2nd annual FIFF is bigger and pretentiouser

The 2nd annual Frederickstopia Independent Film Festival took place this past weekend. As promised, this year's event was even larger and more pretentious than the year before. "We improved in a lot of ways," says FIFF Founding & Creative Director, Ryan Poe, "Last year, only my name was mentioned in the paper, but this year they included a picture with me in it. I'm hoping that next year they can use a photo of just me - maybe a headshot."

When asked what role a "Founding Director" plays in a film festival, Poe responded, "Basically I find stuff out... about film festivals."

"Oh, and I go by Timothy Ryan Poe now," Ryan Poe added.

Poe is not alone in preparing for the film festival, Frederickstopia Anthenium director Paul Lewis also helps find stuff out. "It's Athenaeum," Lewis can often be heard saying in the days leading up to the festival.

"We had a really great selection of films this year," Lewis added, "there were some that even I didn't understand."

When area residents were asked for initial impressions of the event, most had no idea what we were talking about.