Art to Benefit Flood Victims at 2nd Act Film Festival

art by Michael Krajewski Everyone has a role to play as we, as a community, keep making our way through one of the strangest and trying times in our city's history. Our role, on Friday night, will be to go ahead with the 2nd Act Film Festival and offer everyone the opportunity to sit down for a while and enjoy some art. We thought long and hard about whether to postpone the festival and this is where we landed.

We have 10 exciting 6 minute films created for you by 10 different South Carolina filmmakers. While each film is decidedly different, each filmmaker and her or his team sought to solve a common problem.  Each filmmaker was given the first and third acts of a screenplay and charged with writing the 2nd act and making the film with all three acts. This year's theme is consciousness. From a time-traveling Richard Nixon to a wife whose man has cheated for the last time and suffers the altered penis to prove it, each film brings its own unique perspective to the challenge.

We have a couple of announcements though.

First, we'd like to invite everyone who attends and is up for it (and even if you can't attend you can still do this) to bring a donation of children's arts supplies that we will be sure gets to local children who have lost their supplies in the flood. Crayons, coloring books, colored pencils, sketch pads, markers, craft kits -- everything is welcome. If you'd like to go ahead and drop your donation off at Tapp's Arts Center (1644 Main Street) Caitlin Bright has set up a collection bin for us there and is open from 10 am until 6 pm daily.

Next, thanks to the generosity of visual artist Michael Krajewski and the gorgeous framing by Susan Lenz and Steve Dingman at the Mouse House, we will be (silent) auctioning Krajewski's second painting in a series of art he has created specifically for Jasper and the 2nd Act Film Festival. This beautifully framed painting (above) is valued at more than $1000 - we hope to make a generous donation to our local flood victims.

So, please come out and see us on Friday night at 7 pm at Tapp's. A special VIP champagne reception to meet and greet the filmmakers -- with snacks generously provided by Bourbon -- will take place at 6 pm. Tickets are available via http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2304300 -- we sold out of even our SRO tickets at the last festival, so please keep that in mind when planning your Friday night rest for the weary.