Making films is a precarious way to make a living as any budding filmmaker will tell you. Just ask the producer of the film, ‘Bingo! The Documentary’. Try making a film about bingo, which does not cover internet bingo games, and the challenges vastly increase. Filmmaker John Jeffcoat said the documentary started out as a short project. Jeffcoat said, “Initially it started out as a five-month project, just to keep myself in filmmaking while I worked on my screenplays. It was going to be a 15-minute short shot on 16mm, thanks to a grant from the King County Arts Commission.” The end result was an award winning documentary detailing the bingo subculture. Bingo denizens pictured in the film include the usual little old ladies, drag queens, recovering addicts, welfare recipients and other very colorful bingo characters.
Jeffcoat says his interest in bingo began when he was seven and won $17 playing bingo at a Rhode Island bed and breakfast giving him a lifelong fascination with the game. To finance his bingo documentary, Jeffcoat applied for every credit card he could and his wife pawned her wedding ring from a previous marriage. The film documents a large, but little known subculture. In the US, bingo brings in about $6 billion dollars a year and some reports say that more people go to bingo halls than movie theatres. Jeffcoat interviews many bingo players who compare the thrill of bingo to bungee jumping, fishing or even having an orgasm! Co-producer and wife Deryn Williams says most people cannot understand the thrill of bingo and insists that every screening of the documentary be preceded by a bingo game, which is included in the ticket price. Prizes include Godiva chocolates and expensive wine.
Jeffcoat explores the massive British bingo halls, goes to gay bingo games and a bar where people play bingo for drinks. He even goes on the Carnival Cruise bingo ship and shows audiences players who can play 40 bingo cards at once. Since the documentary was made in 1999 the massive world of internet bingo, with its bingo promotions, bingo bonuses, and other side games, is not covered. In 1999, online bingo was still in its infancy. The film has received several awards and critical acclaim. Matt Groening of ‘Simpsons’ fame gave the film a top prize at the Northwest Film & Video Festival in Portland Oregon. For those who have never played bingo, this film will be a revelation. ‘Bingo! The Documentary’ can be viewed online and is also available on DVD.
