Friday was the third day for the Bicycle Film Festival, and now we are into the meat of things. There were two film sessions Friday night. The first featured the full length “Where are you go.” The film documented the 4 month long 2008 Tour d’Afrique, a ride that goes from Cairo to Cape Town on the continent of Africa. The footage was beautiful, but the film itself lacked drive. The filmmakers, who did the ride themselves, jumped around to brief interviews with nearly a dozen riders after very long visuals of each country set to music. The film could have been improved with focusing more on only a few riders and how the ride affected them. The focus instead was Africa and her people (which in the very good discussion session afterward was explained as the filmmakers intent), but this is only cursory as we don’t really get to hear from any Africans. I may be jaded from my Peace Corps years to want to see beyond the veneer of a country

I actually enjoy the short before this feature more. “Made in Queens” is a documentary about teenage immigrants from Trinidad who install massive speakers on their bikes. The kids interview well, and the bikes are something to be seen. Both films will play again on Sunday at 9 PM.

A bike choir leads us out to the afterparty benefit for Yellow Bike

The second session was a collection of short films most of which were great. If you can only go to one session this weekend, try to pick a shorts session. You get more of the film festival feel, and the nice thing about shorts are that if you don’t like one you can just wait a few minutes for the next. The shorts started with the visually stunning “Parasol” with hand drawn animation on paper umbrellas. My favorites both involved racing with the tongue in cheek coverage of an actual fixed gear criterium in “Red Hook Criterium” and the story of the world famous mid-winter alleycat, the Stupor Bowl, in “Down by the Weep Hole.”  The shorts ended with a surprise short and bike choir singing us out to the tunes of “This little bike of my” and “When the bikes go riding in.”

Saturday Preview

Saturday will be the busiest day by far with alleycat racing in the morning, Bike Polo Tournament mid day, an afternoon street party and film sessions starting at 3 PM and ending with the last session at 9 PM. Plus the after party will be more Goldsprints! Sessions are at 501 Studios and tickets are $10/session. If you plan to attend more than two sessions, get the festival pass which is $27. Festival passes are SOLD OUT but you can also pay at the door for individual sessions.

Bicycle Film Fest Triple Race
10:30 AM, Lamar Blvd Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge, Lady Bird Lake
Local rider organizer Annie D. is throwing this free triple race to celebrate the Bicycle Film Fest. Scavenger Race, Ladies Race, and Super Fast Race. Questions about the race? Email Annie D. at antarctican.ad@gmail.com.

Bicycle Film Festival Bike Polo Tournament Day 1: Round Robin and pickup games
11 AM, Metz Park, 2407 Canterbury St
Austin Texas is proud to host it’s first ever Bike Polo Tournament, and what better way then during the Bicycle Film Festival. The tournament will be the standard 3v3 format. If you can’t make it out to the North American Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships, come to Austin instead! $15 per team covers it all. Games will begin at High Noon with a Round Robin style 1st Round Tournament. There will be some food and drinks provided. Games will be informal with pick up interspersed

Bicycle Film Festival, Program 3: The Third Wheel
3 PM, 501 Studio Corner, E Fifth St. and Brushy St, (501 N IH 35)

THE BIKE CHURCH USA
2007 | miniDV 2min. Dir. Matthew Halla
A Santa Cruz community bicycle workshop promotes mobility, well-being, knowledge and environmental health – one bike at a time.

KLEZMER CYCLE USA
2009 | DV 4 min. Dir. Ric Sternberg
The Blozn Tuches Marching Band plays with the conductor on a custom-made bicycle-powered stand and band members march beside those riding on a platform-bike.

BIKES VS. BOYFRIENDS USA
2009 | miniDV 4min. Dir. Marin Tockman & Emily Demarest
When it comes down to it, bikes are pretty dependable.

THE THIRD WHEEL
USA 2009 | miniDV 65min.
Dir. Brian Schoenfelder The Pedicab industry in New York City was founded by George and Peter. We see how government legislates their small business while catering to special interests in this not to be missed documentary.

Bicycle Film Festival, Program 4: Keirin Queen/Onna Keirin Oh
5 PM, 501 Studio Corner, E Fifth St. and Brushy St, (501 N IH 35)

KEIRIN QUEEN/ONNA KEIRN OH HOSTED BY JAPAN SOCIETY
Japan 1956 | DVD 88min. Dir. Kiyoshi Komori
A classic Japanese Keirin track film screened for the first time in the United States (with English subtitles)! Miki, a daughter of a tiny fish storeowner in a mountain village, gains confidence riding a bicycle because of her morning routine of riding to the fish market. Miki starts training very hard at the Nippon Keirin School and begins to ride the road to success on the way to becoming a Keirin Queen.

Bicycle Film Festival, Program 5: I Love my Bicycle: The Story of FBM Bikes
7 PM, 501 Studio Corner, E Fifth St. and Brushy St, (501 N IH 35)

I’M GOOD ON THAT ONE
USA 2008 | DVCProHD 9min. Dir. Marco Svizzero
A fun summer in SF with amazing BMX riding.

TRAIN TRIP USA
2006 | miniDV/Super8/Still Images 14min. Dir. Joe Rich & Ruben Alcantara
A document of a BMX trip by two legends in the sport Directed and shot by themselves.

I LOVE MY BICYCLE: THE STORY OF FBM BIKES PREMIERE
USA 2009 | HDV 75 min. Dir. Joe Stakun
In reaction to big business BMX companies in the early 90′s, 17-year-old Steve Crandall started a company of his own called Fat Bald Men (FBM). What began as selling t-shirts out of a backpack has turned into one of the most well respected DIY bicycle companies around. Through fortune and misfortune, the film follows FBM through their 15 years of mayhem as told by Crandall and the rest of the BMX bicycle community from close friends to influential icons like Dave Mirra and Mat Hoffman.

I Love My Bicycle: The Story of FBM Bikes Trailer from BAD BREAKS on Vimeo.

Bicycle Film Festival, Program 6: Urban Bike Shorts
9 PM, 501 Studio Corner, E Fifth St. and Brushy St, (501 N IH 35)

EMPIRE USA
2009 | 24p HD DVCPRO 5min. Dir. Luke Stiles & Christian Thormann
No one can dispute that this Track thing started in New York and these are the current writers of history on the streets.

ONE LESS HORSE
France 2009 | Video 3min. Dir. Yorgo Tloupas, Benjamin. Seroussi & Patrice Meignan
Three horse polo players go head to head with three bike polo players.

SAFARI LONDON UK
2009 | HD 4min. Dir. Rick Symonds & Roddy Macintyre
Spend a whole evening with a cyclist in London condensed to a few moments with time-lapse.

THE MESSENGER’S CREED
USA 2009 | HD 720p 2min. Dir. Dan Gingold
Not unlike the Hippocratic oath of doctors, a code to live by.

MADE IN QUEENS USA
2008 | Video 10min.
Dir. Joe Stevens & Nicolas Randall In Queens, a group of teens from Trinidad attached speakers to their bikes. The music was never quite loud enough and they had to go bigger and bigger with the sound systems.

KANT
Japan 2009 | DVD 4min. Dir. Kazuto Nakamura & Ikuma Ootsubo
Yokohama fixed gear riders having fun with friends.

POLO MANUAL
UK 2009 | DVCPRO HD 10min. Dir. Brendan McNamee
Like an instruction manual on bike polo, but with the pages out of order.

PIXEL GEAR BIKES!! RIDE SAFE, RIDE FAST, RIDE FREE
Spain 2009 | Video 1min. Dir. Simon Bericua Lopez
Pixel Gear Bikes!!! Is an animation based on the Paperboy 2 videogame from the 1980s.

THE BICYCLE COWBOY USA
2009 | HD 10min. Dir. Ben Lynch
Out in the old west, the Bicycle Cowboy finds true love, but faces many obstacles.

THE SCRAPER BIKE KING USA
2009 | 16mm 13min.Dir. Rafael Flores
The inspirational story of “Bay-be Champ”, the original creator of the scraper bike movement in Oakland, CA.

ULTRA COOL TEXAS EMO HIPSTERS RIDE FIXED USA/TEXAS
2009 | HD 10min. Dir. Donny Hall
A Raven Feeder Production presents riders from all around Texas having fun on bikes.

BROADWAY BOMBER/BRIDGE BATTLE USA
2009 | HD 11min. Dir. Lucas Brunelle
Lucas never ceases to amaze viewers with the first person perspective video from his helmet-cams. Close calls and dangerous streets shows urban cycling at its finest.

ANIMA D’ACCIAIO (SOUL OF STEEL)
USA/Italy 2009 | HD 11min. Dir. Daniel Leeb
A Portrait of the legendary Italian Frame Builder Giovanni Pelizzoli aka “Ciocc” . Ciocc shares his wisdom and life story while hand building a revolutionary new frame for urban fixed gear cycling. Ciocc demonstrates that the tradition and craft of frame building’s Golden age can be re-born and push the technical frontier of Cycling’s future. Also feaures Ed “Wonka” La Forte and Antonio Colombo with an original soundtrack by Blonde Redhead.

Anima D’Acciaio Trailer Ver5.1 from Cinecycle on Vimeo.

42Below Gold Sprints Series
10 PM- 2 AM, Scoot Inn, 1308 E 4th St
If you are not familiar with Gold Sprints, it is an indoor race where two bikes on trainers are set up next to one another and riders sprint against each other for fame and glory. An open source program called OpenSprints projects the speed and virtual distance covered up on a screen for the crowd to watch and cheer. Consider it the ultimate spectator friendly bike competition. For more on the Gold Sprints, see our recent article on the series. This Gold Sprints will be part of an after party for the Austin stop of the Bicycle Film Festival.