Scream It Off Screen takes over the Parkway Theater the first Friday of every month. Photo: Scream It Off Screen
Scream It Off Screen, one of the weirdest and most passionate events I've ever attended, returns this Friday.
How it works: Organizers of this monthly(ish) short film festival randomly pick 15 entries to screen at the Parkway Theater, sight unseen.
- The twist: The audience gets a say (or a scream) in which film wins a giant $101.01 check.
Details: About halfway through the film, organizers turn on an ominous red light and wheel out a gong. The audience has to scream "GONG" or "LET IT PLAY" as loud as they can to decide the film's fate.
- If the loudest vote gong, organizers end the film immediately. The latter, well, you get to watch the whole thing.
- The winner is later picked from the surviving videos via a sound level meter.
My experience: I attended February's competition and, to echo the words of a fellow attendee, I'd never seen Minnesotans this aggressive about anything.
- Finalists included a truly horrifying surrealist film, something about "Lettuce Man", a well-produced sci-fi short and an 8-minute review of a Pop-Tart.
The results: The Pop-Tart video won — only because the sci-fi director didn't show up.
- If this sounds like your thing, get your tickets to Friday night's Scream It Off Screen at the Parkway Theater.
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