Sydney Underground Film Festival 2014

Without a doubt, the Sydney Underground Film Festival is one of the most, if not the most daring film festival on the festival calendar. Each year the film festival aims shocks their audiences in as many ways as possible with it's ambitious yet often disturbing program and 2014 is guaranteed to do no different. The Sydney Underground Film Festival aims to go where other film festivals won't dare and showcase the quirky and bizarre, but also the highly original and brilliant.

This year's festival at the Factory Theatre will kick off on the 4th of September with a screening of the New Zealand horror-comedy, Housebound and performance by Renny Kodgers. After four days and over 100 films, the festival will close on the Sunday night with the controversial and much talked about German feature, Wetlands.

Sydney Underground Film Festival director, Stefan Popescu took the time out of his busy preparation for the festival to have a chat to us about what to expect at this year's festival and what are the films to see.

So Stefan, how are you feeling with the Sydney Underground Film Festival just around the corner now?

Oh it is always just a little bit of a stressful time, but also very exciting. The adrenalin is pumping!

How do you feel the 2014 festival has broken new ground?

With the short films actually strangely. We're playing some really, really risky short films...if they even get through. I mean there is a really big chance the Office of Film and Literature Classification will ban some of the shorts. Hopefully they don't, they are looking at them right now. I think the shorts are really, really pushing a lot of boundaries.

In terms of the features, the one thing I can say is I don't know if it is the economic climate but there is a bit of a return to a more independent style of filmmaking. So it's interesting, even to the point of The Green Inferno where they are pulling it from distribution in the US and how they are handling it. I think Eli Roth had a big hand in not letting distributors getting their hands on it there. It is an interesting climate for filmmaking. There are more documentaries which is another sign of independent filmmaking. I think because of the accessibility with technology now.

So there are some films in the shorts program which are being looked at in terms of whether they are appropriate to be shown at the festival?

Yes, the Office of Film and Literature Classification are really scrutinizing the shorts particularly from The Best of the Fetisch Film Festival part of the program, but there are also a few from the Love/Sick part of the program which they are also looking at. I think they are really concerned when it comes to sex and/or violence. In particular, there is one called I Am Monster which they are really scrutinizing. I mean The Best of the Fetisch Film Festival is really graphic at the best of times and I Am Monster is really twisted. It's about a woman and necrophilia, but strangely that one is actually quite comedic.

What has the process for selecting the films which are part of this year's festival been like?

Well, it's been pretty similar to what it is like every year. We start from basically what's been submitted to us, so we never really have a major preconception and that's also why our program is always released a bit late. We actually go through all the films, have a look and see what we respond to, then take those and then start to see the themes that form. So we develop this early on so that we can keep the program really fresh and up to the time, rather than have preconceptions from what other film festivals and it's also a way of distinguishing our program too which is curated from production. Initially you see themes that form and things like that. So this year it seems to be a strange combo of horror/comedy and intimate pieces with interpersonal relationships. A lot more profound that what it usually is. Along with horror we do have that theme of the end of the world, like we have a documentary about living forever and then we have all these apocalyptic short films. You always seem to get two or three themes that stick out.

Can you tell us a bit about the "Dead Oscar"?

Oh yes! That was from the beginning a local artist, Mark Wotherspoon, who developed these trophies for us made out of recycled TV screens. Basically we thought that we don't really like the idea of prizes, so we thought that having the Dead Oscars would be a good idea!

Absolutely! So what type of film could win the Dead Oscar?

Oh whatever the jurors deem fit to win it! We still have jurors and they usually go through it and create their own awards. I guess it's about what resonates more with them. Then they sort of commend a whole bunch of films. This year's jurors are Nicholas Hope, Lauren Carroll Harris and Neil Foley. We sort of try and get a mix usually of artists. We like actors because actors normally know their art quite well. We do have an Audience Choice Award, so we have a couple of Dead Oscars to give away. The jurors do pick their favourites, so there is the best of the festival kind of award, but the audience gets to do the same.

The Opening and Closing Night films are both films with big personalities. Why did you choose Housebound to be the Opening Night film and Wetlands to be the Closing Night film?

Well, because they do have big personalities! It's really funny because technically Wetlands is my favourite film of the festival, but I love Housebound as well. We sort of try and think "How do we want the film festival to kick off and what taste do we want to leave in our audience's mouth?" Bad choice of words for that film but (laughs)! Housebound because it is quite a fun film and it kicks off the energy right and Wetlands will leave you talking for a week. So we always think about what we want our audience to experience on our opening and closing night.

Now I just want to ask you a few questions about what films certain types of people should see. If someone liked to be scared and considers themselves a horror buff, what should they see?

Definitely The Green Inferno or Housebound, but I would say The Green Inferno.

If someone is easily grossed out, what shouldn't they see?

Well, there is a couple! Wetlands and The Immoral.

If someone wants a laugh, what should they see?

Definitely Trailer Park Boys or Suburban Gothic.

What should a music buff see?

Oh, definitely Breadcrumb Trail and Super Duper Alice Cooper.

If someone wants to see a feel good film, what should they see?

Nope, we don't have those! Oh...I Believe In Unicorns is not bad. I mean, it is still a little dark though. The other thing is My Name is Jonah, that is a bit of a feel good film.

If someone are after seeing a film which make them feel like they have taken some sort of wacky drug, what should they see?

Definitely the shorts, either the WTF Shorts or LSD Factory.

We've already touched on some of the most shocking films in the festival, but what would you consider to be the most shocking in the program?

Well, we covered the shorts, but The Green Inferno is shocking in it's own way. I mean, cannibalism is always going to get a rise out of people. I think also a lot of people have a tendency to overlook Why Don't You Play In Hell?, and that is strangely quite a comedic but very gory film. In terms of documentary, because documentary is always more shocking to me than anything else as the truth is always stranger than fiction. Love Child, I was shocked when I saw that. But we have so many shocking films!

You said before that your favourite film of the program is Wetlands, do you have any other favourite films?

Yeah, I won't mention Housebound again, but I am a big fan of Trailer Park Boys. I've watched the series and I've watched the other two features. I do like quirky, so something like My Name is Jonah about this quirky guy who no one knows.

What part of the festival are you most looking forward to?

I always like the Closing Night because it's over and you can have a drink! But Opening and Closing Night is always what you look forward to because you can relax on Closing Night. It's not that you don't enjoy the rest of it, but you are on duty the whole time. It does take it's toll. Yet in the following weeks after you finish it there is this strange sense of loss. It's a bit like Stockholm Syndrome! Yet within a week after it we open up entries for the next year so then it begins again!

For more information and ticket purchases, please see the official Sydney Underground Film Festival website

The Canyons (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 99 minutes
Director: Paul Schrader
Writer: Bret Easton Ellis
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, James Deen, Nolan Gerard Funk, Amanda Brooks, Tenille Houston, Gus Van Sant

The Canyons was the closing night film for this year's Sydney Underground Film Festival

Where do you start when discussing The Canyons?

How about this, The Canyons has the ability to become a cult classic. Being a cult classic in itself isn't bad news. It means your film has staying power because there is something about it which causes people to remember it. That's got to mean that The Canyons must be a good film then, right?

Wrong. To be completely and utterly honest, The Canyons is a terrible film. It's low budget cannot be used as an excuse for it's empty story, ridiculous dialogue and mediocre acting. What makes it resemble some of the films which have been tagged as cult classics is that it is so bad that it is actually hilarious. While it is very unlikely that this is what the filmmakers had in mind when creating this movie, it is at least entertaining and therefore watchable for it's comedic relief.

Christian Reid (James Deen) is a trust fund twenty-something living in Los Angeles and dabbling in the movie business. His girlfriend, Tara (Lindsay Lohan) is secretly having an affair with Ryan (Nolan Gerard Funk), who is Christian's assistant, Gina's (Amanda Brooks) boyfriend. When Christian finds out, he becomes obsessed with making Ryan's life hell. Ryan retaliates and when he does, Christian shows how dangerous he really can be.

The intention of The Canyons is to present the increasing emptiness of today's society and chooses the Hollywood region of Los Angeles to be the representation of this. The film, directed by Paul Schrader and written by Bret Easton Ellis, wants us to acknowledge how we do not place as much importance on things as what we used to, whether it be material things or relationships and feelings such as happiness. The opening consists of shots of abandoned cinema complexes as a representation of how we are no longer placing importance on the things that we used to. However, what the film is ultimately trying to say is not that easy to unravel. The story itself doesn't make us believe that there is some symbolism going on there and as the story isn't a strong nor original one to begin with, the whole film just feels empty. It feels like you are just watching these people on screen deceive each other with no other reason besides they are just pathetic creatures. While the film is supposed to be symbolising emptiness, it doesn't reach as high as symbolism and just becomes empty itself.

The script is absolutely atrocious. It is such a shame as one would expect author Bret Easton Ellis' transition from writing novels to screenplays a lot more successful. As said before, the story is not particularly interesting in itself and the dialogue is terrible. Some of the lines delivered by the actors are just laughable as they are either just ridiculous and make no sense at all. For how many laughs some of Christian's deliveries receive, Schrader should have just bit the bullet and made The Canyons into a thriller/comedy.

Schrader's direction is also a great disappointment. He even has problems directing Lindsay Lohan pretending to drop a bottle of water. His choice of closing shot is not supposed to be a laughing matter, but is probably one of the most comical of the film. Admittedly, the first scene in which the four main characters are having dinner together is quite well directed and not much can fault that scene, but not every scene is like that scene. There is the matter of not being able to have as many takes as you would with a higher budget film, but Schrader obviously had this all in his head to begin with and was visualising it all wrong.

The cinematography is also not up to standard. Some of the hand held camera work is extremely unstable and adds nothing to the scene. The editing and choices of shots are just a mess and again, do nothing for the film. What's a random shot of a man's pelvic area anyway in the grand scheme of things? The soundtrack accompanying the film is at least interesting and does add to the feeling of the scene and the personality of the characters.

There are no spectacular performances in sight here. As The Canyons is being labelled by many as Lindsay Lohan's comeback film, many eyes are on her, and the ones that aren't are watching how James Deen makes the transition from porn to actual acting. Lohan does try in this film, you can tell she didn't take this project lightly. She does have some very good moments, particularly towards the end of the film, but in those scenes where she is crying and they have opted for the close-up, it problem wasn't a great idea when she can't bring the tears. James Deen isn't terrible, but is more at ease being physical (yes, that does mean exactly what it sounds like) than delivering those awful lines. Nolan Gerard Funk's performance is just weak. Watching him is like watching someone in their first acting class who is just starting to learn how to make the audience believe what they are saying, and we are talking about their first ever experience of reading a script. Amanda Brooks is probably the actor with the most likable character, as she doesn't have a deceptive nature, but doesn't put up with anybody else's.

However, even though all the above may put you off going to a screening if you have the chance. Don't let it. The best way to do it is to grab a couple of friends, make a night of it and be prepared to unintentionally have a great laugh together!

1.5/10

Sydney Underground Film Festival: Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2012)

Year: 2012

Running Time: 77 minutes

Director: Sophie Huber

Cast: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Sam Shepard, Kris Kristofferson, Wim Wenders, Debbie Harry

 

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction screened at the Sydney Underground Film Festival on the 6th and 8th September.



Harry Dean Stanton Partly Fiction is a biographical documentary like no other.

This is only fitting as there is no film star like the enigmatic character actor Harry Dean Stanton. At 87 years of age, he has over 180 acting credits to his name, but only one lead role in the 1984 film Paris, Texas. Although a man of few words, you listen with expectation when he speaks as what he says means something and is often very witty and funny. This documentary gives us an insight into the man that is Harry Dean Stanton and does it in an unconventional but in a wonderfully enthralling and entertaining way.

Beautifully filmed partly in both colour and black and white, Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction allows us to get to know Stanton in a way we, as outsiders, would have never thought possible. As well as director Sophie Huber's direct interviews with Stanton, she also brings in the people who know Stanton best to film them and he on a one-on-one basis. These people include directors David Lynch and Wim Wenders, actor Kris Kristifferson, writer Sam Shepherd and singer Debbie Harry, and also those who know him best at the bar he has been frequenting for the past 45 years.

Harry Dean Stanton is really a very intriguing and complex man. At the beginning of the film, this man of few words doesn't give Huber much. She asks him questions about his childhood and his parents, but the only way he opens up is with his facial expressions. He audibly says no, but his face tells you all you need to know. It is a beautiful thing to capture on camera. He opens up more as the film goes on about his amazing life and the people he has loved. It is particularly a treat to hear him talk about his well known friends such as Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando. When speaking of Brando, another beautiful moment is captured when he talks of his friend who has passed away and you see the raw pain he still feels over his death. What is particularly entertaining is watching Stanton interact with his friends. It is here where we start to see the real Stanton come through. There are many laughs when David Lynch comes for coffee and Stanton's witty sense of humour really starts to come through.

This isn't a typical documentary. Firstly it doesn't tell Stanton's life events in chronological order, but this works. We find out more about the man as he opens up and this way of the film progressing as he opens up tells us more about the private person he is and how he opens up over time. What many people will not know about Stanton is that he has a great passion for folk music and has an incredibly haunting, but beautiful singing voice. His singing provides the soundtrack for the film, but it is not dubbed in, he actually sings for the camera. Again, this technique tells us more about the man as it shares his talent and we are able to see what each song means to him by the accompanying visuals. While he is singing, there are also montages of his personal treasures around his house. Every little  piece of this film tells the story of Harry Dean Stanton and helps us understand exactly who the man is.

As Harry Dean Stanton's filmography consists of well over one hundred titles, it is more than likely that you have seen one or more of his films. However, you would have never seen him like this before. Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction gives us an incredible opportunity to be let into his world and find out who he really is. A beautifully made film which admirably ignores the conventional way of making a documentary.

8.5/10

Sydney Underground Film Festival 2013

This year marks the seventh annual Sydney Underground Film Festival, the film festival that dares to go where other festivals don't.

What makes the Sydney Underground Film Festival so different to other film festivals is it's adventurous and daring line up which include the wacky, controversial and best and worst in independent film. The festival also plays host to film talks, workshops and parties on both the opening and closing nights.

This year, the festival will screen over 100 local and international films over four days. The opening night film is Alejandro Jodorowsky's newest film, The Dance of Reality and will be accompanied by a performance by Betty Grumble and pizza and drinks. While the closing night see's the Australian premiere of Lindsay Lohan's much talked about comeback film, The Canyons.

Each year the festival is becoming more daring and defiant, and according to festival co-director, Stefan Popescu this is absolutely the case this year. He used the example of Unlawful Killing, Keith Allen's controversial documentary about the inquest regarding Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed's death. The film has been banned in the United Kingdom due to it's controversial content associated with the British royal family. The Sydney Underground Film Festival will be only the second audience to see the film since it's debut at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Unlike other film festivals, the Sydney Underground Film Festival also acknowledges and celebrates the best worst films. 2003 film, The Room has been hailed by many as the best worst film ever made and is a highlight of the festival. The Saturday screening for the film is currently close to sold out.

"These films have a cult following" said Popescu."People have seen them before and want to experience going to see these films with 300 other people who will mock it, scream and throw things at the screen"

"Laughter is contagious. Community is really important to us as we are supposed to be more connected yet we are further removed than we have ever been"

To make things ever more entertaining when you see these best worst films, you will also be able to play Best Worst Film Bingo and win a prize . Here you will receive a game card and be looking for the best worst parts of these films.

If you are looking to attend this year's Sydney Underground Film Festival, but are unsure what film to see, here are some recommendations from Popescu,which show how there is a film for everyone at this year's festival.

If you want to have a good laugh, you should see......
As above, the Best Worst Films are a great way to have a laugh and not take anything too seriously. The films screening at Sydney Underground Film Festival which you will able to watch and also play Best Worst Film Bingo at are The Room, Birdemic: Shock & Terror and Troll 2.

Mr Doodleberger is also one for a great laugh. He will be appearing live at the festival and dubbing some of Australian television classics such as "A Country Practice" (renamed something too explicit to post here!), "Hey Dad!", "Prisoner" and "Home & Away" for all you Alf Stewart fans out there. Attendees will also have the chance to win Doodleburger merchandise.

If someone wants to be shocked and leave feeling satisfactorily disturbed, you should see.....
The LSD Factory Shorts are the films to see on Saturday afternoon if you are willing to try something very different and unsettling. These fourteen shorts will mess with your mind in the least dangerous fashion.

"You will walk out thinking you have taken drugs", says Popescu. "But you know you love it and you don't know why!"

"The Dance of Reality is also disturbing in a beautiful, but surreal way and John Dies At The End will blow your mind"

If you are a horror film buff, you should see.......
For the people who love to be scared out of their wits, Popescu recommends both Rob Zombie's new film, Lords Of Salem and Cody Calahan's Antisocial. " Lords Of Salem is strangely disturbing with a haunting soundtrack. It is very different to normal Rob Zombie films as it is more of a psychological horror"

If someone considers themselves a bit of a music guru, they should see.......
Music lovers will enjoy the likes of a few films at the Sydney Underground Film Festival. They will be able to choose from films such as A Band Called Death, This Band Is So Gorgeous!, Discoverdale and Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction.

If you are squirmish and easily grossed out, you SHOULDN'T see......
A Body Without Organs is one film that festival director Popescu, who can sit through almost anything, found to be extremely confronting and graphic. He describes it as being intimate and beautiful, but may not be everyone's cup of tea as there are some scenes which are a little too intimate. He also singles out Return To Nuke 'Em High: Volume 1 as one not for the squirmish to see, as (spoiler alert!) it is full of people having sex and then exploding. Sound like fun?

If someone would like to see a feel good film, they should see.......
"Both The Dance of Reality and The Institute are ultimately feel good films" according to Popescu. "They are both about the journey of life".

Discoverdale is also one to see for something more light hearted. This film, which is also a great film to see if you are musically inclined, has more of a comedic feel good air to it, rather than being a film about how wonderful life can be.

If you HAVE to choose between the opening night and the closing night and their films, what should you do?
If you find yourself in this dilemma, Popescu's advice for you is that you might as well end it all!

However, if you need to make the big decision, it will depend more on your personality as to which film you will enjoy more. While The Dance of Reality is a feel good film, The Canyons is more cynical and about the emptiness of contemporary culture. However, both are celebrations of cinema.

The Sydney Underground Film Festival will run from the 5th-8th of September at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville. For more information, please see the official website.

Thankyou to Stefan Popescu for taking the time to talk to Movie Critical