Lost and Found

Discarded footage becomes a full-on festival.

Comments (0) By Cory Casciato Thursday, Oct 16 2008

Indulge your taste for the bizarre detritus of Western civilization tonight at the Found Footage Festival, a national touring act that presents some of the strangest moments ever captured on video. Curators Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett have been collecting cast-off videos from thrift stores, garage sales and dumpsters since high school, and they’ve produced several volumes’ worth of the unusual, unbelievable and excruciatingly embarrassing best moments — which they present, along with live commentary, at theaters all over the country. From horrific home-beauty treatments to overly ambitious, under-talented “stars,” the festival comprises nearly two hours’ worth of undiscovered genius from hundreds of training videos, home movies and cable-access shows that provide a hilarious and unique viewpoint on the human condition.

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“I think these sorts of moments that were captured on video, that people would probably rather forget about, say just as much about us as a culture as do our greatest works of art,” Prueher says. “I feel like if you’re only including the AFI Top 100 and Citizen Kane in the time capsule, it’s not a very accurate representation of what this country is all about, who we are as a people.”

See the real story of who we are — and bring your own lost gems for the curators’ consideration — at 8:30 p.m., when Prueher and Pickett present Vol-ume Two at Starz FilmCenter in the Tivoli. Tickets, $9.50, can be purchased at www.denverfilm.org or at the box office. For more information, call 303-595-3456 or visit www.foundfootagefest.com.
Fri., Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m., 2008