Gothic Pride Seattle perfectly darkens a sunny day with a film fest

Folks, if you like and/or care about goth, being a queer goth, or revitalizing goth culture, consider donating to Gothic Pride Seattle. Just another way for you to connect with other darklings who share your sensibilities. Yanno, away from the interwebs.

I attended the first annual Gothic Film Festival Sunday, Oct 19, at the Grand Illusion Cinema. Never having been in there, I thought the name of the place was kitschy ironic, though the screen room itself was awesomely outfitted in a style fit for a much larger, vintage stage theater. The red and black velvet seats and ornate French-styled woodwork made for the perfectly intimate goth-esque setting. The festival sold out at 51 tickets, and the place did end up being nearly full. Mr. Gothic Pride 2012 was in attendance, as well as most of the filmmakers. Some dressed in “day goth drag” while others went all-out in exemplary get-ups. I was pleasantly surprised to see people of diverse ages, not just Gen X-ers who kept getting told that goth was a phase. To quote World Goth Day, “Halloween isn’t a holiday, it’s a lifestyle.”

For the first hour, we were treated to short films and a music video. The video featured an amazing vocalist, but I could’ve done without the spider crawling everywhere and stereotypical imagery (pentagram, snake, spider, candles, etc.). The first short film was “Morella,” an acted-out piece to the Edgar Allen Poe’s story of the same name. To be honest, I hadn’t read it in quite a long time, so it was interesting to see someone else’s take on it. Low budget, but well done. As for “The Examination”…um. Hrm. I wanted to like it; really, I did. But it looked every bit like a college film student’s work, where you have people at one end of the spectrum or the other: One, the furrowed poet’s brow in a look of consternation while asking, “But what does it mean?” and two, “Thank you for experimenting with special effects, now please go flesh this out so it makes sense.” Overall a decent attempt, but I can’t honestly say it would make it in a large-scale film festival. The last short film, “The Devil Walks in Salem,” was pretty well-crafted. An almost-documentary, or historical dramatization if you will, it reminded us of the Salem Witch Trials and the horrors inflicted on a town when a control freak and some teenagers get mean.

After an intermission, we were treated to “Anatomy of a Monster,” about a wannabe serial killer and a woman who could actually pull it off. I only stayed for twenty minutes due to my busy schedule, but what I saw of it might have been a wonderful little study for psychology majors. It automatically got bonus points for including a shot of Noc Noc.

Most of the filming for all of the works seemed to have been done locally, from Nisqually, to Seattle, to Port Townsend. Overall, it is hoped that the festival will grow next year. And please, donate to Gothic Pride Seattle, so we can have more events like this. Happy All Saint’s Day! *retreats to a dark corner with a copy of the new Anne Rice*

Korra Q is a Seattle-based nerd who plays fetch with her cat. She’s into sci-fi, un-sparkly vampires, and fictional chicks who kick ass. To support her habits, she’s the sassiest server you’ll ever order from.

Random musings: @Kittyslap27 on Twitter.