Mobile technology is performing as comic relief in the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles, which runs this week at several theaters that have played a historic role in the city’s movie history.
The festival is a showcase for more than 70 films created by emerging and independent talent. Its quirky use of tech is on the last day, when a mobile plaything called Hecklevision will be integrated throughout a special showing of George Romero’s 1968 zombie classic Night of the Living Dead.
The screening serves as kind of a wrap party for DFFLA, since it’s free, it starts after the final awards ceremony, and the date is Friday the 13th. Hecklevision adds to the festive atmosphere by letting everyone in the theater post comments on the screen. Just this once, it’s okay to text during a movie.
It’s not an app, it doesn’t use Twitter, and it does not require a download. Fans simply text their observational or witty gems to a given number. Hecklevision filters out the most egregious profanities and puts everything else up with the film for all to see. There will be prizes for the best comments, and attendees are encouraged to “get your snarky mojo on.”
DFFLA began on July 6 with The Diary of Preston Plummer, directed by Sean Ackerman and starring Robert Loggia and Rumer Willis.
Related links:
Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles – http://www.dffla.com
Hecklevision – FAQ
Friday the 13th ‘Hecklevision’ Zombie Fest – event information
Los Angeles Times – Downtown L.A. film festival spotlights indies, emerging talent
