Birkelunden Filmfestival started out as an idiosyncratic idea at a gym during a bench press session. The main idea was actually to just pick a Friday, gather at now-CEO Joachim's place, see some good films and drink beer, and then repeat at Mads' and Aleksander's place the following Saturday. The core idea was to gather some friends for some quality time, followed by the standard beer induced disc
ussions about the conspicuous qualities in the straight-to-video classic Sharknado, the stupidity of Bella in not choosing Jacob, the eternal altercations about the best Die Hard movie, and the quarreling over whether or not George Lazenby was a decent Bond. As you all know, the concept caught on. One year has past, and we now have a full blown film festival at our hands. In stead of inviting just a few friends, we invited many. In stead of sticking to some frugal meals of bread and water, we made immense amounts of tacos and coined the infamous 50-cheeseburger-sunday-breakfast (It's a tradition). And instead of our 40" TV, we got government funding to provide for the renting of a projector and a 110" silver screen. Last but not least: At our last festival, which celebrated legendary breakthroughs, we saw the genesis of our exalted Birkelunden Filmmagasin, also courtesy of our beloved oil indulged welfare state. Here we wrote articles and reviews, discussing everything from the change in the nature of the sex appeal of Leo DiCaprio and Ryan Gosling, to philosophical discussions of what constitutes a "breakthrough", and we also provided our predictions on the Next Big Actors and Actresses. This magazine will expand, both in personnel and quality, and will be available in time for the festival. Of course, this magazine is our obvious outlet for the everlasting discussions raised in the aftermath of the films we used to watch. But we still lacked the varnish of high spirited conversation and pseudo-intellectual nonsense provided by our usual gatherings before the festival came to be. Therefore, we also host a range of panel discussions between the viewings, taking up everything from the apparent lack of historical authenticity of Gladiator (We'll gladly defend our choice) to more general debates about the moods, trends and ideas behind contemporary films. We'll also host a quiz, where all your useless film trivia will thrive. This is the history of Birkelunden Filmfestival up until today, and we'll stick to the same visions and values envisioned and devised during that gym session a long time ago:
We'll provide a range of films (all with an introductory lecture), skipping all the pretensious, continental films stripped of all things entertaining. Instead we'll provide a critical and fresh perspective at the most popular films of the last decades, showing you things you haven't thought about, and giving you the opportunity to participate in the post-film debates where you can tell us your own perceptions and reflections in a low key setting. In addition, you'll have a great time with wonderful people where you'll get the chance to laugh, cry, discuss, and fight over some of the finest films based on true stories the world has ever seen.
