Dead On The Fourth of July

Unlike the p.r. flacks manipulating the corpse of Jesse Helms, the proprietors of the Liberty Film Festival couldn't bother maintain the fiction that the festival survived to see the Fourth:

July 3rd, 2008

Dear Liberty Film Festival friends and supporters,

The Liberty Film Festival is currently on hiatus. We want to thank all the filmmakers who have submitted their projects to us. Films submitted to us through July 3rd, 2008 will still be considered for screening events, but we are no longer accepting submissions at this time.

Please return to this website for further announcements regarding the Liberty Film Festival.


Thank you, and best wishes,

Jason Apuzzo & Govindini Murty

LFF Co-Founders & Co-Artistic Directors

This is puzzling indeed. Why, it seems like just seven days ago that LFF was crowing about its amazing growth and success:

The first festival featured 20 films and 3,000 people turned up, with "people saying, 'This is our Woodstock,'" said Murty. "Each year, we saw our submissions doubling." This year, Liberty's Internet presence is increasing, with trailers, shorts, features, streamlining, DVD sales and film reviews from conservative critics.

And nothing increases one's internet presence like going on hiatus and refusing submissions. Or failing to post any content to your site the six months before that.

The proprietors don't explain the reasons for the "hiatus," but it would irresponsible not to speculate.

Did "Dirty Harry" take the Betamax equipment with him?

Did Govindini pull the plug on Apuzzo's vacuum cleaner fetish?

Did the rising price of gasoline result in layoffs at the car wash where Apuzzo was employed?

Fortunately, film fans can still enjoy the Libertas blog, where Apuzzo provides the invaluable service of posting the Turner Classic Movies schedule verbatim. Never has the new media shone brighter!

(Via Scott M. in alicublog comments.)