Boone's Newest Microcinema

and its first showing, "Dusty Stacks of Mom" (2013)

Last Friday evening was the first screening of Boone’s new microcinema. But what exactly is a “microcinema?” My friend and I joked beforehand of an audience equipped with binoculars to watch a film played on the world’s tiniest screen, perhaps featuring films about distant spies doing reconnaissance missions or lifeguards scanning far out to sea for sharks, or maybe even some distant battle on the moon with earthbound spectators straining their eyes through telescopes. Our possibilities were endless. 

In reality, microcinema is simply a low-budget exhibition, usually a small theater and screening to show generally smaller independent and often unconventional films. Boone’s new microcinema, christened the “Toy Sheep Microcinema,” was conceived by Craig Fisher, a professor at Appalachian State University, and is nestled within the basement of the Awesome Space–an alliance of businesses with similar cultural interests located at 743 West King Street. You can also find Huzzah! Books, 641 RPM, Boone Area Community Radio, Black in Boone, and Born Again Dirt Composting here.

To access the microcinema, you can’t go through the front door of 743 King Street, which means backtracking from the main entrance and going down a charming brick alley to find yourself in the back lots. A social atmosphere welcomed moviegoers as they went in, and before finding my seat, I took my time looking at the table with free books available for the taking. I took a pamphlet on why you should stop supporting Amazon and a zine on queer horror stories. Both have been fun reads. After getting some available refreshments, my friend and I took our seats on the metal folding chairs laid out. I’m glad we got there as early as we did because the space filled up quickly, with more and more chairs brought out until I heard from a friend that she had been turned away at the door due to the space being at capacity. As Craig Fisher took the stage to introduce the film, I looked back and saw that there were even viewers who were left standing because of being at capacity! I loved the commitment. 

Craig Fisher, a popular professor in the Department of English at AppState, is no stranger to exploring the realms of film theory. He specializes in comics, graphic novels, film history, and experimental cinema. While I have not been fortunate enough to take one of his courses, I have attended several of his campus lectures, enjoying his views on literature and film. In an introduction to the film, Fisher explained the origins of the microcinema’s name from Pablo Neruda’s essay “The Lamb and the Pinecone” (read here!), the need for more weirdness in Boone, and how he hoped the microcinema could help provide that weirdness. 

The spotlight then shifted to the main event, the screening of “Dusty Stacks of Mom” (2013). This 41-minute animated musical documentary defies convention, blurring the lines between animated performance art, rock music videos, and collages. Created by Jodie Mack, the film transforms her knowledge of growing up in Florida, assisting her mother in her failing poster business, into a work of art. Set against a backdrop of iconic pop culture figures in the form of posters, from Angelina Jolie, to Kurt Cobain, even Ben Affleck, and punctuated by kazoo solos, the film mixes satire with abstraction, encouraging the audience to laugh out loud, especially when images of Jodie Mack’s mother took the place of famous faces in perfectly cut out posters. 

The whole film is cleverly timed to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon (look at the initials of Dusty Stacks of Mom (DSOM) to Dark Side of the Moon (DSOM)). At the first showings back in 2013, the film was performed live, with a cast of nine, including Mack, singing the catchy rock songs about the demise of small business owners. 

The best part of the microcinema, for me, was the Linear Notes pamphlet that was handed out at the beginning of the show. I believe if you reach out to Craig, you are able to get a PDF copy. In it, he interviews Travis Reyes, who owns 641rpm, and he outlines his thoughts on Dusty Stacks of Mom. What I really appreciated was Fisher’s brief history of abstract animation and structural film as it relates to Mack’s film, in a thorough background you can’t find anywhere online. 

Boone’s microcinema scene has taken root, and its growth promises to be a captivating success for the local art scene. The next showing is October 6th, and we were given a hint that it will be horror-themed. Very excited about that! See you there!