When you think of a film festival, there are plenty of big names that come to mind. Sundance Film Festival, Festival de Cannes and South by Southwest are staples for film-lovers everywhere.
To the wider film community, Filmfort may not ring a bell. But to Boiseans, Filmfort is a beloved part of Treefort Music Fest.
Filmfort ran from March 27-30 — a three day festival bringing together emerging filmmakers and local cinephiles for a weekend of feature films, documentaries and shorts.
Best of all, the cast and crew of these films joined audiences for a Q&A after each showing, allowing for aspiring filmmakers and fans to get a glimpse inside the creative process.
Showing primarily at Idaho Film Society and The Flicks, attendees could either buy individual tickets to the events or enter with their General Admission Treefort wristband.
Here are three films to keep an eye out for!
OBEX
Following its premiere at Sundance Film Festival in early 2025, Filmfort was “OBEX”’s second ever showing.
Filmed entirely in black in white on a camera from 2012, “OBEX” follows Conor Marsh (Albert Birney) — a man living a secluded life with his dog, Sandy.
Set in 1987, Conor makes money creating commissioned portraits of people on his computer, using a variety of symbols to bring the subjects to life. When he’s not typing up a storm, Conor and Sandy watch movies, sing karaoke and sit in their backyard.
When Conor spots an advertisement in a magazine, he decides to sign up for “OBEX”, a computer game that claims to be better than the rest.
After sending in a VHS with his name, information about himself and Sandy and different angles of his body, Conor shortly receives his copy of OBEX.
Once he pops the game into his computer, disappointment quickly follows. What he thought would be an innovative game turned out to be a pixelated mess with no point.
However, what once started as a mediocre game soon turns into a living nightmare when Sandy goes missing and Conor has to venture into the land of OBEX to get her back.
After “OBEX”’s final credits rolled, the audience erupted into applause as co-writer, director and lead actor Albert Birney and co-writer, cinematographer and producer Pete Ohs took to the front of the Idaho Film Society theater for a Q&A session.
Although you may not recognize Birney by name, he has a fair share of credits. Along with having acted in “I Saw the TV Glow”, he has directed 12 films, including “Strawberry Mansion”.
“OBEX” uses various elements to create a film that is a combination of horror, comedy, sci-fi and fantasy. From extreme closeups of cicadas to a thrilling soundtrack by Josh Dibb, almost every minute of “OBEX” kept the audience enthralled.
Cicadas were a constant theme throughout the film and their deafening sounds could be heard in the background of many shots.
“My dog was eating them in the backyard. They were in the trash can. They were deafening,” Birney said during the post-screening Q&A. “Some days, it was just like screams outside … It was just something I was fascinated with.”
Having “OBEX” in black and white gave it an otherworldly feel and allowed the dream sequences to make your skin crawl, almost as if cicadas had been let loose in the theater.
When asked about the choice, Birney said, “A big part of it was those early Mac computer games that I grew up playing were on black and white monitors … The special effects we were going to do, they’re way more forgivable if you’re black and white.”
The first half of “OBEX” was excellent, but once Conor entered the game to retrieve Sandy, it started to feel like a different movie entirely. This is likely because “OBEX” was written and filmed in two different installments.
“We just outlined 20 scenes for the first half of the movie, shot that in September of [20]22, edited that for months and months trying to figure out the second half,” Birney explained. “[We] came up with that [second half of the film] in April of [20]23, wrote a script … and then filmed that in September of [20]23.”
While both halves of the movie are enjoyable, they unfortunately didn’t blend well and caused some lost momentum. Despite that, “OBEX” was still an excellent watch.
According to Variety, independent film distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired the rights to “OBEX” and plans to bring it to theaters later this year.
Pete Ohs, the sole crew member of “OBEX”, had another film in Filmfort. “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick” played on Saturday, March 28 at the Idaho Film Society.
Despite the slightly choppy feel, “OBEX” created a world that is impossible not to be immersed in. You won’t want to miss it once it comes to the big screen.
Tortoise & Hare
Written and directed by Marcellyn Fisher, an up-and-coming filmmaker from Lewiston, Idaho attending the University of Idaho, “Tortoise & Hare” is a twist on the classic Aesop fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare”.
Shown as part of the “Local Gems” short film showcase at The Flicks, featuring short films made by Idahoans or those with Idaho roots, “Tortoise & Hare” immediately hooked the audience with its creative opening in classic fairytale fashion.
Starting off in a page turning storybook and transitioning to a bar, we are introduced to Tortoise (Thomas Pearson) and Snail (Zach Haas). Tortoise is insistent that he can win his footrace with Hare (Luke McGreevy), who has been humiliating Tortoise for ages.
When the race finally commences, things take a surprising turn. Fed up with Hare’s cocky attitude and taunting, Tortoise makes sure he’s the one to win the race — and every race after that.
This twist on a children’s classic feels vaguely nostalgic, yet innovative and invites the audience into a humorous dreamscape where even animals have dark impulses.
The 10-minute short film has a glowy dream-like feel, thanks to a special lens filter used during filming.
This short film creates a world that viewers can’t help but find themselves encapsulated in.
“Tortoise & Hare” features actors dressed in fun costumes to help them embody the characters they play. Snail sports a headband with snail eyes and a stylish sweater vest, Hare rocks fuzzy leg warmers and a red tracksuit and Tortoise is painted green in true tortoise fashion.
The performances given by Haas, Pearson and McGreevy are engaging and they easily brought the characters to life. You can almost believe that Hare truly got what he deserved.
What’s next for “Tortoise & Hare”? The short film is heading to the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) next, a film festival located in Seattle, Washington.
Keep an eye on Marcellyn Fisher as he continues his film journey. Watch the trailer for “Tortoise & Hare” on Fisher’s Instagram, @marcellynfilms.
The Girlies
Looking for a short film that feels like girlhood embodied? Look no further!
Directed and written by Natalie Couture, “The Girlies” is a 9-minute short following three girls, played by Hannah Fay Foligno, Alexis Adams and Natalie Couture herself.
It’s vibrant appearance, fun costumes and goofy storyline, “The Girlies” perfectly exemplifies its tagline: “Antics! Estrogen! Escapades!”.
Ginger (Foligno), Clementine (Adams) and Rosie (Couture) get locked out of their apartment, forcing them to face the unexpected. There are plenty of laughable moments from start to finish, and you can’t help but root for these girls.
There is almost a complete lack of dialogue from the characters in the film, save for one hilarious moment that broke the fourth wall of the world the film is set in. Instead, dialogue is played on intertitles which are commonly used in silent films, or delivered by the narrator.
Although, “The Girlies” is anything but silent. The music, done by Martín De Lima, was upbeat and helped the audience immerse themselves into the girlies world.
The contrast between the vivid mid-1900s look and the modern humor made “The Girlies” a truly entertaining watch.
Filmfort is a door-opening experience, giving aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to show their work to local cinephiles and other filmmakers from around the country.
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I was at Filmfort and thoroughly enjoyed the Girlies. The film was cleverly written and produced. The Girlies made me wishing for much more from them.
The Girlies is SUCH a treat, and a love letter to making movies on film!