Local stories hit the big screen at Kalamazoo Film Society’s fourth annual showcase

The Kalamazoo Film Society (KFS) will host its fourth annual Filmmaker Showcase on Thursday, March 19 from 7–9 p.m. at KP Cinemas, 180 Portage St.

The showcase is part of the organization’s mission to “support and encourage a vibrant cinematic community in Southwest Michigan,” according to the group’s website.

The event features mostly filmmakers from Kalamazoo and the surrounding region, with films shot in — and in some cases about — the city itself.

One of the featured filmmakers, Jerod Kauffman, created a documentary about the final days of the longtime dive bar Harvey’s on the Mall, which closed after a buyout. Kauffman said he wanted to capture the story of a place that helped define Kalamazoo’s nightlife culture.

“The closure was sudden to everyone — the community and staff — so I wanted to immortalize a place that was loved by so many,” Kauffman wrote to Watershed Voice. “I saw a fence and bulldozer outside the building today on the way to work. I think it’s going to be torn down, so I am happy I was able to capture a piece of Kalamazoo history and the bar that stood and served the community for 40+ years.” 

The showcase primarily features local filmmakers, though not exclusively. After the first year, organizers dropped the word “local” from the event’s official title in hopes of attracting a wider range of voices and perspectives — and submissions quickly increased.

Even with the name change, audiences often enjoy recognizing familiar places on screen.

“People love identifying the local pieces and places they recognize in film and video productions — a parking ramp they’ve used, a restaurant they’ve eaten at, or an actor they used to work with,” Kalamazoo Film Society board member and filmmaker to be featured at the event, Darius Quinn told Watershed Voice. “They feel like they’re a part of the experience in some ways.”

Quinn emphasized the event is meant to be a showcase rather than a competition. While audience-choice voting is part of the evening, the focus is on celebrating filmmakers and creating a festival-like atmosphere.

“There will be a red carpet, social media interviews, and a Q&A afterward,” Quinn said.

Some filmmakers return to the event year after year, drawn not only by their love of filmmaking but by the sense of community the showcase fosters.

“I was fortunate to partake in the first KFS and showed a film that I am very proud of,” Kauffman wrote. “But this time I am able to show a different film with another group of great local filmmakers. I am always happy to meet other creative and talented people and see their works. It helps me grow as an artist.” 

For Quinn, sharing his work publicly can also feel vulnerable.

“I pace around a lot and talk to myself. I jot down dialogue in my notes app if I’m not near my computer. Voice memos of me talking to myself as two characters — I look insane sometimes if you catch me doing it,” Quinn wrote. “I’m a pretty private person, so seeing my art is like peeking behind a curtain.”

Quinn’s short film follows a poet preparing for an open mic night who learns that a woman he has been casually seeing will be in the audience.

The film explores the anxiety of performing in front of someone who has never seen that side of you.

Originally, the project included a larger storyline with multiple locations. Quinn said he eventually narrowed the concept to focus on the poetry performance itself.

“So I took the subplot and expanded that a bit,” Quinn wrote. “This way I only had one major location to worry about — the poetry hall where it takes place.”

The showcase will feature a diverse range of stories and genres.

Kauffman’s documentary — which he describes as a “love letter” to Harvey’s on the Mall — is just one of several local stories being told.

“Filled with inside jokes for the staff and regulars, but it has enough of the welcoming and loving spirit that the space had that you will enjoy it just as much even if you’d never been,” Kauffman wrote. “I hope we were able to capture something the community can look back on and be filled with warm memories.” 

Kauffman and Quinn’s films are two of eight scheduled to screen at the showcase.

The full lineup includes:

• You Don’t Know What You’re Talking About — Darius Quinn
• Shoot, Shovel and Shut Up — Tràn Hoàng Calvin
• Tea — Bri Bunker
• Justice for Katherine Gomez — Jazmine Kuyayki Broe
• GTFO: The End of Harvey’s — Jerod Kauffman
• The Hitchhiker at the Lone Oak Tree — Austin Saxton
• Ana Sees Her Dad — Mark Broe
• Invaluable — Faith Hutson

Tickets for the showcase are available here.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.