Imaginary programs (AND WHAT CAN YOU ADD?)

Indie/art house features:
Finsterworld
The Animal Project

Fan-made fiction:
Bitter Lake
Shorts and skits

The dreaded MEDIA and us:
CSI’s “Fur and Loathing”
Reality TV: Dr. Phil, TLC’s My Strange Addiction, and that hated MTV Sex2K episode.
News clips and con coverage.

Documentary:
Many fan-made shorts, and a few long subjects.

Music videos and dance:
Fan-made originals and cover songs.
Choreographed dance videos from cons, with live costumers on stage!
Faux-furry mainstream videos featuring fursuiters or mascot costumes.

Animation:
Fan-made shorts.
Classic shorts and TV episodes.
Anime.

TV and internet meme mashup:
Furry Force, Ylvis, American Dad, and much more…

What else… Bronies?

NO REALLY – SEND ME SUGGESTIONS FOR PROGRAMMING!
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Afterthoughts: Where better to have such a thing, than the San Francisco Bay area? It has so many furries, love for weirdness and subculture, and a base of indie venues. I’d do it, with help.

For a future post: I have a long draft about why a Furry festival (not anchored by a hotel) may offer advantages that haven’t yet been tried with cons.

Here’s excellent research for anyone who’d start a film fest:
The Truths Behind Film FestivalsThe Economics of Film FestivalsWhat Festival Directors Really Think.

This post is inspired by my just-posted review of Finsterworld – and the San Francisco Underground Short Film Fest, which has screened furry stuff. I loved fursuiting on their stage.