Probably the one film I am most excited about seeing is Frank & Cindy, screening tomorrow night. I first encountered an abbreviated version of this film as an episode of the TV version of This American Life which aired on Showtime (mentioned previously).
G.J. Echternkamp picked up a video camera and started documenting his mother Cindy and his Former One Hit Wonder stepfather Frank because they were just too dysfunctional to believe. The results are darkly hilarious and ultimately touching. I was so stoked to see the feature-length version and then last night I ran into G.J. at a festival reception. I kind of drooled excessively and expressed my enormous anticipation.
(Actually, let me make this clear. I didn’t really “run” into him. He stopped to say hello for a moment to someone I was talking to and when I heard who had just left, I dragged my companion across the room to introduce me to G.J. Yeah, kind of a fanboy.)
As G.J. says to his parents at one moment, “You guys are solid gold.” They truly are. And much to my amazement, G.J. told me that they’re going to be there in person. Super stoked!
I’ll be writing more about the film after I see it, but I want to urge you to go if you can get tickets. You can also go by G.J.’s website and see some of his music videos and films.
He was also nice enough to give me a promotional button that a friend of his had made, with a photo of his parents in better days.
Tags: Silverdocs, Frank & Cindy, G.J. Echternkamp