Film Festival Mad-Libs


In a (the more-hours-you've-spent-on-a-selection-committee, the-funnier-it-gets) piece for the March 7th, 2013 The New Yorker, Ethan Kuperberg may have penned the definitive satire of film festival movies.

You should read Ethan Kuperberg's whole piece, but here's a sample, in which he eviscerates an entire genre by writing a one-size-fits-all Mad Libs style program blurb:

"Documentaries

94 minutes, English

In this ________ (charming examination / chilling exposé / soul-lifting biography), we uncover the truth behind ________ (an innovative social trend / a shockingly corrupt industry / a little-known historical figure).
Utilizing ________ (relevant graphics / terrifying statistics / state-of-the-art historical reënactments), and featuring exclusive interviews with ________ (the college students who were there from the beginning / the brave souls fighting from the inside / a professor sitting in front of a bookcase), the film suggests that ________ (the future is now / we must take action or risk losing everything / every life has a story).
Yet we are left with a question: ________ (Can the power of an idea really change the world / Is the problem really our fault / Does every life really have a story)?
The answer, of course, rests in the ________ (resilience of the human spirit)."



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