Draft:Set!

Once a year, the Orange County Fair hosts a competitive table-setting contest, where hobbyists spend months preparing themed table arrangements that must adhere to formal etiquette rules. Set! follows nine participants, including veterans and first-timers, through the six-month process of designing, sourcing, and perfecting their tables.

The film culminates on judging day, when the tables are revealed side-by-side, and two strict judges evaluate each arrangement in detail. Tension builds as friendships and rivalries are put to the test, and only one competitor will earn the coveted "Best of Show" ribbon.

• One contestant builds a safari-themed table complete with freeze-dried taxidermy mice, faux blood, and animal bones. Letterboxd users called it “insane in the best way.”{{Cite web |title=Set! reviews |url=https://letterboxd.com/film/set-2021/reviews/ |website=Letterboxd |access-date=June 24, 2025}}
• Another entrant assembles a table titled “International Comfort Food,” featuring french fries, chili cheese dogs, and German chocolate cake.{{Cite web |title=Set! Letterboxd review (Comfort Food table) |url=https://letterboxd.com/film/set-2021/reviews/ |website=Letterboxd |access-date=June 24, 2025}}
• Tim, the only male competitor, creates a whimsical Dr. Seuss–inspired table from thrift-store items. Fans dubbed him “a sweet baby angel” and rooted for his budget-friendly creativity.{{Cite web |title=Set! Letterboxd review (Tim's Seuss table) |url=https://letterboxd.com/film/set-2021/reviews/ |website=Letterboxd |access-date=June 24, 2025}}
• Contestant Hilarie gathers her table-setting inspiration from a **sensory deprivation chamber**, emphasizing the importance of visualizing creative concepts without distraction. The scene highlights her unconventional, artistic process and adds to her reputation as the film’s most eccentric designer.{{Cite web |title=Knives Out: Scott Gawlik Talks Set! |url=https://povmagazine.com/knives-out-scott-gawlik-talks-set/ |website=POV Magazine |date=April 2021 |access-date=June 25, 2025}}

Director Scott Gawlik stumbled upon the table-setting competition at the 2018 Orange County Fair by accident. Interviewing with *POV Magazine*, he recalled ducking into an exhibit hall to escape the heat (and to grab a beer), where he was struck by the elaborate tablescapes and immediately saw cinematic potential, quipping, “my senses told me this needed to be a movie—or maybe it was just the beer speaking.”

Gawlik initially attempted to film at the Los Angeles County Fair, where he said organizers refused to cooperate by withholding competitor information. However, once he shifted to the Orange County Fair, officials welcomed the project—waiving fees, providing a list of contestants, and fully supporting production. As Gawlik admitted, “the movie would not be made without their support.”

The film follows nine table setters over a six-month period, covering home visits, design development, and intense preparation sessions. On competition day, Gawlik applied a live-event production approach—deploying multiple camera crews to follow each subject in real time, while he himself served as director, producer, and editor under his company, Crazy Cow Productions. Cinematography was led by the film's director of photography, Jon Salmon.{{Cite web |title=About Set! |url=https://www.setdocumentary.com/ |website=Set! Documentary official site |access-date=June 25, 2025}}

Set! premiered on April 29, 2021, at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. It screened at several international festivals, including:

• Newport Beach Film Festival – Jury Award for Best Documentary
• International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
• Heartland Film Festival
• Melbourne International Film Festival
• Naples International Film Festival

It was released for streaming on Discovery+ in the U.S. on November 12, 2021. In October 2023, the film became available on video-on-demand platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Vimeo.

Set! received widespread praise for its unique subject matter and compassionate tone. It currently holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.{{Cite web |title=Set! |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/set_2021 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=June 24, 2025}}

Critic Pat Mullen of POV Magazine called it “one of the most compulsively watchable films at Hot Docs,” praising its suspenseful storytelling.{{Cite web |last=Mullen |first=Pat |title=Hot Docs 2021: Set! Review |url=https://povmagazine.com/hot-docs-2021-set-review/ |website=POV Magazine |date=May 2021}} John Corrado of The Joy of Movies described it as “quirky and enjoyable,” noting that viewers may become surprisingly invested in the competition.{{Cite web |last=Corrado |first=John |title=Hot Docs 2021: Set! Review |url=https://www.johnlikesmovies.com/hot-docs-set-review/ |website=The Joy of Movies |date=May 2021}}

Set! was selected as the “Documentary of the Month” by NBC’s Today Show in November 2021. Director Scott Gawlik and several competitors appeared in a live segment to discuss the film and showcase sample table settings.{{Cite web |title='Set!' competitors face off on TODAY and chat about the documentary |url=https://www.today.com/video/-set-competitors-face-off-on-today-and-chat-about-the-documentary-126258757584 |website=Today Show |date=November 2021 |access-date=June 24, 2025}}

• Despite months of work and sometimes thousands of dollars spent, the only prize is a ribbon—referred to by one competitor as “a 50-cent ribbon.”
• Bonnie Overman, a frequent winner, is referred to in the film as the “Michael Jordan of table setting.”
• One contestant’s taxidermy centerpiece melted into goo in her garage after a previous competition.
• The judging rubric includes details like the angle of the soup spoon and distance between napkin and plate.

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=11547614|title=Set!}}
• [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/set_2021 Set! on Rotten Tomatoes]