IFFBoston 2009 Coverage
Review: World's Greatest Dad (IFFBoston 2009 Closing Night Film)
Dir. Bobcat Goldthwait
Whenever I stumble upon a good dark comedy, I'm cheered up for a number of reasons. I'm always happy to be reassured that there are people out there with a sick sense of humor not afraid to alienate some people in the pursuit of a laugh. And if we're just talking about the good ones, there's usually some meaty reason behind the darkness — a satirical message that elevates the film into the kind of material worthy of discussion and dissection. This leads to a tip of the hat to the investors and talent out there that are willing to make a picture with even less of a chance to make back their money than usual. Let me know if you can point your finger at a dark comedy that became a box office sensation, because even when Heathers came out in 1989 it was largely ignored until it came out on home video. I point to Heathers not only because in the last 20 or so years (holy crap!) I can't think of a better example of a well done, nasty dark comedy that has been so widely embraced by a generation but also because World's Greatest Dad bears more than a passing resemblance to it. But hey, it has been 20 years (what the-?!) now and after letting World's Greatest Dad play around in my head for a while now, I have nothing but appreciation for Bobcat Goldthwait and his own pitch black look at assholes turning into angels and life after a death in the high school world.
What shouldn't come as too much of a surprise is that when called upon, and given the right material, Robin Williams can be oddly affecting. Like all great clowns there's a vulnerability too him that, when called up to the surface, can quickly disarm even the most jaded of audience members. He's made a career of being the spazzy hairball prone to talking in a funny voice but when you see him in boring films like The Night Listener or Insomnia, you can sense that he's primed to enter into a Bill Murray phase if he could just grab the right material or make better judgement calls. He comes damn close to getting that perfect role in World's Greatest Dad. He stars as a failed writer and single father who teaches a high school poetry class and wonders if he should take one last shot at writing glory. On top of his lack of success with getting published, his son is a crass degenerate, his girlfriend doesn't want to go public with their relationship and no one even wants to take his class - and those that do don't take it the least bit seriously. He almost looses it early on during a lunch break when a popular teacher and romantic rival announces that he got published in The New Yorker. Then, just as Williams is about to take the next step in his relationship with his skittish girlfriend, his son pulls a Michael Hutchence. In an effort to save himself and his son from embarrassment, he alters the scene to make it look a suicide — going so far as to write a devastating suicide note which, when leaked to the public, transforms his despicable son into a brooding hero. Yeah, it's that kind of comedy.
Robin Williams deserves a fair amount of credit for making this dark path a fun one to travel — he's our rock, however unstable that rock may be — but what sets the movie apart is Bobcat Goldthwait. He doesn't have much in the way of visual flair but his sensibility is singular. In creating a story about a floundering writer who comes to peace with life through his son's accidental death, Goldthwait has made one hell of a funny movie but even more surprising is how honest and personal it feels. Things turn even darker, and funny, as Williams begins to compose an entire imaginary journal of his dead son's emo musings that becomes a big hit at the high school and lands him on an Oprah-type show. Suddenly it's not just the high school that thinks his ignorant, piggish son was actually an intelligent, soulful person; and once publishers start talking about allowing him to publish his own work if he allows them to publish the fake journal, it becomes a countdown to how long he can keep the lie going before he unravels. There's a running joke of his dead son's picture haunting him at every turn (see pic). It's a ridiculous photograph of the kid and its absurdity gives the joke an amazing longevity. Each time you see it you think, that has to be the last time I'll laugh at that picture - but it is always perfectly timed and it makes you feel like his son is in on the joke, laughing along and even getting a kick out of his father's dilemma from beyond the grave.
Williams does great work with the exasperated, soul crushing scenes (especially during the talk show segment) where he's holding on by the thinnest of threads while the world refuses to cut him a break. It's in other scenes where he tends to come off as a little uncomfortable with the roll. This could have to do with me simply having slight problems buying Williams in the doting, shy father role or his character simply being given little opportunity in the story to feel comfortable, but from the sound of how the production went, I have a feeling Williams could use stronger direction than Goldthwait was willing or able to give. From what he said during the Q&A after the film, Goldthwait and Williams had a collaborative experience on the film — sometimes working their way through a scene by letting Williams try different things to figure out what works for him and the story and how it should play. The film carries that uncertainty with it — it takes a bit of time for it to find a comfortable tone, but once the very bad mistake happens it never looks back and escalates to some of the funniest scenes in recent memory. The climactic scene with teachers and students (and one jaw dropper of a cameo) gathered together to witness the inevitable unraveling is a better, more satisfying pay-off than you could hope for.
There aren't many unique and meaningful comedic voices in cinema today but, however odd it may sound, Bobcat Goldthwait is one of those voices. His movies are personal, they have a vision and although they are dark, they never stray into being mean spirited. In a way, he's just as approachable as Judd Apatow. While Robin Williams has lost much of his audience draw over the years, I think Goldthwait is one bankable star away from breaking big. When that day comes I'll be a happy man because that means we'll be one step closer to Shakes the Clown 2 — that film needs a decent budget.
IFFBoston 2009 Awards
As an aside, I'm declaring Best Worst Movie my winner for tops of IFFBoston '09. Hilarious, touching, filled with unforgettable characters, Best Worst Movie has it all. In honor of this, follow the link to enjoy this brand new trailer. Read on for the rest of the festival award results:
The 2009 Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston) came to a close on Tuesday night after enjoying record attendance of over 25,000 people. Roughly 100 guest filmmakers and celebrities were in attendance at the festival including directors Rian Johnson, Doug Pray, Ondi Timoner, Robert Siegel, Cory McAbee, Bobcat Goldthwait, Armando Iannucci and actors Brian Cox, Kevin Corrigan, Hal Holbrook, Dixie Carter, Chris Cooper, as well as other luminaries such as Bobby Farrelly and Red Sox pitching legend Luis Tiant.
Films were shown in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville over a total of 8 screens.
The jury and audience award prizes have been announced and are as follows:
Narrative Feature:
Grand Jury Prize Winner: CHILDREN OF INVENTION directed by Tze Chun
Special Jury Prize Winner: BEESWAX directed by Andrew Bujalski
Audience Award Winner: STILL WALKING directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
Documentary Feature:
Grand Jury Prize Winner: CRUDE directed by Joe Berlinger
Special Jury Prize Winner: UNMISTAKEN CHILD directed by Nati Baratz
Audience Award Winner: SHOOTING BEAUTY directed by George Kachadorian
Honorable Mention: THE WAY WE GET BY directed by Aron Gaudet
Short Film:
Grand Jury Prize Winner: INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA directed by Patrik Eklund
Special Jury Prize Winner: I AM SO PROUD OF YOU directed by Don Hertzfeldt
Audience Award Winner: SHORT TERM 12 directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
The Narrative Feature Jury was comprised of actor Tom Noonan, the Starz Denver Film Festivals’ Britta Erickson, and Variety/Indiewire film critic Michael Jones. The Documentary Feature Jury was comprised of Seth Gordon (The King of Kong), Susannah Ludwig (Stolen), and Josh Koury (We Are Wizards). The Short Film Jury was comprised of James Strouse (Grace Is Gone), Tom Quinn (The New Year Parade), and actress Alison Folland (To Die For, All Over Me).
Prizes included a year’s worth of free travel courtesy of JetBlue Airways (presented to Tze Chun, Children of Invention), 5 days free rental of the Red Camera (presented to Joe Berlinger, Crude) courtesy of FilmStar Rentals, and $3000 worth of color correction courtesy of National Boston (presented to Aron Gaudet, The Way We Get By).
A Best Marketing Award was also presented for the third year in a row at the festival. The 2009 award was a tie between Michael Axelgaard for the short film LOLLIPOP MAN and George Kachadorian for the documentary SHOOTING BEAUTY. Michael Axelgaard was presented with a set of Rock Band 2 courtesy of Harmonix, while George Kachadorian was presented with an iPod Nano courtesy of Tech Superpowers.
More information on the festival will be available shortly on the festival website at http://www.iffboston.org .
Review: Best Worst Movie (IFFBoston 2009)
Dir. Michael Stephenson
In 1990 a movie called Troll 2 was released. It didn’t actually feature any trolls and had nothing to do with the 1986 movie Troll. It starred child actor Michael Stephenson and George Hardy, who played Michael’s father. Eighteen years later Michael Stephenson has crafted a genuinely hilarious and loving ode to the people behind the making of what many consider to be the worst movie of all time – hence the title of his documentary: Best Worst Movie. Luckily for Stephenson, George Hardy (see pic) is more than willing to go the distance with him. In 1990 and today, Hardy is a dentist in a small southern town who wants nothing more than to be an entertainer. The man is a bundle of energy (which may have something to do with the homemade power shakes he whips up every morning) and is the first person we meet as the story of Troll 2 unfolds and we eventually spend some time with everyone from the actors who played the troll—er, goblins, to the delusional writer and director.
Part of the reason Troll 2 is such a mess is due to the fact that you had a lot of first time or untrained actors in a film written and directed by ESL Italians looking to make an allegory about American families centered on killer vegetarian goblins. It was a project that was set up to fail from the beginning. But something happened over the past few years. Worn VHS tapes started getting passed around and soon people were quoting the movie at parties and screenings (even at the Brattle!) around the world are selling out. The movie does a fantastic job at examining what makes one bad movie infinitely more watchable and enjoyable than another and what causes a seemingly normal person to go and get a Troll 2 tattoo on his arm. In fact, it’s easily the best look at fame in the age of YouTube I’ve seen.
Best Worst Movie is the cherry on the fest for me – one of those films that I probably wouldn’t have tracked down if not for IFFBoston. It’s the funniest movie I’ve seen at the festival and filled with absolute jaw-dropping moments that capture real life equivalents of the UK The Office and Christopher Guest mockumentaries at their best/worst. Not many films can capture humor and heartbreak at the same time and Best Worst Movie is chock full of painfully funny scenes like Hardy trying to set a up a Troll 2 screening for his hometown and realizing that it isn’t going to get quite the reception that he got in NYC. So far, this is my pick for best of the fest. It’s a tough act to follow, but if there’s a film up to the task it’s Grace.
Review: Grace (IFFBoston 2009)
Dir. Paul Solet
Grace doesn’t take long to get under your skin. Through the music (or lack thereof), the muted colors, the creeping camera and unsettling subject matter, it’s a hard film to shake. There’s an eeriness from the get go as we watch what will probably go down as the least erotic love scene to feature Jordan Ladd ever captured on film. Ladd plays Madeline and we can tell from her distant expression that the sex is purely for reproductive purposes – well, it isn’t for pleasure anyway. And it worked because soon afterward we see they’re picking out a midwife – and a very mysterious one at that.
I can’t imagine how overwrought I would be during the majority of time between finding out your pregnant until the thing can walk, talk and pour a bowl of cereal. Until then, there’s a DMZ full of landmines of possible problems and life altering scenarios that could arise. Grace manages to capture a few of these worst-case scenarios and expertly feed of the built-in human emotions that go along with this subject matter. [Beware. A few spoilers to follow.]
It isn’t long before Madeline’s husband is dead and she’s given the news that the child died in the womb. Through the help of the mysterious midwife, Madeline sees her pregnancy through and gives birth to the seemingly dead baby – until a moment later when the child, whose named Grace, lets out a cry. Of course, this isn’t really so much a miracle as it is a curse. Grace seems to have an unhealthy appetite for blood and as it turns out may in fact still be dead since she’s smellier than your average baby and is attracting a lot of flies. It’s disturbing to watch in large part because if you ask yourself what the alternative is to what Madeline does in the film and there aren’t many appealing options. All of this leads to a downward spiral for Madeline that’s reminiscent of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion. Madeline shuts herself off from the outside world (except for some dark “vegan horror” television shows) and allows Grace to feed off her to the point of anemia and it all culminates in a dizzying confrontation between Madeline and her mother-in-law.
In good form, Grace doesn’t go about trying to answer all your questions – a tactic that I enjoyed quite a bit in the Deagol Brother’s Make-Out With Violence as well. Is Grace a zombie baby? A vampire baby? Was the mysterious midwife more like Ruth Gordon in Rosemary’s Baby than we were lead to believe? There’s also an implication made that the baby may have been led to crave blood due to Madeline’s (unnatural?) vegan tendencies. This was particularly amusing following the doc on Troll 2, but it’s a nice question mark to hang over the film anyway. In this regard, and in every other aspect of the film, more effort is put into Grace to make it a film that actually raises questions – and raises the bar on horror films (at least ones that want to actually be frightening) and this makes it a very easy film for fans to rally behind.
Interview: The Deagol Brothers [Make-Out With Violence, IFFBoston 2009]
The Deagol Brothers are hitting the IFFBoston scene on Friday at 10pm at the historic Somerville Theatre (buy a ticket here why don't you?) with their lovingly told summer romance film that just happens to have zombie in it, Make-Out With Violence. They've had a pretty busy schedule as of late (they just won Best Feature and Best Soundtrack at the Nashville Film Festival) but were able to find some time to answer a few questions...
SME: Make-Out With Violence is your first feature, is it a story you've been brewing for a while? Can you give some background on how the film came about? I read that it took over two years and I'm wondering how much of the two to three years was spent filming and how much was pre/post production?
DB: We all went to high school together and have always been interested in making films, music, painting and art in general. We started to conceive of the film in the early 2000s. We wanted to make a film about our shared experiences in high school and we thought that making a high school movie also made sense from the stand point of working on a small budget with our high school and college aged friends as our talent. It was not originally conceived of as a horror film but we saw the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and wanted to try the horror genre. We are not huge horror fans but we liked the idea of exploring the genre from a very sincere John Hughes angle. The idea of the teenage boy consumed by unrequited love also made sense to us in the context of a girl who is very physically present but may not be who or what you think she is. Not surprisingly many of the original incarnations of the script played out like "American Pie"-esque teen sex-comedies blended with Cronengberg like body horror. They were both crude and graphic. We slowly worked our way back to the John Hughes realm of teenage love and held on to the supernatural elements that we felt enriched the story without commandeering it. After working on the script in different parts of the country. We all moved back to Nashville to begin filming. We left jobs, colleges, and girlfriends for what we thought would be a year long production...
We started shooting in the summer of 2005. We shot again in the summer of 2006 with our final shoot taking place that winter. It was a total of about 8 weeks of filming but we kept running out of money or running up against production issues (like losing a lead actress, and then getting her back). The film was being edited throughout that period but it wasn't until spring of 2006 that we had our first picture lock. We then spent the next 2 years in post-production. Mostly we were working on sound design, ADR and the pop-soundtrack that drives the film, but we did make a number of edits to tighten the film up before we premiered the final version in Sept. 2008.
SME: With Make-Out With Violence and your 2004 short film Robot Movie, it looks like you're creating a solid group of dedicated actors. Is it your vision to continue to work with these actors and keep the team together down the line? Are there aspirations for the Deagol Brothers to dip into the Hollywood pool or do you plan on continuing to use Tennessee as your muse?
DB: If we get the opportunity to grow out of Nashville, we will probably go with it. That being said we are currently working on a new screenplay that we hope is flexible. It's our goal to write it in such a way that we could film it on a tight budget locally or expand it into something larger with the right funding. The story could have elements conducive to the TN region, but the locations we use are wrapped up in the characters we explore. At the moment, we don't have any plans to leave Nashville. As for the actors and actresses, we'd love to keep them around for as long as they're willing to work with us and we have parts that make sense for them.
SME: When I first heard of Make-Out With Violence there were some comparisons to Wes Anderson and Sophia Coppola's early work and sure enough the film does recall The Virgin Suicides and I was also reminded a bit of Twin Peaks and River's Edge as the film deals with the emotional fallout and what happens between a group of friends when one of them dies. Was there specific films or filmmakers you were looking to for inspiration on the overall style of the film?
DB: Interestingly we were deliberately trying to stay away from any sort of Lynchian, Wes Anderson or River's Edge influence. Our main source of influence were John Hughes, Terrence Malick and Tarkovsky's Solaris. We also turned to the music of Brian Eno at a very early stage of writing the screenplay. It helped set the tone for the film and aided in keeping 4 writers on the same page. As that music began to permeate the soundtrack and score it became a guiding force in the overall style of the film.
SME: There are some spectacular shots as well, I really enjoyed how well you used the Tenessee locations. I noticed that you used the Panisonic VariCam - an HD camera with variable frame rates and shutter speed — and have three cinematographers credited, was there some experimentation going on to get some of these shots done?
DB: Technically we had 4 DPs. We actually did all of our pre-production, and the majority of our test shooting, with a DP who left the production 4 weeks before shooting was scheduled to commence. We struggled to find a replacement and by the time we found one we were left with little to no time to prepare. We had a number of more complicated techniques and plans that were abandoned when our first DP left. Our second DP left after our first shoot so from there our gaffer took over as a transition to our third DP. It was not so much experimentation as it was the plight of making a low budget film that lead to us to having 4 DPs. Since we had 3 DPs for the actual production and we shot over the course of 2 summers and a winter our biggest concern was to maintain continuity. We tried to do that with a simple visual style that we thought was conducive to HD as a medium.
SME: As a directing duo, does one brother handle the actors and one set up the shots a la the Coen Bros and the Hughes Bros or do you have a particular Deagol Bros way of delegating?
DB: Not really. Due to the amount of scenes in the film, having two directors worked out to our advantage when we needed to shoot two places at once. We often found ourselves splitting up so that one of us could produce or location scout while the other directed. We try to get on the same page early on so we feel comfortable regardless of who ends up doing what. Once again we found ourselves at the mercy of working on a low budget production and out of necessity we discovered a working method.
SME: For a first feature I was impressed with how well you were able to handle the tone of the film -- one of the toughest jobs a director has. While the movie does feature a zombie, I don't think anyone's going to confuse it with a traditional horror film - it's more of a delicate creepiness that is sustained throughout the movie and the music plays a big part in sustaining that tone. There's some great songs in the film that help with this. Can you give some background on how the soundtrack was built and how Jordan Lehning, who's credited with the score and the songs, fits into the Deagol Bros team?
DB: We have been friends with Jordan since before High school and he worked on a number of short films with us throughout college. We approached Jordan about doing the score for this picture from the very beginning. Jordan acted in the film (he plays Rody) and worked with us throughout the entire process to create the sound of the film. We started by making mix tapes of music we thought would make sense in the film to try and get Jordan on the same page with us. Then he and his brother Eric (who co-wrote the script with us and also plays Patrick in the film) got together before we had even started the screenplay and recorded 3 songs in Boston where Jordan was living at the time. We immediately liked what they had done and started asking them to record more and more songs during the writing process. Jordan and Eric continued to record songs during production as well. It was a very organic process where the music and the film continually informed one another. Once post-production began we would edit to his songs or cut with temp track which he would use as reference to re-score or write music to match the scenes we had cut. Jordan performed almost all of the music in the film (with his brother taking the helm for many of the vocals) and is extremely gifted as a musician. We on the other hand have only a rudimentary knowledge of music based on listening to a lot of it but we eventually developed a working method that allowed us to communicate effectively. On a side note, Jordan just won the award for best soundtrack in a feature film at the Nashville Film Festival.
SME: I happen to like that some of the big questions aren't answered in the film - such as how Wendy ended up a zombie — and the ending is left pretty wide open as well. Did you have answers to these questions in your mind while you were making the film, and is there a possible sequel being kicked around?
DB: No, we're not interested in doing a sequel or answering any of those unresolved questions. In earlier versions of the script Wendy's story was much more explicit and as we began rewrites we became less and less interested in exploring that aspect of the story. We wanted to focus on the characters. We began to think of Wendy more as a memory/ghost and the cloudiness that is associated with something of that nature seemed appropriate. We felt a certain amount of obfuscation was more interesting because it opened up a larger emotional space for the characters. We were more interested in trying to achieve an emotional resolution rather than in achieving a resolution in the plot. We hoped the audience too would have more space to fill in the gaps and therefor have more of an active role in what they take away from the film.
Review: The Brothers Bloom (IFFBoston 2009 Opening Night)
Dir. Rian Johnson
It feels like it has been pouring rain off and on in the Boston area for days now. Last night, as the line of faithful film fans snaked around the block awaiting the call from the IFFBoston staff, it was downright punishing at times. But as it turns out, it was well worth the soggy feet and the hour plus wait as the opening night feature, Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom, was like a pure uncut dose of cinema.
The first seven minutes of the film, which I believe you can watch online somewhere or another, introduces us to Bloom and Stephen (the titular brothers played by Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo, respectively) as nomadic grifter pre-teens shaking down kids at the park. Narration during this part is provided by Ricky Jay, giving the film some immediate street cred and cementing the film's foundation as a con-artist fable. The Brothers Bloom is a colorful and even whimsical film, but that eye-popping production design and fanciful tone are as much a part of the story as Bloom's constipated soul and Stephen's god complex.
The con-artist is a character perfectly suited for cinema. Setting up the long-con — roping in your mark, selling them on the scheme, keeping them on board until the final pay-off — is part and parcel with the work filmmakers perform to create a world for the viewer to get lost in. In The Brothers Bloom, Stephen is essentially the director of Bloom's world, filling it with colorful characters, exotic locations and a manic pixie dream girl that will fall for him at the end of each job. But such an existence has worn Bloom down, and when we first see him as an adult, he's already grown weary and unable to celebrate their latest successful swindle. Bloom yearns for an unscripted life.
Stephen takes Bloom's ennui as a challenge to create the perfect con, one where everyone involved gets what they want. He sets up a long-con wherein Bloom will end up with his unscripted life and the mark (a rich, lonely, recluse played by the amazing Rachel Weisz) will get companionship and adventure. This focus on character sets the films apart and makes it much more a comedic The Grifters than another Confidence. There is some sort of con involving money and a book and smuggling antiques — but the film is far more interested in the emotional stakes of Bloom and Penelope, everything else is busy work. It's fun busy work, but MacGuffin stuff nonetheless. The most fun comes from trying to figure out the theoretical mark, Penelope. Rachel Weisz prevents her from simply becoming a goofy flibbertigibbet and early on Bloom (and the audience) is left wondering if she is actually one of Stephen's creations or not. Stephen warns Bloom not to fall in love with her, but is it reverse psychology? It's hopeless anyway because this is Rachel Weisz we're talking about.
As well, you should resist all temptations not to fall in love with Rinko Kikuchi who plays Bang Bang, the secret weapon of The Brothers Bloom (both the movie and their team). She may be the oddest ball in a movie full of them. She barely speaks at all and her motivations remain a mystery besides the fact that we know she likes to blow things up, but she is a wonder to behold in the film and steals just about every moment she is on screen. And I'd like to briefly mention how nice it is to see Robbie Coltrane in a film that doesn't involve a boy wizard. He's not in the film for very long but he lovingly works his scenes for all they're worth.
Compared to Rian Johnson's first film Brick, The Brothers Bloom is a huge evolutionary step, cinematically speaking. If I remember correctly, most of Brick's unique stylization was in the dialog — it's a story that could have made for an equally good novelization. The Brothers Bloom, on the other hand, uses every aspect of cinema to tell it's story in such a energetic way that I was completely swept up by it from the first frame. What really impressed me though was that the film was able to keep that energy alive for damn near all of its running time. It's rare that a film this alive is able to sustain that momentum. Amelie comes to mind, but I might suggest that this movie is even more entertaining than that one. Rian Johnson took questions after the film received a well deserved extended applause and spoke a bit about the challenge of keeping that momentum going -- especially in a film that has a couple of false endings. My only complaint is that there are a couple speed bumps in the back half of the film but by that time in the story it's only a minor hiccup. Oh, and there is one funny but disconcerting montage early on (when we get to witness the many talents of Penelope - chainsaw juggling!) that probably could have been treated in a less strictly-for-laughs manner. So it's not 100% perfect, but it's near the top of an already impressive year of films.
Interview: Paul Solet [Grace @ IFFBoston After Dark Sat.]
Paul Solet's Grace comes to IFFBoston this year with a full head of steam after a somewhat infamous showing at Sundance (two guys actually passed out during a screening). It's a film has everyone who cares about genre cinema screaming bloody murder that someone actually went and made a horror movie with purpose -- one that is in fact frightening. Grace centers on a woman (Jordan Ladd) who gives birth to a stillborn child that miraculously comes back to life. But the baby soon shows signs of being not quite right and, well that bottle full of blood on the poster isn't just an image drawn up by a promotional team. What's a new mom to do? It's playing the midnight showing on Saturday and you can buy a ticket here. And not only that, Paul Solet is a former Cantabrigian who graduated from Emerson and is more than a little eager to blow some minds on his home turf. He was gracious enough to answer a few questions and his enthusiasm is infectious even through email...
SME: Grace is your first feature, but you've had a lot of success with short films including a version of Grace in 2006. I'm sure there are some of benefits to working on a story in a short format before making it a feature, but could you describe some of what your were able to learn from the short films and from working on Grace as a short film before diving into a feature?
PS: I think part of the art of filmmaking is working within the confines presented by budget and schedule, so shooting no budget shorts is a wonderful way to learn to stretch a dollar and a day. I've done shorts on all kinds of formats on all kinds of budgets, and each one has contributed to the next. The primary goal behind the GRACE short film was to demonstrate to potential financiers the capacity to handle a feature, so we approached the shoot essentially as a mini-feature. We cast real actors in Brian Austin Green and Liza Weil and shot on 35mm with a real crew, so the experience of shooting the short version of GRACE was literally a perfect test run for the feature. Working with actors always brings things to light for me that I may not have discovered alone in a room banging my head against a legal pad. As the writer and director, you're not always able to put the sort of sustained, exclusive focus on one character that a thinking actor will, so Liza taught me a great deal about Madeline Matheson just through watching her process that I was then able to incorporate into my work with Jordan Ladd on the feature. I learn so much on each project, and I know that won't ever stop as long as I keep my eyes open and stay teachable.
SME: Horror movies are something I hold dear to my heart -- some of my earliest and best film memories are watching John Carpenter movies with my dad and being far too freaked out by even the goofy ones like Critters and Killer Klowns. Were you lucky enough to be brought up with a healthy dose of films that kids maybe shouldn't be watching? And what have been some of your more memorable, nurturing horror film experiences?
PC: My parents did their best to shield me from what they felt was inappropriate, but I always found a way to watch everything I wanted to see - whether by going over to a friend's house with less present parents or watching with a stoned babysitter, I managed to devour everything in the horror, cult and sci-fi sections pretty young. When my parents realized I really had a passion for this stuff, and that I actually wanted to DO this myself, they became unflinchingly supportive. I definitely remember being terrified by certain films as a kid, but I think if I didn't have the films to be terrified of, I may have just filled that space with something else. Watching ALIENS, I have to say, scared the hell out of me. Utterly terrified (thanks cousin Paul....). I also remember Jack Sholder's ALONE IN THE DARK shaking me up. And of course, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. But I had nightmares about C-3PO with an afro, so who knows what really did the damage.
SME: Grace has gotten some comparisons to David Cronenberg's early, body-horror films — which more than anything else gets me pretty excited for Saturday's screening. The TV show Fringe is also getting into some body-horror territory, albeit form a more sci-fi angle, and I think people are still discovering Takashi Miike and some of the Asian horror cinema that isn't about pale creepy ghost kids. American audiences have finally seemed to get tired of those J-horror remakes and the self-aware horror films of the 90s seem pretty ancient these days. One of the more divisive sub-genres to come around recently was the (poorly named) "torture porn" that could be viewed as a reflection of the George W. cultural climate, and this too seems to have come and gone as far as trends go. More than most, genre movies, and horror in particular, have a tendency to share trends and in some ways reflect the fears society is facing at the time, do you see new trend coming down the road and are there any filmmakers out there now that you're keeping an eye on?
PC: There are a lot of young filmmakers that I'm totally excited about. Fabrice Du Welz who did CALVAIRE, Jaume Belaguero who did REC and THE NAMELESS, Pascal Laugier who did MARTYRS, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury who did INSIDE - all of these guys are doing really powerful work. As far as societal trends being reflected in horror, I'm sure there's truth to that. There's always an appetite for horror. The usual discussion explores how horror is a cathartic experience. I'm sure there's truth to that as well. What excites me, though, isn't the academic analysis, it's the merger of story and horror we're starting to see more of. We're getting more films that are less reliant on shock to distract you from their lack of substance. When you've got writers like Adam Alleca working on films like LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, things are changing. These are seriously talented individuals that grew up in love with genre films. It's not just a paycheck. My hope is that we're really moving into a period where horror films don't have to be vehicles for someone's exploitation checklist - breasts:check, blood:check, jump scare:check... - a period where the potential of the genre as a playground for exponential exploration of otherwise mundane subjects is the only exploitation we're seeing. Don't get me wrong, I love a gut punch, but if each incident of violence, each scare, is earned and informed by story, these things become so much more powerful.
SME: What is it, do you think, that continues to make horror films such a great way for filmmakers to launch their careers? Making a good horror film, making it effective, isn't easy — there are numerous pitfalls. Do you think this makes it the perfect genre to learn the ropes?
PC: Horror is definitely a director's medium. It's so much fun visually, and there's so much room for innovation and style, but you're absolutely right, it's a tough genre to do right. The only thing harder is comedy, but there are parallels - in comedy, if they don't laugh, you failed; in horror, if you don't disturb them, you failed. From a business standpoint, horror has historically been as safe a bet as a financier can find for lower budget films because they're guaranteed a certain audience, no matter what kind of piece of shit they make. That's why there will always be a glut of bad horror films made by people that are looking to get as far away from anything remotely genre related as quickly as possible. It's different when a filmmaker loves the genre they're working in, and appreciates the potential it holds.
SME: From the sound of your IMDb bio you seem to have a plan of attack in place for upping the ante of genre films, which sounds great to me because even though there remains a strong fan base for genre films, I'm happy if I can find more than a couple of great American horror movies per year these days. Do you plan on sticking with horror for a while or are you looking to mix it up? Do you already have some future projects in mind?
PC: I do have projects coming down the pipe, yes, horror and otherwise. I'm not dogmatic about working within genre conventions. What's exciting to me is story. Like I said, I think the genre is a playground that enables unparalleled potential for exploring any subject because your only limitations are your own imagination and your responsibility as a storyteller to create a consistent universe, so I'll never hesitate to work in horror. At the same time, if a non-genre story moves me, I'm all over it. I just want to make good movies.
SME: Thanks again for taking the time for this. Grace is really one of the top films I'm looking forward to this week. It's a great feeling to be excited about a horror film — it doesn't happen enough.
PC: Man, I'm so happy to hear that. I'm a fan first, always, and that is EXACTLY how I feel!
Interview: Brendan Toller [I Need That Record! @ the IFFBoston]
Brendan Toller's first film, I Need That Record! is a heartfelt and often humorous documentary that follows the tumultuous relationship the music industry has had with the independent record store over the years. The documentary will make its east coast premier at the Independent Film Festival of Boston at 7pm on Saturday, April 25th at the historic Somerville Theater.
RFC: Can you give a little background on yourself and how this film came about? Some of the film's best moments follow the closing and after-life of your hometown record store. Was this the event that triggered you wanting to make a film about, as the title goes, the death and possible survival of record stores?
BT: I'm from Portland, CT a small town that like most of them-
has absolutely nothing to do. A few minutes away in Middletown, CT
there were a few record stores Record Express being the flagship one
that I grew up with. At least half of my collection comes from there.
Great people and a lot of great discovery- Clash London Calling, Neil
Young Tonight's the Night, Uncle Tupelo, Pixies, the Damned... They were a
chain of about 10 or so in new England and around 2003 Record Express
in Middletown was the last one hanging on. In the summer of 2006 it
closed, and while it didn't come as a shock to me I was heartbroken.
It's a tanning salon now. I can't even look on that side of the street
really. It's too painful. There's really a huge void in CT for a good
record store in that part of the state. Upon Record Express closing I
decided to pick up a camera and start making a movie about what in the
hell had happened in the past 10 years to have this happen. It's
something that I felt was always misrepresented in the press. They
were all quick to blame downloading and I knew that was a bullshit
answer...
SME: How long did it take you to complete the film? Was there an extensive research phase in compiling the statistics after getting all the footage?
BT: The idea hatched in 2006. The first person who agreed to do an
interview was Ian MacKaye. I had asked him after an Evens show. I
could barely speak I was so nervous, and looking at his reaction he
seemed nervous! But months later we set something up and there I was
at the Dischord house. Then in summer of 2007 I went cross country
with my two friends Jeff and Andrew to shoot interviews and record
store footage. Its amazing what different character and feel each
record store has based on taste and regionality. Then there was the 3
month period of research. I had been doing it loosely since the summer
of 2007 but I really hunkered down and read every book and article I
could concerning the changes of the music industry and the plight of
record stores. I mean everyday from 9am to 2am- reading. Then I
transcribed all 40 hours of interviews. I'm surprised my wrist didn't
fall off. I put the research and interviews together on paper. It's a
funny process- some things sound great on paper and then when you're
in the voice over booth actually saying it you think- 'what the hell
was I thinking!' Same with the interviews on paper it may look great
and when you watch it you think no way.
SME: Probably the most common question you get asked is how you were able to get a hold of all the interview subjects in the film. Did you encounter any problems and were there any interviews you were unable to score?
BT: The best advice I got in doing a project like this was- if you have an
important issue you'll be surprised who you might get to participate.
I want to make it clear that I have really no connections. I just made
a list of who I'd like to see in the film and wrote them via myspace,
their websites, and sometimes through their publicists. I'm still
amazed at how many people on the list are in the film. Sure I would've
liked to get Iggy Pop who used to work in a record store and I'm told
met the Asheton bros there, and I was disappointed Robert Pollard
didn't want to contribute (although he loved the film which is awesome
to hear from one of my heroes)- but in the end it all worked out. Some
interviews were just luck. Mike Watt was in town for 6 hours to do a
poetry reading and then was flying out to Japan or something. I got
him for a full hour! And of course there were problems like my car
breaking down and just barely making it to MIT to interview Noam
Chomsky... But overall it was an incredible experience.
SME: In addition to writing and directing you also did the editing. You definitely managed to give the film a comfortable flow and I'm wondering how much footage did you end up shooting and have to deal with at the end? In the future, are you planning on keeping it the same DIY approach or was this due to your budget?
BT: A lot of people will tell you that to do the writing, editing, and
directing is complete insanity and it is. I certainly would like more
help on the next project I do but I enjoyed involving myself with
every aspect. In the end I had something like 80 hours of footage.
This was my thesis project at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. When I
was in the the thesis concentrator's class I introduced myself and the
film telling everyone that I had 80 hours of footage down to 20 and
everyone burst out laughing. People had doubts, I had some doubts but
I think I have a great film that just needs to find a damn distributor
to get into stores. In the future I'd like to keep the same DIY
approach. I'd love some money for future projects. "I Need That
Record!" was probably made for under $5,000. I certainly don't need
the millions that Hollywood is dishing out for terrible shlock. It
amazes me the amount of waste.
SME: The biggest pitfall that documentaries like this can fall into is wearing down the viewer with a long string of talking heads -- Robert Greenwald's films often get bogged down by this -- and you do a good job in keeping away from that style. I've read that Michael Moore is an influence and there's definitely a lot of humor in I Need That Record!(and the great footage of George Bush using an iPod that you use is very reminiscent of Moore's work) but are there any other films or filmmakers that you look to for inspiration as far as style or aesthetic?
BT: Julien Temple is a filmmaker that I really look up to. His use of
archival footage, interview approach, and his track record with music
docs is simply astounding (check out "Filth and the Fury" and "Joe
Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten"). I think he's one of the most
underrated filmmakers working today. I can only hope to make a film as
beautiful as one of Jem Cohen's someday. He has an incredible eye and
great sense for structure. I love John Waters DIY approach- a band of
Baltimore weirdos set to make films of their own in the 70s when it
was near impossible to make a feature film of your own. I also love
the amount of risk Werner Herzog takes with each film he does. He's
always trying something new which can't be said of most directors or
people his age. I asked him a question when he was at Amherst College
a few years ago- "How do you form such intense relationships with your
subjects?" He took it as "Why are you so intense?" In his deep german
voice he belted " I AM AN INTENSE PERSON. MAYBE I AM TOO INTENSE FOR
SOME. BUT I CANNOT AND WILL NOT DENY THAT INTENSITY IN MY FILMS."
SME: How did the cut-out animation come about? Is there any story behind the recurring hungry dinosaur?
BT: My friend Matt Newman, animator extraordinaire, and drummer of the
rock band the Bunnies did all the cutout animations. It was a fun and
funny process. I would go and ask him to create something loosely
based on what was being said in the voice over. He has a great sense
of humor and a great collagic eye for images. We had talked about the
dinosaur as a symbol for a monstrous dying breed. It represents the
old school of thought in the music industry, the major labels,
corporate culture- destroying everything in its path...
SME: There's certainly no lack of interesting, opinionated folk hanging out at record stores, and that applies to both sides of the counter, and you were able to catch some good moments with these guys. I imagine you were probably able to get some good tips from Ian MacKaye, Thurston Moore and the others but did you have a list already in mind of stores you wanted to visit? Was it an extended road trip going to these locations?
BT: We planned a 3 week roadtrip out based on stores we found out about
online- a lot of indie coalition stores, and tips from friends. While
on the road we were tipped off on some great stores from owners,
shoppers, and people we stayed with. The one mistake we all made was
not saving up enough money for all the records we flipped through! I
don't want to name any favorites because they were pretty much all
great except for a few with $40 Beach Boys records (eye roll). I'd
like to put out a comprehensive list of all the existing record
stores, at least in the U.S., to come with the DVD of "I Need That
Record!"
SME: The majority of I Need That Record! deals with the downfall record stores have experienced, but there is an overall sense of hopefulness at the end of the film that hints at the possible survival. With the second annual Record Store Day coming up on the 18th, reports of sales of vinyl up 89% from 2007 to 2008 and stores like Amoeba still going strong -- there certainly is hope to be had. But was there anything specific that you got from this experience that gave you a sense that a turnaround is ahead for independent record stores? What do you think is in store for the future of the music industry?
BT: I think there is still a huge need for physical locations where
music/arts minds can come together. Not to sound cliche but there are
more people making music, art, and films than ever before. I think
every community could and should have a space that nurtures those
endeavors. If indie record stores want to survive they need to build
their business model around the idea of supporting a community. This
is something the chains will never get. Do in-stores, have contests,
listening parties- make it interesting. Maybe start a record store
cafe, a record stores laundromat- why in the hell has no one come up
with a record bar?! Garage bands, artists, writers etc. are in every
town and they need a place to show their stuff and get started. People
want to go places, see people, hang out- computers haven't chained us
to our chairs just yet. As for the music industry- its always been a
battle between the majors and the indies. Indie labels like Chess,
Stax, SST, Matador, In the Red dictate the tastes of tomorrow because
people are more concerned about music than money. Until the indies can
establish the network, access, advertising, and distribution that the
majors have we're still going to have money grubbing suits with
cave-man-like thinking. A lot of the old ways have eroded in the past
10 years. People sell albums totally differently now. Nothing goes
platinum. The majors have been slow to get all this stuff- the
lumbering dinosaur while the indies are quick and nimble (maybe a
lizard?)... It will be interesting to see where it goes.
SME: Lastly, my colleague Padraic is a big Drive By Truckers fan and he was a little sad that there was only a small, but brilliant, moment with Patterson Hood. I'm wondering if it was a brief interview, because it looks like you might have caught him on tour, or if there's a bevy of gold from Patterson and the others on the cutting room floor?
BT: We had plenty of time- my sister and I went out to dinner with
Patterson- he's one of the nicest guys you'll meet. Unfortunately I
interviewed him a month before I was scheduled to have a rough cut. He
had a lot of great things to say but they were already being said by
other people in different ways. There were a lot of tough decisions
made- shooting the puppy as they say. Each interview was about an
hour so I have an incredible amount of awesome stories, insights, etc.
that will end up in the extras or a second disc to come with the
release which will hopefully be this Fall. Who doesn't want to see
Danny Fields talking about how he broke up the Beatles, Glenn Branca
pontificating on Madonna and Britney Spears, or advice from Watt?
Announcement: Schedule and Tickets Now Available for IFFBoston '09
(Saved here for archival purposes.)
If you take a look over at the IFF Boston website this morning, specifically here, you'll notice that they've partnered with B-Side and have made available tickets and the full schedule for this years Independent Film Festival of Boston. B-Side can be a useful little program, it allows you to create your own schedule or calendar for the festival, to keep track of where you're supposed be and when and whatnot, as well as letting you rate the films once you've seen them. It's kind of like a Microsoft Outlook for film festivals. It also helps shine a light on the fact that it will be next to impossible for me to see everything I want to see -- sadly, Multiplicity is indeed a work of fiction.
I've already touched on the excitement here at RFC-HQ over Big Fan, Brothers Bloom, Beeswax, Summer Hours, Pontypool and World's Greatest Dad but we'll be ramping up to the festival with some spotlights on a few films that don't have the kind of hype that the big names behind those films provide and hopefully even a word or two from the people behind the films.
22 year old Brendan Toller has crafted an ode to the independent record store called I Need That Record! and it's filled with interviews ranging from Noam Chomsky to Thurston Moore.
Nashville filmmakers the Deagol Brothers are showing their 2 year labor of love, coming-of-age zombie drama that happens to have my favorite title of the fest, Make-Out With Violence.
And there's a rouge horror move (not to be confused with the ok horror movie Rouge) out there that according to some positive word of mouth may actually be (gasp!) really goddamn scary! That would be Paul Solet's Grace which is occupying the Sat night midnight spot on the festival's program.
We'll be getting to know these and hopefully a couple of other not-to-be-overlooked films a little better in the days leading up to the Independent Film Festival of Boston. Stay bookmarked.
Announcement: The Independent Film Festival of Boston 2009 Line-Up
(Saved here for archival purposes.)
It's movie season in Boston. When the thaw begins and the long-johns are peeled off, our two most treasured film festivals warm the hearts of our fair city's film geeks. The Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF) is underway as I write this and look here for some coverage tonight and tomorrow. But this morning RFC received the announcement for the Independent Film Festival of Boston's (IFFBoston) 2009 line-up and it is indeed an impressive one.
The IFFBoston has been growing exponentially for years now and looking at this year's line-up has given me the biggest smile since I've been following the fest. Most notably we have Robert Siegel’s debut as writer and director, Big Fan starring Patton Oswalt and Kevin Corrigan (who is everywhere these days). Siegel's writing debut, The Wrestler divided Padraic and myself a bit but I think we're both eager to take a look at Big Fan — a downward spiral movie about an obsessed sports fan. I'm a huge Patton Oswalt nerd but was quite surprised with his role on last week's Dollhouse. The guy's growing some serious acting chops. So yeah, Big Fan is at the top of my list.
Also up there is the long awaited follow up to Brick, Rian Johnson's The Brother's Bloom. Another highly-stylized movie — this one about grifter brothers attempting a long con and it stars Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, and RFC darling Rachel Weisz. It's the fest's opening night movie and it has seen a lot of attention and probably undergone too much scrutiny already on the festival circuit. Reactions have been all over the place, which only gets me more excited to check it out.
Other notables narrative features include new films from the always reliably nuts Olivier Assayas (Summer Hours) and RFC favorites Andrew Bujalski (Beeswax) and Bruce McDonald (Pontypool). Also, two films that come to IFFBoston with some attention are Nicolas Winding Refn's bloody Bronson and Bobcat Goldwaith's World's Greatest Dad starring an against-type Robin Williams in what looks like another great dark comedy from Goldwaith (who will be in attendance -- so hopefully I'll get my chance to ask him if my dream for Shake's the Clown 2 will ever come to fruition).
Taking a look at the documentaries we have a new feature from one of the heroes behind the Paradise Lost series, Joe Berlinger (Crude) and the attention grabbing For The Love Of Movies: The Story Of American Film Criticism from Gerald Perry. And, as is usually the case, the shorts are a bit of a mystery but one of them is from the painfully funny Don Hertzfeldt (I Am So Pround of You) so I'll do my best to track it down.
But don't take my word for it, here's the press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF BOSTON ANNOUNCES 2009 PROGRAM LINE-UP
Festival expands to the ICA and adds new presenting sponsor; “THE BROTHERS BLOOM” directed by Rian Johnson to open seventh annual festival;
BOSTON (March 22, 2009)—The Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston) today announced the films that will be featured at the 2009 Independent Film Festival of Boston. The seventh annual festival will be held April 22-April 28, 2009. In the continuing expansion of the festival, the Institute of Contemporary Art – Boston has been added as a screening venue. A new Presenting Sponsor, The Liberty Hotel, has joined the festival and the official hotel of the Independent Film Festival of Boston. The liberty Hotel joins returning presenting sponsors Ford and JetBlue Airways. B-Side, a leading technology partner for film festivals, has also joined as a Premier Sponsor for the Independent Film Festival of Boston in 2009. B-Side will manage all ticketing pages of the festival website and provide interactive features for audience members. The festival, complete with film screenings, filmmaker Q&A sessions, panel discussions, visiting filmmakers, parties and events will showcase the works of filmmakers who seek to create films that are life changing, thought provoking and expose aspects of life in new and revealing manners.
“THE BROTHERS BLOOM” directed by Rian Johnson and starring Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, and Rachel Weisz will open the festival on Wednesday, April 22nd at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square. Rian Johnson and selected cast will be in attendance for the Opening Night screening.
Some highlights of the 2009 festival include Ondi Timoner’s (“Dig!”) Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, Guillermo Arriaga’s ( writer of “Babel”, “21 Grams”) directorial debut THE BURNING PLAIN starring Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger, 500 DAYS OF SUMMER starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, LA MISSION starring Benjamin Bratt, IN THE LOOP starring James Gandolfini, Hirokazu Koreeda’s STILL WALKING, Robert Siegel’s (writer of “The Wrestler”) BIG FAN starring Patton Oswalt and Kevin Corrigan, Olivier Assayas’ SUMMER HOURS starring Juliette Binoche, and WORLD’S GREATEST DAD directed by Bobcat Goldthwait.
Numerous films with strong Boston ties will make their New England premieres at the festival this April including Jonathan Hock’s THE LOST SON OF HAVANA, Bestor Cram’s JOHNNY CASH AT FOLSOM PRISON, Aron Gaudet’s THE WAY WE GET BY, Laura Longsworth’s LUCKEY, Gerald Peary’s FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES: THE STORY OF AMERICAN FILM CRITICISM, Amy Grill’s SPEAKING IN CODE, Andrew Bujalski’s BEESWAX, Alex Karpovsky’s TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP, Ian McFarland’s CHIP ON MY SHOULDER, George Kachadorian’s SHOOTING BEAUTY, Al Ward’s BLOOD, SWEAT & CHEERS, and Tze Chun’s CHILDREN OF INVENTION.
Special guests attending the festival include Chris Cooper, Bobcat Goldthwait, Bobby and Peter Farrelly, Kevin Corrigan, Luis Tiant, and many more to be announced in the coming weeks.
INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF BOSTON 2009 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:
Narrative Features
500 DAYS OF SUMMER, directed by Marc Webb
THE ANSWER MAN, directed by John Hindman
BEESWAX, directed by Andrew Bujalski
BIG FAN, directed by Robert Seigel
BIRDWATCHERS, directed by Marco Bechis
BREAKING UPWARDS, directed by Daryl Wein
BRONSON, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
THE BROTHERS BLOOM, directed by Rian Johnson
THE BURNING PLAIN, directed by Guillermo Arriaga
CHILDREN OF INVENTION, directed by Tze Chun
THE ESCAPIST, directed by Rupert Wyatt
FROM INSIDE, directed by John Bergin
GRACE, directed by Paul Solet
HELEN, directed by Joe Lawlor & Christine Malloy
THE HIGHER FORCE, directed by Olaf De Fleur
IN THE LOOP, directed by Armando Iannucci
MAKE-OUT WITH VIOLENCE, directed by The Deagol Brothers
THE MISSING PERSON, directed by Noah Buschel
LA MISSION, directed by Peter Bratt
PONTYPOOL, directed by Bruce McDonald
STILL WALKING, directed by Hirokazu Koreeda
STINGRAY SAM, directed by Cory McAbee
SUMMER HOURS, directed by Olivier Assayas
THAT EVENING SUN, directed by Scott Teems
THE VICIOUS KIND, directed by Lee Toland Kreiger
THE WORLD’S GREATEST DAD, directed by Bobcat GoldthwaitDocumentary Features
ART & COPY, directed by Doug Pray
AUTOMORPHISIS, directed by Harrod Blank
BEST WORST MOVIE, directed by Michael Stephenson
BLOOD, SWEAT & CHEERS, directed by Al Ward
CHIP ON MY SHOULDER, directed by Ian McFarland
CRUDE, directed by Joe Berlinger
FOOD, INC., directed by Robert Kenner
FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES, directed by Gerald Peary
HERB AND DOROTHY, directed by Megumi Sasaki
I NEED THAT RECORD!, directed by Brendan Toller
INVISIBLE GIRLFRIEND, directed by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin
JOHNNY CASH AT FOLSOM PRISON, directed by Bestor Cram
KIMJONGILIA, directed by NC Heikin
THE LOST SON OF HAVANA, directed by Jonathan Hock
LUCKEY, directed by Laura Longsworth
MINE, directed by Geralyn Pezanoski
MONSTERS FROM THE ID, directed by David Gargani
NOLLYWOOD BABYLON, directed by Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal
OF ALL THE THINGS, directed by Jody Lambert
PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI, directed by Paul Saltzman
SHOOTING BEAUTY, directed by George Kachadorian
SHOUTING FIRE: STORIES FROM THE EDGE OF FREE SPEECH, directed by Liz Garbus
SPEAKING IN CODE, directed by Amy Grill
THE SWEET LADY WITH THE NASTY VOICE, directed by Joanne Fish and Vincent Kralyevich
TRIMPIN: THE SOUND OF INVENTION, directed by Peter Esmonde
TRINIDAD, directed by PJ Raval
TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP, directed by Alex Karpovksy
UNMISTAKEN CHILD, directed by Nati Baratz
UPSTREAM BATTLE, directed by Ben Kampas
THE WAY WE GET BY, directed by Aron Gaudet
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, directed by Ondi Timoner
WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE, directed by Sarah and Emily Kunstler
WINNEBAGO MAN, directed by Ben SteinbauerShort Films
THE ARCHIVE, directed by Sean Dunne
BEAN, directed by Giovanna Federico
THE BLINDNESS IN THE WOODS, directed by Martin Jalfen and Javier Lourenco
BOOB, directed by William Murnion and Jon Milott
FUNNY GUY, directed by Frank Rinaldi
GAINING GROUND, directed by Marc Brummund
HA’ AGAM (THE LAKE), directed by Boaz Lavie
THE HORRIBLY SLOW MURDERER WITH THE EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT WEAPON, directed by Richard Gale
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU, directed by Don Hertzfeldt
I KNEW IT WAS YOU, directed by Richard Shepard
THE INCIDENT AT TOWER 37, directed by Chris Perry
INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA, directed by Patrik Eklund
JULIE, JULIE, directed by Liam Creighton
KANISZA HILL, directed by Evelyn Lee
KNIFE POINT, directed by Carlo Mirabella=Davis
I LIVE IN THE WOODS, directed by Max Winston
LOLLIPOP MAN, directed by Michael Axelgaard
MELANCHOLY BABY, directed by Sean Hood
NEXT FLOOR, directed by Denis Villeneuve
NO WIND, NO WAVES, directed by Julian Higgins
O.W. HOUTS AND SONS, INC., directed by Aaron Matthews and Richard Sherman
PRINCESS MARGARET BLVD., directed by Kazik Radwanski
SHIKZIEN, directed by Jeremey Clapin
SHOCKWAVES, directed by Serge Ou
SHORT TERM 12, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
THE SLEUTH INCIDENT, directed by Jason Kupfer
SMALL COLLECTION, directed by Jeremiah Crowell
THE SNAKE MOUNTAIN COLADA, directed by Calvin Reeder
TENDER AS HELLFIRE, directed by Jason Stone
THEO, directed by Georgi Banks-Davies
UNDONE, directed by Hayley Morris
WESTERN SPAGHETTI, directed by PES
WHAT IS SHE TO YOU?, directed by Aiden Burgess
The Independent Film Festival of Boston will reach a diverse audience by incorporating a number of venues in the greater Boston community including:
· Somerville Theatre in Davis Square
· Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square
· Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline
· Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston
All festival venues are easily accessible by MBTA public transportation and are all located near area parking.
Passes will be available online at http://www.iffboston.org/ on March 22, 2009.
Individual tickets will be available online at http://www.iffboston.org/ on April 1st, 2009.
If you plan to attend the festival and would like press credentials, please register for them at http://www.iffboston.org/global/press.php by April 13th.
About the Independent Film Festival of BostonThe Independent Film Society of Boston, a 501(c)3 non-profit, produces the annual Independent Film Festival of Boston. Our mission is to showcase emerging filmmakers, musicians and visual artists and provide attendees direct access in interactive environments to these artists. Additional information about the Independent Film Festival of Boston is available at http://www.iffboston.org/ or email info@iffboston.org.
IFFBoston 2008 Coverage
Review: IFFBoston 2008 Short Films
I'll finish up with a small comment on the shorts that I saw at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. They were fabulous. They were red and cut off just above the knee and had this immaculate stitching that was just...
Woman in Burka — Shown before the brilliant My Effortless Brilliance, it is one of those peeks inside the entertainment/tv/movie world that actually works and is accessible to viewers that aren't showbiz savvy, which is usually the pitfall for these kinds of satires. Maybe because it takes place in New York it seems a whole lot more genuine and truthful than the multitude of LA showbiz stories that spew forth every year. I'm still experiencing PTSD from a "comedic" short about LA that I saw during this year’s BUFF.
The story goes: we follow an actress as she auditions for the roll of “Woman in Burka” for a low budget film of the same name. A moment that tells you everything arises early on, when three women are in a room waiting for their audition and one of the casting guys come in and says, "I loved you in Law & Order" and all three woman say “thank you.” And indeed all three actresses in this scene are L&O veterans and the fact that two of them are white, one with red hair, and they're all under the impression that it doesn't matter if you're wearing a burka, is a running gag in the film. That, and that the fictional movie's screenplay is notoriously horrible. It's a continuously funny short that basically gives you a day in the life of a New York actress. So much so that when trying to cast the actress’ ex-boyfriend, they were able to cast the actress’ current boyfriend, Sam Rockwell. Nice touch.
Apocalypse Oz — I can almost say I despised this little film. I don't even know if I want to call it a film or simply a smattering of half-baked ideas that try to string together Apocalypse Now and the Wizard of Oz via Mod Fuck Explosion (a movie worth a watch if you can find it). It comes off as extremely annoying and obvious. The performers put in good effort and there's certainly some great shots that were had but the end result is a badly paced and cringingly scripted mess. And I'm not just saying that because the over-excited woman behind me had an insane cackle that erupted in to my ear every 10 seconds. Thankfully she left when the short was over.
Film Makes Us Happy — What a heartbreaker. A husband videotapes his wife's emotional breakdown as she basically gives him an ultimatum: Me and the kid or film. Of course the kid is an adorable little, two year oldish girl and his wife is a first generation immigrant who came to America with 100 dollars but managed to get into school and meet our filmmaker who struggles to get any of his work seen, wakes up at the crack of noon and is basically draining their bank account dry. It's certainly a sobering story for any aspiring filmmaker and it's a devastatingly emotional delivery from the new mother and wife of the guy who shows up at the apartment with his friend behind the camera and decides to sit down in the kitchen and point a mike at his wife so that they can record the supposed last argument they'll have about film. Painful but good.
That's about it. I should mention the award winners. But first, I will point out that the Audience Award balloting system it completely flawed. I don't exactly know how they go about calculating who wins the Audience Award but it's fundamentally messed-up from the get-go. The theaters that show these movies vary from small, medium, large and extra large. Now just about every movie I went to was sold out. So if the movie in the small theater sells out, and is only showing once, and gets every person in the theater to give it a best possible vote -- how is it supposed to compete with the movie in the extra-large theater that sells out and gets 50-50 votes? Not to mention the fact that sometimes there's a person taking your ballots at the end of the movie and sometimes there isn't. Same goes for giving you the ballot to begin with.
So take these how you will (I do wish I got around to seeing Goliath)...
AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS:
Narrative: MY WINNIPEG
Documentary: LIFE. SUPPORT. MUSIC.
Short Film: TONY ZOREIL (TONY ZEAR)JURY AWARD WINNERS:
Narrative:
Grand Jury Prize: BALLAST
Special Jury Prize: MOMMA'S MANDocumentary:
Grand Jury Prize: SONG SUNG BLUE
Special Jury Prize: SECRECYShort Film:
Grand Jury Prize: MAN
Special Jury Prize: GLORY AT SEA!Programmers Choice Award: GOLIATH
Review: The Tracy Fragments (IFFBoston 2008)
dir. Bruce McDonald
Bruce McDonald is an interesting director. He was kinda like a Canadian Alex Cox or Jim Jarmusch back in 89 and 90 with Roadkill and Highway 61. His legend goes that when accepting his prize at a Canadian film festival for Roadkill he declared that money would be put to good use for some hashish. To tell the truth I haven't followed McDonald since those days but I can say that The Tracy Fragments is on hell of an interesting movie. Filled to the breaking point with style and substance it assaults the senses with multiple images (yes, fragments) on the screen at once. Sometimes more than you can possibly process. And not just static images but moving ones, naturally. Some are a peek into Tracy's (Ellen Page) memories, some are from her imagination and others are there to evoke her feelings at the moment. It's an impressive film making effort if not a complete success. Sometimes, as you might imagine, it can come across a bit music video-y, but Bruce McDonald is so masterful with his use of music in his films that even some of those moments gave me goose bumps.
What prevents this technique of having the screen split into multiple pieces from becoming filmic wankery is that it completely serves the story rather than the other way around. Watching Time Code was fun, but honestly at the end it seemed more like watching someone's experiment than watching a heartfelt story. The Tracy Fragments is an adaptation of a book and the experimentation that is up on the screen feels more like McDonald trying to get at those passages in the book that you normally cannot with a film. You find the reason in his distribution of the frames and how many fragments there are, and in the few occasions it opens up to only the one frame, the importance of image is immediate — it's extremely effective.
Right, what's it about? Tracy narrates her own story of when her younger brother went missing and she ran away from her dysfunctional home and high school where her fellow students constantly tease her for her lack of breasts and overall androgynous appearance. At first, when the narration started I was worried that we might be in for 90 minutes of painful teenage diary musings and over emoting, but the ship is quickly steadied and the bleakness of Tracy's home life is balanced with some brilliant realizations of teenage daydreams and the welcome humor that comes with Tracy's vivid imagination.
The Tracy Fragments is a hardcore R rated movie simply for the language and subject matter that it delves into. This is not the Ellen Page from Juno even though I can picture it finding a warm reception in the heart of every misfit high school girl across the land. With Juno still ringing through the heads of many of these girls it could be a cult sensation but it's not an easy picture to absorb or sell or cross any sort of demographic. But then it wouldn't be a Bruce McDonald film then, would it? I think it's safe to say, like his early work, this film will find its audience for years to come.
Review: My Winnipeg (IFFBoston 2008)
dir. Guy Maddin
The last film I took in on Monday night was easily my most anticipated. Guy Maddin's newest, My Winnipeg. Funded in part by The Documentary Channel (I'm guessing this is a Canadian thing) it chronicles the life of Winnipeg alongside the early file of the filmmaker himself. It's quite hypnotic and astonishing and hilarious and mystifying and wholly original. I mention The Documentary Channel because the stories that are told in My Winnipeg about Winnipeg seem so outlandish that you're constantly laughing and shaking your head in disbelief. It can't possibly be true that a stable full of horses broke loose from a fire and froze solid in the river with their heads sticking out and that this became a make out spot resulting in a child birth boom 9 months later. But Mr. Maddin's half hour Q&A that followed said that indeed every bit of the fantastical bits of Winnipeg and his own history was throughly researched and indeed true.
It wouldn't matter either way because the movie is amazingly put together in his usual style of different film stocks and sepia tones, but in this case mixed together with archival footage so that at times you're not sure if you're seeing recreations of Winnipeg's past or the real deal. He narrates the movie himself, and said that in future premiers he will do live narrations, and is pretty up-front about the recreations he creates to bring forth moments from his own past, but in sequences like the old ladies placing themselves in front of chainsaws to protest the destruction of Winnipeg's (and the world's?) smallest park -- a couple square feet of land with a tree growing out of it in the middle of a road, you have to wonder. Or, What If Day? Seriously?
The highlights of the movie are certainly these surreal archaic moments of Winnipeg's past brought to life but Maddin gets some good mileage out of dredging up some achingly true moments from his own. One of the funniest moments comes from his mother's reaction to his sister coming home in a panic after having hit a dear with her car. Instead of helping his sister cope with the situation she turns it into an inquisition, positive that despite the blood and fur on the grill of the car she was out having sex, "Was it the swim team or the man with the tire iron?", much to his sister's mortification.
Even thought the spine of the film is based around Guy Maddin trying to escape Winnipeg like it's the Corleone family, it's a very loving tribute to the city. It takes it's many digs at the sleepiness (the highest rate of sleepwalking is found in Winnipegers don't you know) and such, in the end you feel the love. Even though he said he has every expectation to get run out of town when he does the hometown premier. I have little doubt in saying that this is my favorite Guy Maddin film to date. It should be getting it's formal distribution in the coming months and I implore all to go check it out. It may be his most accessible, but in his case (and for the most part) I don't think that's a bad thing at all.
Here's how IFFBoston '08 breaks down for me — best to least best:
1. My Effortless Brilliance
2. Mister Lonely
3. My Winnipeg
4. The Tracey Fragments
5. The Beaver Trilogy
6. Transsiberian
Review: My Effortless Brilliance (IFFBoston 2008)
Dir. Lynn Shelton
First up was the excellent and often amazing My Effortless Brilliance. A largely improvised story of a writer trying to get back in touch with the best friend that basically broke up with him. The writer, Eric, is played by the front man for the band Harvey Danger (remember them?) Sean Nelson. We meet him as he tries to call up his old friend Dylan (Basil Harris) to bring over some Indian food and hang out. Dylan does bring over the food but stops cold in the doorway, calls Eric a horrible friend, an asshole and tells him that he's through with being his friend. Ouch.
Sean Nelson is surprisingly enough a superbly natural actor. I suppose it helps that the doorway break-up was plucked from his own life and that Basil Harris is a good friend of his, and that his character is a writer struggling to live up to his successful first book (much like the trajectory of his real-life band). But the why's and what-for's aren't important — what is important is that were given these immediately rich characters with built-in backstories that you can feel exude off of the screen. The audience didn't find out these quasi-autobiographical details about the movie until the Q&A with director Lynn Shelton that followed, but I'm positive that everyone in the audience was asking themselves the same question while they watched it, "Is this improvised? And if so, then they must be off-screen friends, right?"
A few years after the break-up, as a lonely Eric plods through another attempt at a book tour, he decides to track down Dylan at his new house — surprisingly enough to Eric, a cabin out in the woods of the Northwest. Everything that follows from here on out is these two friends, and Dylan's neighbor Jim, trying to connect or re-connect as the case may be.
The woodland cabin setting is great. Aside from being an inherently beautiful place to photograph, nothing forces people to deal with each other quite like being cut off from the rest of the world. I could not help but think of Old Joy from a couple years back. While I would say Brilliance is a comedy to begin with it certainly shares a similar genre as Old Joy. Some have called this genre the "bromance". I won't take up more space here to argue that term.
This isn't a film about huge psychological breakthroughs or even the tender moments that Old Joy had, it end up being a story of two friends reconnecting through shared experiences old and new. The best part of the movie is Eric, Dylan and Jim finally sitting down in the cabin together and getting drunk. The gradual process that takes place is perfect, real and hilarious. Of course, the evening ends up with them agreeing to go out to shoot the possibly mythical cougar that roams the acreage that surrounds the cabin, making for a disastrously funny expedition.
I can't recommend this movie enough. It's surely more relateable and accessible than Mister Lonely yet will probably see half of that movie's distribution (if any at all). I hope I'm wrong.
Review: The Beaver Trilogy (IFFBoston 2008)
Dir. Trent Harris
In the early 80's Trent Harris was working for a TV news magazine and bumped into Grovin' Gary. A 21 year old kid taking pictures of the outside of the TV station and its helicopter. They strike up a conversation that Harris films and there’s no denying that it is both awkward and captivating. Gary is odd to be sure, with a goofy nervous laugh, uncontrollable exuberance and weird mood swings. Gary tries to show off his impersonations at first and then his car, with etchings of Farah Fawcett on one side and Olivia Newton John on the other, which has to be started with a screwdriver. While he rides off you might ask yourself, if he sent you letter asking you to film his hometown's talent show, one that he'll of course be a part of, wouldn't you be curious?
Trent Harris did film that talent show and it is indeed jaw dropping. But before the show even starts we witness Gary getting make-up put on him by an employee of the local funeral home so that he can take that stage to do his impersonation of Olivia Newton-John — or as he calls the act, Olivia Newton Dawn (in the third act it's called Olivia Neutron Bomb, much better). I'm not sure if this part, him being interviewed while getting make-up applied and repeating over and over how he is “all man,” or the actual performance is the most mesmerizing part of the movie.
The talent show itself is a ramshackle mix of your typical small town acts. There are two sisters singing their way through a standard, the cheerleader act, someone with a baton... and a girl who kind of looks like she's doing a ventriloquist act without any dummies (but this might simply be due to the way it's shot, hard to tell but either way it's extremely bizarre). When Gary finally takes the stage with his band it is something of an improvement over what has come before but that's not saying much. His impersonation of Newton-John is not much more than a high-pitched male voice with an Australian accent. There is some conviction, you believe him when he says how much he admires her, but the main reaction to his (and his band's) performance of "Please Don't Keep Me Waiting" is that of unbelievable dumbfounded shock. There is of course a coda where he and the band come back on, not in drag, and brutalize a Neil Diamond song.
So... after watching the first "real" portion, I'm immediately questioning my own reactions and thinking about those first weeks of every season of American Idol. Every year you get to watch people with these fiery passions about their favorite singers and their own talents crash and burn in front of you eyes. Except here you don't have a judge immediately (try to) extinguish their flame. How is one supposed to react to Groovin' Garry? Trent Harris gives us two more chances to figure it out. The second part of the trilogy is Sean Penn circa 1981 as “Groovin’ Larry,” reenacting everything from the initial meeting, the make-up and the performance captured in an eerie-looking black and white home video camera format. Penn is equally mesmerizing in his performance. The guy was simply brilliant from the get go. This portion allows you to admire the metaness of Penn impersonating an impersonator. Man, this should have been shown right after Mister Lonley... jesus.
The last portion is an honest to god attempt at creating a short movie out of Groovin' Larry and the talent show. This time a very young Crispin Glover is in the role [impersonating an impersonation of an impoersonator?] and we are given attempts at getting behind the scenes of the show and how the other performers ended up on the stage. It's certainly not as interesting as the first two and it comes close to After School Special territory except for the fact that it stars Crispin Glover. But in a weird way it puts a sympathetic light on Garry, whereas the first two spotlight him in a way that has you laughing at him more than with him.
The Beaver Trilogy is certainly a movie worth watching if you get a chance. And if you can manage not to have "Please Don't Keep Me Waiting" constantly running through your head for the next couple days you're a stronger man than me Gunga Din.
Here's the original Groovin' Gary doing his Barry Manilow. New Yawk!