Sixteen baristas and coffee professionals showcased their film projects at the Coffee People Zine release party—here’s how to see the films.
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
As you were flipping through the latest issue of Coffee People Zine, you might have noticed a small leaflet tucked into its pages. Coffee People, which is a magazine that publishes work by and for the coffee community, hosted a film festival at its Issue 03 release party. There, 16 coffee professionals from around the world showcased their film projects and local Denver coffee folks came together to celebrate the new issue release.
Kat Melheim, creator of the Coffee People Zine, chose to host a film festival back in September as a way to include work beyond the zine. “Every issue of Coffee People Zine has been accompanied by a release party. As each zine is different, each party has been different as well,” Kat shares. “For the most recent release, Issue 03, I wanted to find a way to incorporate artists that haven’t had a chance to share their creations within the zine. As the zine is a print media, it is limited to two-dimensional art and writing, but I wanted to encourage participation by coffee folx who make video.”
Sixteen different films were screened, ranging from 30 seconds to 30 minutes. All the filmmakers are involved in the coffee industry in some capacity, although not everyone made a coffee-related movie. “Twelve of the submissions were coffee-related, ranging from animation to documentary to short films. Three were horror/thriller. One was a documentary about the art community in Santa Fe, N.M. And one was a stop-motion animation of a person sleep-talking,” Kat shares.
At the end, folks were able to vote for their favorite film. “Drew Bauer and Timmy Mancini, baristas and film studies majors at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, won with their film Zweiheit, a 10-minute sci-fi thriller about a guy fed up with his corporate job in time travel. They received some amazing prizes: a Precision Brewer from Baratza, passes to the Denver Film Festival, swag from Diedrich and Oatly, and a certificate for ‘Best in Show,’” Kat shares.
All 16 films are available to watch for folks who subscribe to the Coffee People Zine. “Every copy of Coffee People Zine, Issue 03 comes with a playbill of the entire festival,” Kat shares [that’s the leaflet mentioned earlier]. “There are QR codes for each clip that link to the filmmakers’ website/Vimeo/YouTube so viewers can stream the films on their phones. With an iPhone, you can simply point your camera at the QR code and a pop-up will appear at the top of your screen with the link.” If you still need convincing to subscribe, you can see two of the films for free: the winner, Zweiheit, and the stop-motion film Raining.
Kat wants you to see the rest of the films, so she’s offering a discount code for readers of Barista Mag! “You can see the rest of the films by purchasing Coffee People Zine, Issue 03. Readers of this article can get 10 percent off Issue 03 (and/or a zine subscription) by using offer code BMag10off at checkout. The website is www.coffeepeople.org.”
