The Bicycle Film Fest

The traveling Bicycle Film Festival, which is what it says it is, is in New York through Sunday, at Anthology Film Archives and elsewhere. Here's L online contributor Jericho Parms, with an introduction to the fest and an interview with its founder.

As summer festivals kick off throughout the city, few may claim such a targeted demographic as The Bicycle Film Festival—but it’s not all about bikes. Wednesday evening The Bikes Rock opening party at Studio B got things rolling with a screening of Impossible Hour, the story of Danish racer Ole Ritter’s drive to break the prestigious one-hour cycling record, with a live score composed by Simone Pace of Blonde Redhead. This weekend promises further celebration of all things two-wheeled through various creative forms, including several dozen film-screenings, the Dear Velo art show Thursday, and a street party and biker beauty competition on Saturday.

Brendt Barbur, founder and director of The Bicycle Film Festival, first developed the idea after getting struck by a bus while riding his bicycle. Now in its eighth year, BFF has expanded to 17 cities worldwide with an increased focus on promoting a clean lifestyle and all forms of biking. From track bikes, BMX, and Critical Mass, to Bike Polo and cycling, the folks at BFF have either ridden it or screened it.

Here, Barbur takes a moment to discuss bike culture, the evolution of the festival, and why New York City is an urban biker’s dream.

HOW DID THE FILM FESTIVAL COME ABOUT?
I’ve been riding my bicycle my whole life. Shortly after moving to New York City I was hit by a bus while riding my bike. Obviously, that was a negative experience. And, therefore, I wanted to do something positive and fun for bikes and the people who ride them. At that time there really wasn’t a venue for the creative energy that I saw in the so-called bike scene. If you think of all that the bike can do for society—the health, social, and environmental benefits, you’d think that society—our government, our communities—would respect it and promote it. But it just doesn’t happen.

SO, DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A BIKING ACTIVIST?
I don’t really fit into the role of activist or advocate. There are already organizations addressing these issues. I wanted to do something that I was into. At the time I was already involved in the arts—theater and film. So I figured let’s put together some films to show people.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE BIKE CULTURE?
Daily riding. Urban daily riding. People who take that on as part of their life. What seems to be happening now—and the Bicycle Film Festival has had a big influence on this—is that people are creating events around biking and their urban environments, and they’re finding that they have things in common. Therefore, social lives are beginning to revolve around it. I mean, people have their own lives—at least I hope. I don’t, but other people do.

If you look back at this decade, you’ll see that the bicycle movement was probably one of the biggest cultural movements. It’s kind of like hip-hop, in the 80s. Hip-hop wasn’t just music, it was fashion, art. It was a lifestyle. And bicycling is a lot like that. And, also in the 80s, hip-hop was very positive, right? It was fun. The bike scene is like that too. We’re all out to have a good time.

HOW DOES BIKE CULTURE RELATE TO THE ARTS ?
I grew up around skateboarding and surfing in California, and a lot of the people I knew that surfed also biked, but no one seemed to claim biking in the same way. So, I thought that if we could do for biking what I learned and saw from skateboarding, we could harness the creative energy that was already there.

In the world we live in, it takes an adventurous and creative person to bike in an urban environment because, generally speaking, everything is against it. The way cities are planned, the infrastructures—literally people can be killed for doing it. But at the same time, amidst all those negative things, it really is the best lifestyle. That creative spirit crosses over well with artists and filmmakers. So, it just all came together.

HOW HAS THE FESTIVAL EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?
The first year we had sold out shows, national press—it was quite a shock. I had no idea. I went to Astoria to pick up all these olives and little snacks from the Greek shop there. I set them up and made a little spread on a reception table. It was packed full of people. Jump eight years later, and this past year in Sydney it was all catered by an award-winning chef, and hosted by the mayor… and myself.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FACTORS THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE FESTIVAL’S SUCCESS?
The Bicycle Film Festival is built by the community. It was essentially built by the downtown art scene of New York City. Jonas Mekas, the founder of  Anthology Film Archives and a legend of film, is essentially the father of the festival. He gave us his blessing for the festival early on, and therefore, other people embraced it with inspiration from him. And the bicycle itself really inspires a lot of people to get involved.

We’ve changed with technology to stretch the classic film festival model. The technology of the camera is like the new guitar. The Ramones picked up a guitar and arguably knew how to play it. But I don’t think they were classically trained at all. Still, they had something to say that really inspired people. The camera has picked up that same DIY spirit. Now people are able to pick up the camera and say something. Maybe it’s a movie about bike polo, who’s ever heard of bike polo, or much less seen it? But, maybe if you have a 5-minute movie, it will give people a vision into it. The bicycle scenes worldwide reflect on our different cultures. So, technology has made the festival a venue for people that have something to express.

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ATTEND THE BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL?
Of course it is really embraced by people who live this lifestyle. But many other people come because it is fun. There are people coming from all over the world. It is a beautiful thing because bikes relate to a lot of people and BFF offers a lot of different mediums. The trick works of course because we have all the people coming out who are into bikes already, but then people may just like the bands that are playing or they want to go to the party or the art show. There are a lot of families. A lot of business people that come, too. I mean, biking is the new golf, you know?

WHAT ARE A FEW THINGS THAT WOULD HELP ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO BIKE?
The way I break it down, there are two obstacles in terms of what can be done to get people on the road. One is infrastructure. If I ride my bike to work, is there a place to park, is it safe getting there? Will I arrive safely? That’s infrastructure. And then there is lifestyle—does it occur to somebody that they can do that? Can I ride my bike to get groceries, to get a snack? What does Madison Avenue have to say about it? Who gets the girl? The guy in the SUV, or the guy on the bike? We know—at least in New York City… it’s the guy on the bike.
 
WHERE IS YOU FAVORITE PLACE TO RIDE?
When I’m racing down 7th Avenue right through Times Square and it opens up and there are less people. I live off this stuff. New York City is the most fun place to ride. I’m really fortunate that I get to ride in all these cities now that we visit. But New York is my favorite. There is a lot of action. When you are riding a bike you are so aware of everything. You can smell all of the restaurants. You have to be aware, so you become a part of the whole city, you feel the whole city pulsing around you; and you know what the cars are going to do even before they know what they are going to do. That car’s gonna turn right, they don’t have their blinker on, they don’t even know they’re gonna turn right, but they are. You know Eugene O’Neill? Long Days Journey Into Night? There is this monologue about being one with the ocean… Something like, ‘I’ve even lost the feeling of being on land… the fog, the sea… like walking on the bottom of the sea…’ I don’t know… but, the whole bicycle thing? It’s kind of like that.