Living Car Free - The Bicycle Film Festival and "The Line of Sight"

The Bicycle Film Festival and "The Line of Sight"

Hi all,

I just got home from the Bicycle Film Festival in Seoul, South Korea! It was a great event but there was not a single video advocating safe cycling!

Most of the videos promoted fixie stunts, BMX tricks, and then this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj1VMKPDXGU

What kind of message is BIFF trying to send to cyclist? Obviously it seems to be targeted at the 20-30 somethings that are looking for extreme sports. I guess I was just really hoping for more advocacy, utility, and touring videos You know... all those things that are not cool or popular among cyclist today!

I bet every single one of the people in that theater today will ride more dangerously tomorrow having seen this video :(

Because watching a paunchy, middle aged software engineer commuting to work is oh so exciting.

I'd advice you against riding more dangerously tomorrow, but it's ultimately your decision.

This paunchy, middle aged programmer suddenly has a destructive urge. Will probably increase speed from 12 to 13 mph.
Squirrels, be warned.

We saw this same movie at the bike film festival in Toronto. I love the part where he says "safety is our number one concern". LOL.

I guess because we're old and stodgy (mid-late thirties) it definitely did NOT have that affect on us. We just said wow those guys are crazy.

The program we attended had "The Birth of Big Air" as the main feature which was about a guy (Matt Koffman?) who jumped his BMX 30 feet in the air. It also had this movie, a documentary on Igor Kenk (very interesting), a thing where a guy did BMX tricks in a parking garage at night, and I think another BMX tricks one. So yeah, very tricks focused, but to be honest that probably lends itself to movies more.

Since they probably take the same kind of risks when they're driving a car, I'm kinda glad thay are on bikes instead.

It's definitely not Cannes.

Hell, it's a few steps above YouTube viddies. I guess only in Korea would someone label a bunch of bike clips a "film festival".

It's definitely not Cannes.

Hell, it's a few steps above YouTube viddies. I guess only in Korea would someone label a bunch of bike clips a "film festival".
Look at Spudd's post above. It sounds like they had basically the same "film festival" in Toronto--one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Anyhoo, it was probably fun to get together with other riders, even if the quality of the entertainment wasn't very high.

Look at Spudd's post above. It sounds like they had basically the same "film festival" in Toronto--one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Okay I stand corrected. Only in South Korea AND Toronto would they have something like this.

Hey, Canadians are weird to begin with. They're not like us level headed/perpetually suntanned Floridians.:p

P.S. If I missed any other country or group in this post then please add your country, city here ______________________.

Okay I stand corrected. Only in South Korea AND Toronto would they have something like this.

Hey, Canadians are weird to begin with. They're not like us level headed/perpetually suntanned Floridians.:p

P.S. If I missed any other country or group in this post then please add your country, city here ______________________.

Maybe you could just say, "I guess only a bunch of bicyclists would label a bunch of bike clips a 'film festival'".

The Bicycle Film Festival actually travels around to all sorts of places (including Miami). :)

I seem to be getting a feeling of deja vu all over again. Whatever happen to the predecessor of this death wish all male suicide squad video subject series-Alfred Bobe Jr.? Is he retired at 30?

I am glad that videos like these are being made and taken more seriously.....although I was surprised that there are absolutely no women represented in their ranks even 5 years after "Messenger."

BIFF is held in just about every major city around the world. That nights program, which included the Line of Sight video, was the single most popular on the entire circuit. The actual run time on Line of Sight was something like 25-30 minutes. The youtube video is actually pretty tame compared to the rest of the video which is mostly shots of people doing really risky things in traffic and saying how safe they feel while they do it. I cringed mightily when the group went to Copenhagen and road in the exact same manner. One driver their had to slam on his brakes and let the white smoke fly all around in order to stop without hitting one of these dudes. Despite the best bicycle infrastructure in the world they still choose to ride like that.... I guess its a competition but that driver was probably just trying to go home to see their kids or something and then nearly got in a wreck because of these idiots.

Some of the other films were quite good. There was a good 5 minute video about urban bicycle polo and another one about urban cycling in Tokyo. The rest of them were mostly just fix stunt music videos....

I went to two nights of the BFF here in Boston a few weeks ago. I saw the "Cyclocross Meeting" and "Urban Bike Shorts" programs; loved them both. I didn't know much about cyclocross so it was interesting to see what that sport is about. Also liked the videos of the kid doing crazy BMX tricks and the group of Americans riding across Japan. They were all great really. But Lucas Brunelle's "Line of Sight" was definitely the highlight of both nights, in my opinion. I thought it was an awesome showcase of the most skilled and daring urban cyclists in the world (albeit a bad influence on everyone who watches it). Lucas lives and works in Boston, so he was in attendance and he went up onstage afterwards to do Q&A. Very interesting to hear his point of view. He also said he's putting Line of Sight out on DVD in the near future.

The film festival is still making rounds; I'd definitely recommend it.
bicyclefilmfestival.com