Not Your Average Night at the Movies

© TM Sisters

Rolling right along in search of love.

Friday night Miami's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) offered Miamians a dose of audio-visual pleasure at Optic Nerve XI, a screening and competition of short films and videos, submitted through an open call, by emerging South Florida artists.

The screening room was surprisingly crowded with (not surprisingly) a mélange of artsy hipsters dressed to the tattered nines, a few people in flip flops and sneakers and just a dab of sharply dressed condo dwellers, and a man with a Dali-esque mustache. All had come together to see what they never could at their local mall movie theater.

The Optic Nerve XI lineup included 15 films, each under 5 minutes, and began just after the lights dimmed, creating a discordant yet enjoyable tapestry of films. As the films rolled, you could tell the crowd appreciated the freedom the filmmakers found in this medium - the limitless expression unconcerned with absolutes or political correctness.

One highlight of the night was Cristina Molina's "Wow! Whitening Strips (Miss Everything)," a satire of beauty pageants and the cosmetic industry. The film drives its critique on modern concerns with being flawless by using a technique known as stop-motion, which gives the character's movements a fractured, un-seamless look.

The winning film, which was also my personal favorite, was "She Said As Long As You Run With Me," by the TM Sisters. The film is a kitschy modern love metaphor for, as the 20-something filmmakers described it, "finding the right one." The film follows a young woman as she roller skates down a beachside path, coming in contact with different men who stop her along the way. What's fun about the film is its use of playful pop artistry, a mix of vibrant '80s inspired colors and designs that bounce, flash and dance in the background. 

As the crowd made their way out of the MOCA and into a moonlit Miami night, they no-doubt felt a sense of delight and relief in knowing that amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, they could stop and enjoy the whimsical, boundless world of art. Thanks, of course, to the people who create it and the institutions that make it accessible for all.