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MOVIE MAGIC, INDEPENDENT STYLE

August 20, 2009 12:49 am

BY MEGAN WILLIAMS

Robert Gregson turned his love of pretending into a career.

As a child, the Fredericksburg native enjoyed the world of make-believe and art. His father was a painter and Gregson was an actor.

"I was always exposed to a lot of visual art and attracted to it," the 22-year-old said. "Film especially attracted me, as kind of the newest art."

Last year Gregson and a handful of others were finalists in the first Rappahannock Independent Film Festival, hosted by the Fredericksburg Athenaeum, a local non-profit arts promoter.

And starting next Thursday, Aug. 27, the second annual festival will be held in downtown Fredericksburg.

That first year, Gregson submitted a short film he'd made while in college. It didn't win any awards, but it did introduce him to Nathan Blair.

Blair's film won that year, and when Gregson and Blair found themselves living in New York, they decided to team up.

Blair was the cinematographer for Gregson's 23-minute film submitted this year, entitled "No Land."

For the film, Gregson drew from his experience as a prankster in high school. The film is about two friends who break into homes and replace Bibles with "subversive" material.

Something eventually comes between them and their friendship, though--a girl, of course.

Like the film's two characters, Gregson pulled similarly diabolical missions as a student at Massaponax High School.

"They weren't exactly like this," Gregson said. "Both were eccentric with some genuine expression in them."

There are few filmmakers in the festival this year that participated last year, said Paul Lewis, event coordinator. It takes a long time to make a film and there's not a lot of time for doubles, making Gregson one of the exceptions.

Gregson said the filmmaking process can be a long one. Depending on the type of film, and the length, it can take anywhere from two weeks to five years.

It took two months for him and 10 others to produce "No Land," which was shot in Fredericksburg.

Having submitted films to a number of festivals, one reason Gregson enjoys RIFF is because it takes place in his hometown.

"It's a chance for me to go back and contribute to the art-making scene that they're trying to cultivate," Gregson said.

Another local filmmaker, Patrick Clark, submitted a film this year called "Arms and the Band"--a documentary about a high school band performance.

While some of the filmmakers are from Virginia, many are from out of state or even out of the country.

One of the finalists for the "Best in Show" award, for instance, is by Fabrice Maruka, a French filmmaker.

In all, film fans and filmmakers from California, New York, Utah, Arizona, the United Kingdom and more will travel to Fredericksburg to meet other filmmakers and have their pieces screened.

MAKING THE CUT

Lewis and co-organizer Ryan Poe began planning for the festival as soon as last year's was over. Films had to be submitted by last September.

Since then, the two, along with five formal judges, have spent every free minute watching films and weeding out the ones that were not up to par with the others.

Although hundreds of films were submitted, 32 made it through to be screened over the four-day festival. Twelve are finalists.

The films range in length from a minute and a half to two hours. Poe said that all the finalists are very different films, ranging in genre, mood, theme, length and subject.

The judging process was a long one, lasting eight months.

But now judging, viewing and planning are done--and Poe and Lewis say they are looking forward to enjoying the fruits of their labors.

Ultimately, the chance to enhance the arts and give independent filmmakers an opportunity to have their work shown is why Lewis and Poe decided to host the festival.

"It's also about the people and community building," Poe said.

In addition to film screenings, there will be a free filmmaking workshop for the community, and a brunch for people to meet the directors and producers of the winning pieces.

Of course, the break from organizing will be short-lived, as the two have already begun planning for the 2010 Rappahannock Independent Film Festival.

Megan Williams: 540/374-5000
Email: mewilliams@freelancestar.com