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Big Lens films pack punches and purrs

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By Terry Morris, Staff Writer 3:59 PM Friday, May 8, 2009

It’s everything from fists battering heads in amateur boxing to the velvety softness of a kitten-tongue massage.

Want more? It’s pairs roller skating and, um, masturbation.

It’s the Wright State University Big Lens Festival and it’s back.

After a year absence, the motion pictures program at WSU is brimming with student works worthy of a collective look, which is what they will get starting Friday, May 15, during the inaugural FilmDayton Festival at the Neon Movies, 130 E. Fifth St.

The Big Lens portion of the entertaining and thought-provoking screenfest will include five shorts ranging from 8 to 13 minutes and a 30-minute documentary.

The latter is “Toughman,” an examination of the Original Toughman Contest and its potentially deadly outcomes.

Doug Paul, who co-directed with Rocky Smith (he sounds and looks a bit like a fighter, but is a former WSU cheerleader), said the spark was the 2005 death of contestant Steve Burress during the amateur fighting competition’s visit to Hara Arena in Dayton.

Paul’s father was the trauma surgeon who watched Burress die and then launched a protest against an event that has been outlawed in several states, but not Ohio.

Both a local story and one about basic human nature, “Toughman” doesn’t take sides so much as accumulate evidence against the contest. Its official impartiality and occasional repetition is no advantage when weighed against assets like these:

The mother of Clayton fighter “Bam Bam” Groh, fearful as her son gets floored with a punch, but slamming the air with aggression the second he rocks his opponent.

Interviews with Burrell’s mother, kids and especially his not-so-stoic friends in his Ohio River hometown of Martin’s Ferry.

A behind-the-scenes look at the victor comforting a defeated Groh, who’s macho all the way to the exit.

“Run to Me Run from Me,” depicts an athlete whose health, track results and relationship with his girlfriend decline as sexual fantasies and obsessions take over his thoughts. Writer-director Ben Garchar doesn’t shy away from the unconventional nature of his story.

Director Daisy Blakelock contributes “Roger and Betty,” a sweet narrative about artistic roller skaters Roger Kissell and Betty Danks that’s informative, insightful and kissed with whimsy.

Even more playful is “Soothing Nature Day Spa,” a brief commercial spoof from director Alex Mangen and the Left of Center sketch comedy group. Paired with “Branson Hills,” it doesn’t just show kittens using paws and tongues to ease human stress, it depicts the health benefits in diagram.

“Waiting Room,” by Trevor Hollen, stands out for its attention to filmmaking technique rather than cohesive narrative. It’s about people trapped in a church. Whatever force contains them also keeps us watching.

“Toughman” will have its premiere. The others have already attracted attention. “Run to Me Run from Me,” “Roger and Betty” and “Waiting Room” have played the Wexner Center’s Ohio short Film and Video Showcase, among other screenings. “Branson Hills” and “Soothing Nature Day Spa” were screened at Chicago’s Independent Comedy Festival.

For more on the festival, go to www.filmdayton.com.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2377 or tmorris@Dayton DailyNews.com.