Last year I got to experience one branch of this cool kids group - Star Light Films (or SLF) - in person. One of my friends happened upon an advertisement for a film screening party of their short films that was to be held out in the country under the stars with Archive bartending, other local vendors, and a local band ("Yaquina Bay" which, FYI, I later came to love so much. Hopefully I'll blog about them someday). We dressed up, headed slightly out of town, and enjoyed the whole fancy evening...which even ended in fireworks! I'm also a follower of SLF on facebook, had a connection to someone they made a love story film for (which I loved, btw), and came to really appreciate their work in film and photography.
So when this year's film screening rolled around and I saw the event advertised on facebook, I knew I had to attend. What made the event even more appealing was the fact that it was going to be held at Archive this year (and everyone knows I love that place), in their semi-secret downstairs speakeasy (do you see the cool factor rising??), AND it was advertised as a formal/dapper event (fun!). I RSVP'd online for 2 in order to hold our place.
Even before the event happened, it was fun to anticipate it. Oregon (well, actually the Pacific NW in general) is not, what you would call, a very fancy place. Oregonians tend to prefer flannels and hoodies rather than suits or skirts. I liked having a reason to put thought into what I'd wear, and my date and I had fun planning out our outfits ahead of time.
When the night arrived, we dappered ourselves up, walked about a block down the street to Archive, down the stairs, and into the speakeasy. A greeter met us at the door to mark us off the reservation list. Pretty fancy :). We had been instructed to arrive timely, and the evening started off with drinks and food for purchase (from Archive) and some dessert treats that were freely available. Archive was even serving a specially created drink just for the event! I grabbed a glass of wine (Malbec I believe) and we settled into the speakeasy's den-like furniture for awhile.
Awhile later, the live music started and we made our way out to the larger open room (where Archive roasts their coffee, btw). There were rows of benches set up for the later film screening. We sat on a bench near the musician (who was playing right next to the coffee roaster, which was a pretty cool vibe) and took in his acoustic guitar performance. He was really great, pretty mellow, did some fun covers, and we enjoyed listening to him a lot.
As the screening time inched closer, so did we :), and we moved up towards the front of the room and chatted with some other party attenders. Throughout the night we enjoyed getting to know some of the other attendees. It was a great little crowd of people.
Pretty soon the two owners of SLF were up front introducing the series of films that we were about to see, and we were off. I believe there were about 10 films that were shown sequentially. Some of the films were advertisements for businesses. I like the style that they tend to use where they really focus on the craft and the human element and the care that goes into the product that you're purchasing. They tell a story about what's important to that business. We also saw some love story and wedding reception films. I've always enjoyed their love stories, which seem to be a more modern version of the old-school engagement photo shoot. Instead, they capture the love between the two people in moving film and words. The last category of film that we saw (though, I might be forgetting some!) was my favorite. I'm not sure what I'd categorize them as, but perhaps they were lifestyle films? There was one with a couple in a little cabin in the woods, and another that followed a free-spirited couple traveling around in a van. That last one was called "Coastal" and you can check it out on their facebook page I really liked these lifestyle films; they were refreshing and kind of remind you that life and love are worth it.
When the films where over, closing remarks were made, and then...and then there was a glorious shower of gold confetti :). What a way to end the event with a bang! And, what a pleasant way to spend an evening - fancy clothes, food and drink, great live music, meeting new people, and lovely films.
This is a once-a-year event, so I suggest you start following SLF on facebook and don't miss out next time!
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