Like-minded freaks, unite -- at the Hi-Definition Film Festival, where you can witness the quiet revolution that's happening, in which hi-definition technology is staging a coup, sending old-school film and digital video to live in a hole in the ground near Tikrit. So hi-def's not completely new -- George Lucas filmed the latest Star Wars series with it -- but unless you watched those movies in one of the few theaters that's specially equipped to project hi-def, you got the shaft. According to Isaac Alexander, wonk in chief of this weekend's geek meet, "Most people have never seen hi-def projected on a large screen before. It usually blows their mind." He expects it will take four or five years for the format to become the industry standard.
Sorry to tell ya, but there's not much festivity in the festival's plot lines. The mix of shorts and feature-length films includes two dramas about people grappling with health issues, two documentaries about plants, and two films about the arts -- but just one movie with "the story of Oedipus, in eight minutes, performed by fresh vegetables, in the tradition of Ben Hur." The fest lasts for just one long, butt-numbing night -- but on Saturday morning, you can jibber-jabber about panel topics like "Shooting Hi-Def, the Advantages Over DV" and "Animation and Effects for HD." -- Deirdra Funcheon
