The Found Footage Festival created by Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, writers for The Onion and Entertainment Weekly, celebrated its 10 year anniversary Saturday night at the Nickelodeon Theatre.
The festival left audience members “feelin' tulip, totally tulip” and wishing they could replay the “Petpourri” sequel over and over again. The Found Footage Festival: Volume Seven contains bonus footage of the John and Johnny reunion, teaches morals like “never take candy pants from a stranger” and gives lessons in “Bowel Care 202”.
“This is the most unsettling show we’ve ever done,” Pickett said. “There is mucus, saliva and music. That may be psychological torture.”
Pickett and Prueher completed a 50 state tour last year, and the new footage they discovered can be found in Volume Seven. The tour consisted of media appearances and the ongoing hunt for more unfound footage. Since 1991, they have been searching around the nation in thrift stores and dumpsters for forgotten VHS tapes.
“It is really a needle in a hay stack to find something that is good in the right way,” Pickett said. “But we have some gems for you.”
Volume Seven contains new segments such as “Chef Keith,” a continuation of their famous yo-yo media prank, and “Cybersex,” an instructional video titled “Cybersex on the Internet.” One of their most popular segments, the exercise video montage, makes a comeback.
“We do it every year because we find so many at thrift stores,” Prueher said.
The film also contains a VHS slideshow, which displays the best VHS tape covers they have found. Prueher and Pickett have published a book that compiles their 300 greatest favorites. From their research, Prueher said that it stands to be true, “all ninja movie covers are awesome.”
Prueher and Pickett first came to Columbia four years ago when the Nick was at its old Main Street location.
“The Nickelodeon has been our home no matter where it’s been,” Prueher said.
Max Clyburn, theatre operations manager at the Nick, said that diverse programs such as the Found Footage Festival help the Nick offer the public unique experiences “outside of ‘traditional’ movie theatre movies.”
“We are stoked to have these guys again and here’s hoping it won’t be another four years until the next time,” Clyburn said.
Prueher said that their favorite place to find lost footage is in Anchorage, Alaska. The Bishop’s Attic, a thrift store in Anchorage, is an “untouched goldmine.” Salvation Army is their go-to thrift store when traveling in any state. Prueher and Pickett also accept VHS tapes from their audiences.
“People will sometimes come up to us after shows and give us tapes,” Pickett said. A reel of behind the scenes footage of news anchors, Koin 6, was shared with the festival by an audience member and can be found in Volume Seven.
The new DVD can be purchased for $18 and the book is available for $14. Prueher encouraged audience members to, “tell your friends about the great time you had. Tell them to come.” The Found Footage Festival will continue to travel across the nation to promote the new volume. The tour schedule can be found on http://www.foundfootagefest.com/tour/.