Bats In The Bridge is a bat fanzine by Ms. Film's director, Niku Arbabi. That's not a misspelling (Sinker) – it's not about Batman, or the Batmobile – but a fanzine about bats! Niku sent me one of the first 30 copies; the only ones to include a black velvety, glittery hand-sewn on cover. Though she swore to me it's not a Halloween zine, and that the timing was just coincidental (or as Bob Ross used to say, a "happy accident").
The zine focuses on Batfest, the annual celebration in Austin, TX honoring a colony of over a million Mexican Free-Tail bats. The bats migrate to live under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Once a year the bridge is closed off to traffic and opened to educational activities, drink mixing contests, artists, crafters, live music and more.
Beyond the Batfest history, the zine also includes many interesting 'bat facts' and a personal story of a pet bat. The pet bat found its way to one of Niku's friends' houses, and returned two years in a row. While I still find bats kind of creepy, despite the information outlined in the zine, it was cool to hear how useful they are at getting rid of an even bigger pest: mosquitoes.
Email Niku to catch your own copy: msfilms-at-hotmail-dot-com
