If you missed viewing Inside the Circle Sunday night, you missed a great documentary, great break dancing and a great drum line.  And it all took place inside the Florida Theatre.

I sat around reading most of the afternoon and watching the looming clouds that never opened up until I left for the Festival; at which point, the sky fell in. 

I parked, quickly ran into the theatre and found a seat upstairs next to a B-Boy team that had more energy than anyone should ever have on a Sunday evening.  Their clapping and screaming got me fired up about the film, though, and it was especially entertaining when any one of the boys would see someone they knew on screen or when Florida was mentioned.

The film was well executed and entertaining.  I love learning about interesting sub-cultures and the way they exist.  Watching the lives of B-Boys on screen was revelatory mostly because it removed me from everyday living and threw me into another social scene.  I came away with so much knowledge about a facet of life that I knew nothing about.

Marcy Garriott is my new favorite person.  She is the director and producer of Inside the Circle.  She and members of the film answered questions from the audience.  Garriott is a slender blonde with a soccer-mom type appearance, a far stretch from her B-Boy counterparts on stage.  When asked how she came to be involved in the B-Boy scene, she stated that she found it fascinating and began to follow competitions.  She was slowly accepted by Romeo of B-Boy City (an organization that holds competitions) who agreed to be a part of the documentary.

The film and question and answer period were followed up by an introduction to the Theatre’s Plan B.  Originally, a street party was to be held but because of the rain, the party was moved indoors.  As this was being explained, a drum line started in the downstairs lobby and the audience moved out.  I was able to look over the balcony and get a couple shots. 

When I started down the stairs, a group of teenagers had created their own B-Boy circle complete with moms taking pictures and boys taking turns.  I stood around and watched for a bit and then headed downstairs.  The Theatre had turned into a massive dance party.  The drum line was getting down, the B-Boys were getting down, the old people were getting down and I was trying to take as many pictures as possible.  I apologize for the bad views though, I’m pretty short.

This year marks my third Film Festival attendance and I have to say it just keeps getting better.  Jacksonville is lucky to have such an awesome event.  The Florida Theatre, as usual, is a gracious host and throws a fun party.  If you couldn’t get out to any events this year, make sure to do so next year.  You won’t be disappointed.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 10:33 am and is filed under Downtown Jacksonville, Events, Film, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.