Another highlight of this year’s Cornerstone was Flickerings, the pole barn type building which shows over 12 hours of movies each day. Next door is the Imaginarium Tent, which not to be outdone, displayed about 10 hours of film classics each day. “Cinema Central” is a good place to get away from ear-popping, head-banging music; however it is situated next to the little kids’ tent, and boy can they rock. I tried to catch as much of the Film Noir lectures and features as I could, including a “freeze frame” “fast forward” look at the Maltese Falcon, with comments and interpretation by my favorite Cornerstone English professor, Markos the Greek, a poster boy for ADHD.

But the movie I came home with is a documentary on the underground “Christian” music scene, filmed in large part at Cornerstone in 2003. The film was also shot at some clubs in the Chicago area. It was produced and directed by two women who were new to film-making, not familiar with “Christian” music, and not Christians themselves. They provided a fresh outsiders’ perspective to the goings on at and around Cornerstone. Their documentary, which has won (I think) awards (but at least critical acclaim) at some independent film festivals, was shown on Friday morning to a packed house. The Bushnell Fire Marshall would not have been happy. The directors were present and engaged the crowd with over an hour of discussion afterwards.

A few days later I headed into one of the merchandise tents to pop for the $ 20 they wanted for the DVD. It was well worth it. They were rookies, but did very well in their film-making debut. They did a wonderful job capturing the spirit of the fest and the ongoing dialogue about the role of music and art in the evangelical Christian subculture. Although the different voices presented fell at all points along the spectrum, those most represented spoke strongly against music being a mere “tool” for evangelism. Many of the musicians decried the fact that they were encouraged by church leaders that hired them and music promoters that booked them to play it safe and provide only what would fit nicely with the agenda of those footing the bill. They spoke of not wanting to turn their art into “propaganda.” On the other end of the spectrum, some musicians emphasized the necessity for them, as part of their calling, to freely and honestly proclaim their faith through their words and music. The tension between these two views was portrayed well. They also presented the tension experienced by most musicians as they are naturally up front and want to promote their music, but are also trying to stay humble and not encourage admirers to worship them while on stage.

Ah, the dilemmas of life. But I suppose that’s what makes for great, or at least good, art. We all could use a little dramatic struggle to make our lives more interesting and creative.

Well, maybe not. I decided to play it cool and not fight against the unbearable heat this afternoon, settling for a short nap in the air-conditioning. But now as 8 p.m. approaches and the heat index has fallen below 100 degrees F, I’ve decided it’s safe to head out in search for food, lest I wrestle with hunger pains. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream or maybe a taco. The Warden will decide.