Three years ago, Jersey City resident Jeff Cioletti began traveling to science fiction conventions with a video camera and a plan: to capture those who live and die by the mantra “May the force be with you.”
Three years later, Cioletti finds himself traveling to those same science fiction conventions to screen his new film Millennium’s End: The Fandom Menace, a documentary about Star Wars fans.
Next week, Cioletti will finally bring his film home. There will be a screening of Millennium’s End: The Fandom Menace at the Liquid Lounge (936 Park Ave., Hoboken) on Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m.
“I’m not really a fan of science fiction,” Cioletti said last week. “But Star Wars stands apart from the genre. It deals with myths and storytelling instead of focusing on technology.”
Like most twentysomething males, Star Wars made an enormous impression on Cioletti, 28, who first viewed the film when he was five years old.
“I consider myself a Star Wars enthusiast. I would not call myself a casual fan. I mean, I’m not one of the costume-wearing types,” he said, quickly adding, “Not that I have anything against them. Everyone has their own way of expressing their enthusiasm: some people collect memorabilia, some people dress up. I chose to express myself through the documentary.”
Using a video camera and Macintosh’s iMovie editing program, Cioletti has successfully captured the craze. Millennium’s End features Star Wars enthusiasts like Curt, who claims to have stalked all of the actors from Star Wars – “I even knocked on Billy Dee Williams’ door,” he reveals in the film – to experts like Mary Jo Fox, the editor-in-chief of Blue Harvest, a Star Wars fanzine. There is even a cameo by Anthony Daniels, the man behind the legend that is C3PO.
The movie is also peppered with amusing predictions about the new series of Star Wars films, beginning with last year’s The Phantom Menace. When pressed about the quality of The Phantom Menace, Cioletti was diplomatic. “How much you liked it depends on how willing you are to accept the film’s flaws,” he said. “I already knew about the Jar Jar Binks character and I had already made my peace with him. So, I liked the movie.”
Last year, Millennium’s End premiered at a science fiction convention in Virginia Beach. Since then, Cioletti has traveled to conventions in Texas, Atlanta, San Diego and Toronto to screen the film. “The Liquid Lounge will be my first local screening,” he said.
Documentary lovers and Star Wars fans can also buy the film on the Internet at Amazon.com or buyindies.com
“Documentaries can be really boring,” Cioletti said. “A lot of people don’t equate documentary with entertainment. So I made sure there were quite a bit of laughs. But I’m laughing with the fans, not at them.”