13-16 SEPTEMBER FACTORY THEATRE MARRICKVILLE
FESTIVAL PROGRAM
TICKETS ON SALE SUFF.COM.AU
THURSDAY 13 SEPT DOORS OPEN 6.00PM
Opening night Film & party With Director and actor in attendance! AUS PREMIERE
Mega Time Squad
Dir. Tim Van Dammen / New Zealand / Comedy / 2018 / 86mins SEE PAGE 10
Tickets include Island Boys Foods, Brooklyn Brewery Summer Pale Ale, Wild Oats wines, treats, beats and much more.
THU 13 FILm At 7.00pm
CINEMA 1
FRIDAY 14 SEPT DOORS OPEN 8.30am CINEMA 1 CONFERENCE 9.00am 5.00pm SESSION ONE 6.30pm 8.00pm
SESSION TWO 8.30pm 10.00pm
SESSION THREE 10.30pm 12.00am F = Features
CINEMA 2
CINEMA 3
CINEMA 4
INHUMANS SCREENS CONFERENCE PAGE 66
THE MISANDRISTS PAGE 30
DOWNRANGE PAGE 20
TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL PAGE 36
D = Documentaries
THE INSUFFERABLE GROO (AKA THE MAGIC OF GROO)
HOW FAR TOMORROW
REALITY BITES SHORTS
BARBARA RUBIN & THE EXPLODING NEW YORK UNDERGROUND
THE GREEN FOG
THE UNEXPECTED RACE
TRAUMA
LSD FACTORY SHORTS
PAGE 50
PAGE 42
PAGE 37
S = Short Films
PAGE 24
PAGE 23
PAGE 57
S = Special Events
PAGE 59
PAGE 38
THE GOOSE PAGE 22
W = Workshops
SATURDAY 15 SEPT DOORS OPEN 9.30am CINEMA 1
CINEMA 2
CINEMA 3
CINEMA 4
SESSION ONE 10.00am 11.30am
SESSION TWO 12.00pm 2.00pm
ALEX PROYAS MASTERCLASS PAGE 63
SPIRITS OF THE AIR, GREMLINS OF THE CLOUDS (Q&A ALEX PROYAS)
THE WILD BOYS
BLAZE
SICKIES MAKING FILMS (Q&A JOE TROPEA)
OZPLOIT! SHORTS
RELAXER
WOBBLE PALACE
LUZ
PAGE 27
PAGE 39
BRUGH EULOGY FOR A JONNY ACTING GHOST WORKSHOP PAGE47 PAGE 63
PAGE 35
SESSION THREE 2.30pm 4.30pm
PAGE 17
SESSION FOUR 5.00pm 6.30pm
THE BILL MURRAY STORIES
SESSION FIVE 7.00pm 8.30pm
LET THE CORPSES TAN
SESSION SIX 9.00pm 10.30pm
AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN
SESSION SEVEN 11.00pm 12.30am
F = Features
CINEMA 5
PAGE 32
PAGE 44
REVENGE PAGE 33
PAGE 25
KING COHEN PAGE 49
PAGE 16
LIQUID SKY PAGE 26
PAGE 58
PAGE 35
MANIAC COP
D = Documentaries
PAGE 29
PAGE40
MEGA TIME SQUAD PAGE 10
THE FOAMING NODE (Q&A IAN HAIG) PAGE 21
ESCAPE FROM RENTED ISLAND PAGE 46
LOVE/SICK SHORTS PAGE 56
PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH
SATAN'S SLAVES
LATE NIGHT CARTOON CEREAL PARTY
CHRISTMAS BLOOD
PAGE 31
S = Short Films
PAGE 61
TIM VAN DAMMEN DIRECTING WORKSHOP PAGE 64
CHINA /AUS CO-PRODUCTION WORKSHOP PAGE 64
LULU KEATING LOW-BUDGET WORKSHOP PAGE 64
PAGE 34
PAGE 19
S = Special Events
W = Workshops
SUNDAY 16 SEPT DOORS OPEN 10.30AM CINEMA 1
CINEMA 2
SESSION ONE 11.00am 12.30pm
SHUT UP AND PLAY THE PIANO
WTF! SHORTS
SESSION TWO 1.00pm 2.30pm
HERE TO BE HEARD: THE STORY OF THE SLITS
BEHIND THE CURVE
SESSION THREE 3.00pm 4.30pm
REVENGE
DOWNRANGE
SESSION FOUR 5.00pm 7.00pm
AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN
PAGE 53
PAGE 48
PAGE 33
PAGE 16
PAGE 60
PAGE 43
PAGE 20
DESOLATION CENTER PAGE 45
CINEMA 3
CINEMA 4
CINEMA 5
VIRTUAL REALITY/360 VIDEO
FOAMING SHADOWMAN THE NODE PAGE 52 PAGE 21
LET THE CORPSES TAN
THE GOOSE
MADELINE'S MADELINE
MEXMAN
PAGE 25
PAGE 28
BUGS (Q&A WITH JACK & ELIZABETA MOXEY) PAGE 18
PAGE 65
READY, AIM, SHOOT
PAGE 22
PAGE 65
RETRO 16MM FILMMAKING WORKSHOP
PAGE 51
PAGE 65
SATAN'S SLAVES PAGE 34
SUNDAY 16 SEPT DOORS OPEN 7.00PM
CLOSING night Film & party SUFF ends in spectacular fashion with Nicolas Cage taking psychotic to a bloodsoaked extreme in the highly-anticipated MANDY. Plus we continue the tradition of Serendipity Dipity Pops on arrival, plus complimentary drinks and DJ Jack Shit!
MANDY
SUN 16 FILm At 7.30pm
CINEMA 1
Dir. Panos Cosmatos / USA / Horror / 2018 / 121mins
Contents Venue Information...........................................6 How to Buy Tickets......................................... 7
OPENING & CLOSING NIGHT Opening Night .............................................. 10 Closing Night ................................................ 12
FEATURE FILMS An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn........... 16 Blaze ................................................................ 17 Bugs................................................................. 18 Christmas Blood .......................................... 19 Downrange................................................... 20 The Foaming Node ..................................... 21 The Goose .................................................... 22 The Green Fog ............................................ 23 How Far Tomorrow..................................... 24 Let the Corpses Tan.................................... 25 Liquid Sky ..................................................... 26 Luz .................................................................. 27 Madeline’s Madeline.................................. 28 Maniac Cop .................................................. 29 The Misandrists............................................ 30 Puppet Master - The Littlest Reich .......... 31 Relaxer .......................................................... 32 Revenge ........................................................ 33 Satan’s Slaves ............................................. 34 Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds . 35 Tokyo Vampire Hotel ................................. 36 Trauma............................................................ 37 The Unexpected Race............................... 38 The Wild Boys.............................................. 39 Wobble Place............................................... 40
DOCUMENTARIES Barbara Rubin & The Exploding New York Underground................................................ 42 Behind the Curve........................................ 43
The Bill Murray Stories : Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man ................. 44 Desolation Center ...................................... 45 Escape from Rented Island: The Lost Paradise of Jack Smith .............................. 46 Eulogy for a Ghost........................................ 47 Here to be Heard The Story of the Slits.................................. 48 King Cohen : The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen ........................ 49 The Insufferable Groo (AKA The Magic of Groo)................................................................ 50 Mexman ......................................................... 51 Shadowman ................................................. 52 Shut Up and Play the Piano ..................... 53 Sickies Making Films ................................. 54
SHORT FILMS Love/Sick ...................................................... 56 LSD Factory ................................................. 57 Ozploit!........................................................... 58 Reality Bites ................................................. 59 WTF!................................................................ 60 Late Night Cartoon Cereal Party.............. 61
WORKSHOPS Is Hollywood Doomed? ............................ Screen Acting & Improv............................. Storytelling: What is a Director?.............. China/Australia Co-productions ............. Making Films with Little or No Money .. Virtual Reality/360 Video ......................... Ready, Aim, Shoot....................................... Retro 16MM Filmmaking ...........................
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CONFERENCE Inhuman Screens.......................................... 66
welcome and newly restored classics Liquid Sky, Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds and a special 30th anniversary screening of the cult classic Maniac Cop. There’s also all manner of homegrown headfuckery from Bugs to The Foaming Node, killer music docs (Here to Be Heard and Desolation Center), tributes to unsung cinematic heroes (King Cohen and The Bill Murray Stories) and a ton of unforgettable shorts. And to top
Welcome comrades! SUFF returns with its most diverse and whacked out lineup to date. We’ll kick off with a bang with the side-splitting NZ comedy Mega Time Squad and roll into a weekend jam-packed with unearthed cinematic treasures like the groundbreaking acidSpaghetti Western Let the Corpses Tan, psychotropic and blood-drenched masterpieces Revenge and Tokyo Vampire Hotel, bizarro-comedy An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn
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GETTING THERE • 5 min bus ride from Newtown Station. SY DN • EY15 walk from Sydenham and Marrickville PAmin RK RD railway stations. • 20 min walk from Newtown Station. • Bicycle racks and limited street parking is also SYDNEY PARK available nearby. • Go to transportnsw.info for transport options. CH
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bars offer confectionary, snacks, and non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. ISLAND BOYS will be serving up delicious Caribbean cuisine with daily specials and a pop-up CO PE LA ND ST Ice cream cart will also be onsite. For Serendipity further venue information, including disability ERSKINEVILLE access, please visit factorytheatre.com.au
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it all off, we’ll bring the festival to a close with the mind-melting fever dream that is Mandy. Plus, don’t miss our dedicated filmmaking workshop program, the inaugural “Inhuman Screens” conference, international guests, parties, performances, the return of our Late-Night-All-YouCan-Eat-Cartoon-Cereal-Party and much, much more. Enjoy the guide, head to the website SUFF.COM.AU for more info and tickets and we will see you at the fest!
HOW TO BUY TICKETS Buying tickets to the 2018 Sydney Underground Film Festival is easy - whether to a single session, or any combination of passes listed below and can be made by the following ways:
ONLINE
IN PERSON
SUFF.COM.AU
PHONE
FESTIVAL HOTLINE (02) 9550 3666
ENMORE THEATRE BOX OFFICE, 130 ENMORE RD, NEWTOWN MON - FRI 9AM - 6PM, SAT 10AM - 4PM OR FESTIVAL VENUE ON THE NIGHT.
Tickets and PASSES TERMS AND CONDITIONS • Ticket prices include GST and booking fees. • A transaction fee may apply per transaction for bookings made over the phone only. • Seating is limited, therefore early purchases are always recommended. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the session starts. • Concessions are available to full-time students, pensioners, seniors, health care card holders • Companion cards accepted. Concession cards must be shown. • All sessions are 18+ unless otherwise noted. THERE MAY BE A LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS AND PASSES AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR, IF NOT SOLD OUT PRIOR. OUR SESSION TIMES ARE FILM START TIMES, DON’T BE LATE!
FESTIVAL PASS..............................................Adult/Conc. • Includes all film screenings plus opening & closing night films and conference (excludes workshops).............................. $165 / 150 OPENING NIGHT PARTY PASS • Opening night includes film, after-party, food and complimentary drinks ................................. $53 / 48 CLOSING NIGHT PARTY PASS • Closing night film and party (includes film, ice cream & complimentary drinks) ......... $26 / 24 INHUMAN SCREENS CONFERENCE • (includes Friday night films) ..................... $50 / 25 FRIDAY PASS • all-day pass (excludes conference).......... $33 / 30 SATURDAY PASS • all-day pass (excludes workshops)........... $66 / 60 SUNDAY PASS • all-day pass (excludes workshops)........... $48 / 44 4-FILM PASS • 4-film pass (excludes opening & closing night) ............................................ $47 / 43 WORKSHOPS ........................................................$25 / 20 INDIVIDUAL FILM/ SESSION ........................... $16 / 14
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THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS DISTINGUISHED PARTNER
CULTURAL PARTNER
KEY INDUSTRY PARTNER
SCREENING AND MEDIA PARTNERS
HOSPITALITY PARTNERS
SUPPORTING PARTNERS
PR PARTNER
Opening Night Film and Party What better way to kick off opening night than with one of the year’s funniest, most ingenious films, Mega Time Squad; a clever comedy that delivers buckets of charm and laughs. Plus, we’ll be joined by very special guests director Tim van Dammen and lead actor Jonny Brugh who’ll offer plenty of insight into the making of the film in a post-screening Q&A that’s not to be missed. Then, be sure to stick around for our epic after party, as your ticket also includes tasty Jamaican fare thanks to Island Boys Foods and drinks thanks to Brooklyn Brewery’s Summer Pale Ale and Wild Oats Wines. Party tunes and rare grooves provided by Jay Katz & Miss Death!
Opening Night Film
FOOD AND BEVERAGES SUPPLIED BY 10 Open
Mega Time Squad is a fun blast of New Zealand insanity. This will likely become a cult favourite that fans return to again and again.
HAPPY MAG CO-PRESENTS:
GABRIEL SIGLER, BAD FEELING.
FOLLOWED BY Q&A WITH WRITER / DIRECTOR TIM VAN DAMMEN AND ACTOR JONNY BRUGH
Mega Time Squad
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Dir. Tim Van Dammen / New Zealand / Comedy / 2018 / 86mins A low-level criminal from the small New Zealand town of Thames steals an ancient Chinese timetravel device, helping him pull off another heist and start a new life. But he may not survive the demonic consequences of tampering with time in this hilarious action comedy, which features a fully committed cast including inspired performances from genre stalwarts
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
FANTASIA
Jonny Brugh (What We Do in the Shadows) and Milo Cawthorne (Deathgasm). Wearing its cinematic influences like a badge of honour — from the goofy mysticism and inspired action sequences of Hong Kong cinema, to the rapid-fire repartee of contemporary crime comedies —Mega Time Squad is a riot; the most fun you’ll have in the cinema this year.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
FRIGHT FEST
THU 13 DOORS OPEN
6.00pm
CINEMA 1
OPEN EVENTS | 1111
Closing Night Film and Party Join us for the closing night film and party with the bloodthirsty, hypnotic, punk-rock Mandy. Your ticket includes complimentary Serendipity Dipity Pops on arrival and after the film, drinks are courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery and Wild Oats winery, while FBI DJ Jack Shit brings his acid-fuelled esoterica! Closing night always sells out, so make sure you snaffle your tickets early! SUFF “Dead Oscars” will be presented just before the closing film. Handmade awards by Sydney glass Artist, Mark Wotherspoon.
KICK ON WITH FBI DJ JACK SHIT
GET A FREE SERENDIPITY ICE CREAM
FOOD AND BEVERAGES SUPPLIED BY
Over two gonzo hours, it combines giallo, Clive Barker, Death Wish, prog rock, heavy metal, Guy Maddin, Mad Max, the dueling-chainsaw climax of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Nicolas Roeg, and Nicolas Cage at his most buggingout unhinged. THE AV CLUB
SYDNEY PREMIERE
MANDY Dir. Panos Cosmatos / USA / Horror / 2018 / 121mins In his remarkable follow-up to cult hit Beyond the Black Rainbow, Panos Cosmatos gleefully demonstrates an audacious command of tone and atmosphere, conjuring an ethereal treat for the senses that begs to be seen on the big screen. When Red Miller (Cage) meets Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) he instantly falls in love — but unfortunately, so does Jeremiah (Linus Roache). And when this telekinetic bikie messiah
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SUNDANCE
tasks his dedicated followers with kidnapping Mandy, Red is spurred into frenzied action as he seeks retribution against the Children of the New Dawn. Awash in a salacious sea of gloriously unhinged performances, carnage, lumberjack skills, and atmospheric visuals, Cosmatos grinds up beloved genre tropes into a fine pulp and sculpts them into something altogether otherworldly and unforgettable.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
SUN 16 DOORS OPEN
7.00pm
CINEMA 1
CLOSE 13
facebook.com/islandboyfoods
Instagram.com/islandboysfoods
Tropea and cowriter/editor Robert A. Emmons Jr. fashion a tale as absurd as it is disturbing. Sickies of the world, unite!. . CHRISTOPHER LLEWELLYN REED, HAMMER TO NAIL.
Jerk chicken & cornbread, Lamb Souvlakia with dips & pita, Pulled Pork with chips & slaw, Chickpea Curry with red beans & rice, daily specials
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“ The Jamaican style cooking was passed onto me by my mother and late fatherand various relatives. Th ey taught me all about herbs, spices and which wood to cook with. Now I close my eyes and I can smell food cooking.” For all catering needs, contact: islandboyfoods@gmail.com
in e S h o w
GOLD MEDAL
FEATURES
SYDNEY PREMIERE
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn presents a playful and often charming blend of outré humor and genuine emotion that makes [director Jim Hosking] one of the most distinctive new voices in current cinema. ERIC KOHN, INDIEWIRE.
sat 15 SESSION 6
9.00pm
CINEMA 1
SUN 16 SESSION 4
5.00pm
CINEMA 1
16 FEATURES
AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN Dir. Jim Hosking / USA / Comedy / 2018 / 108mins Produced by Ben Wheatley and featuring an all-star indie-comedy cast, An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn is one of the most daring and singular comedies to be released in years. After getting fired by her scheming husband Shane Danger (Emile Hirsch), the dissatisfied Lulu (Aubrey Plaza) is stunned when a TV commercial for “An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn For One Magical Night Only” reveals a mysterious man from her past (Craig Robinson). When Shane and his bumbling cohorts steal the cashbox from Lulu’s adopted vegan brother, specialist Colin (Jemaine Clement) is hired to retrieve the stolen funds. Lulu seizes the opportunity to run
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SUNDANCE
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
off in search of her mystery man and things only get weirder from there. Jim Hosking’s delightfully bizarre follow up to The Greasy Strangler showcases the director’s innate gift for outrageous absurdity and pushes the boundaries of storytelling into the wild unknowns of glorious outsider art.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
REVELATION PERTH FILM FESTIVAL
Ethan Hawke’s high-wire biopic tells the story of country blues singer Blaze Foley in a redneck-verité style that’s as delicate as it is daring... Hawke has made the ultimate hipster movie. That’s a recommendation.. OWEN GLEIBERMAN, VARIETY
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Blaze Dir. Ethan Hawke / USA / Drama / 2018 / 127mins Ethan Hawke effortlessly steps behind the camera for this unorthodox dramatisation of the remarkable life of burly singersongwriter Blaze Foley, unsung legend of the outlaw country music movement. Eschewing traditional music biopic tropes for a more unconventional approach, Hawke cannily presents Foley’s desultory life through cut-up timelines that offer flashbacks within flashbacks, braiding together re-imagined versions of Blaze’s past, present and future. The different strands explore his love affair with Sybil Rosen, his last dark night on earth, and the impact of his songs and his death on those closest to him
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SUNDANCE
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SXSW
(namely Townes van Zandt, and folk legend Zee). With rock-solid turns from Alia Shawkat, Sam Rockwell and newcomer Benjamin Dickey — who fills the title role with appropriate gusto and panache — Blaze is an intelligent and loving film, destined to become a stonecold classic of independent cinema.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
sat 15 SESSION 3
2.30pm
CINEMA 1
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
FEATURES 17
KIDS screenwriter Harmony Korine recently said that you could never get away with making a film like his today, yet here’s an amateur filmmaking duo proving him very wrong. If BUGS was a punch in the face, it would leave bleeding on the brain. CINEMA AUSTRALIA
SYDNEY PREMIERE
BUGS sun 16 SESSION 4
5.00pm
CINEMA 3
18 FEATURES
Dir. Jack Moxey / Australia / Drama / 2018 / 86mins An astonishing debut feature that heralds a new Australian cinematic talent, Bugs follows a group of high schoolers as they plan their weekend, jostling for attention and status in the complex hierarchy of their social networks. Meanwhile, in the nearby bushland lies the corpse of their classmate Amanda — not that anyone seems to care.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
REVELATION PERTH FILM FESTIVAL
Bugs plays like the demented lovechild of Harmony Korine’s early work (Gummo and Kids) and Tim Hunter’s cult classic River’s Edge. That said, it’s very much its own beast, with a genuine local sensibility that finds the darkness behind even the most quaint of Australian suburbs.
FOLLOWED BY Q&A WITH WRITER / DIRECTOR JACK MOXEY AND PRODUCER / ACTOR ELIZABETA MOXEY
The horror/comedy Christmas Blood is this year’s most twisted genre entry. NORDIC FANTASY
Christmas Blood
AUS PREMIERE
Dir. Reinert Kill / Norway / Horror / 2017 / 104mins Using more than 150 litres of fake blood to complete the film, the aptly named Reinert Kill unleashes a slasher with one of the highest body counts in recent memory. Serial killer Nissen has a penchant for dressing as Santa, and has been haunting Norway each Christmas Eve for 13 years. He now has his eyes set on the northern countryside, just as a group of
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
LUND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
unwitting co-eds have chosen the spot for their seasonal getaway. Meanwhile, detectives Rasch and Hansen are more determined than ever to catch their bogeyman before he strikes again — but with Christmas just around the corner, the two cops must race against time to prevent another bloody holiday massacre.
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NIGHT VISIONS
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FANTASTISK
sat 15 SESSION 7
11.00pm
CINEMA 4
FEATURES 19
Cult favorite Ryûhei Kitamura’s nihilistic single location nightmare makes a monster out of a bloodthirsty sniper. BIRTH.DEATH.MOVIES.
fri 14 SESSION 2
8.30pm
CINEMA 1
sun 16 SESSION 3
3.00pm
CINEMA 2
DOWNRANGE
Dir. Ryûhei Kitamura / Japan/USA / Thriller / 2017 / 90mins When a group of car-sharing millennials break down on a remote, dusty road, it seems like a great opportunity to get to know each other while they change the tyre. But a sniper hidden in the trees has a different idea, picking off the group one by one. Pinned down and with no phone signal, the survivors must figure out how to stay alive and manage to find help without becoming the gunman’s next victim. Executed with a refreshing minimalism, Downrange eschews convoluted plotting and exposition, instead exploiting the simple thrills of gooey gore gags, outrageous car stunts, and its dead-eye protagonist, building to OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
20 FEATURES
SYDNEY PREMIERE
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SITGES
an iconic confrontation. A wickedly entertaining bloodbath results, direct from the twisted mind of cult provocateur Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, Midnight Meat Train).
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
REVELATION PERTH FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
BRUSSELS INT’L FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL
SYDNEY PREMIERE The Foaming Node makes the roof of my mouth itch, it makes the bottom of my feet want to vomit, it created a really bizarre hissing noise in my ears, and my eyes wept honey. It’s disturbing. It’s unnatural. It’s bizarre.
FOLLOWED BY Q&A WITH DIRECTOR IAN HAIG (SAT SESSION)
THE ART LIFE
sat 15
The Foaming node
SESSION 3
2.30pm
Dir. Ian Haig / Australia / Experimental / 2018 Ian Haig’s endlessly fascinating ‘documentary’ The Foaming Node essays the discovery and emergence of new bodily organs in meticulous and captivating detail. We follow the last remaining observers, members of a cult of sorts, who have experienced both the transmissions of the Foaming Node, and their own personal and strange bodily transformations.
They discuss exactly how the changes associated with the Foaming Node have affected them, telling fascinating, visceral, detailed tales that reach beyond science, alternative medicine, and corporeality. Director Ian Haig continues to examine the themes of physicality found in his recent artworks
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
REVELATION PERTH FILM FESTIVAL
CINEMA 4
SUN 16 SESSION 1
11.00am
CINEMA 4
FEATURES 21
Packed with plenty of neon lights, leather jackets and karaoke, this is post-internet on the big screen . EWA SZABŁOWSKA
Fri 14 SESSION 3
10.30pm
CINEMA 4
sun 16 SESSION 2
1.00pm
CINEMA 4
22 FEATURES
The Goose
AUS PREMIERE
Dir. Mike Maryniuk / Canada / Experimental / 2018 / 72mins He’s called ‘the Goose’. Mute, introverted and hunchbacked, he’s widely considered the village idiot, and he lives with the local ventriloquist and his gruesomelooking dummy. The Goose doesn’t feel at home in this environment, which is why meeting the Time Travel Agent seems like a simple way out. He wants to go to Arizona, where he believes he’ll regain his ability to speak through new-age voice therapy. And the best way?
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
To travel by fax, of course! This psychedelic road movie by Mike Maryniuk, a self-taught director from Winnipeg who identifies as a “film folk artist” presents a peculiar mixture of performances by local oddballs, funky animation, video game aesthetics and allusions to silent cinema. With absurd plot twists, anarchic humour and many a mash up, The Goose is a one-of-akind of visual trip.
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NEW HORIZONS
SYDNEY PREMIERE ACCIDENCE
At times, the playfulness reaches moments of sublime, unlikely beauty. That’s the magic of The Green Fog. It envelops you and pulls you into its own world, teaching you to see again.
Dir. Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson / Canada / Experimental / 2018 / 10:03 / Sydney Premiere A single-shot Möbius strip music video tribute to Hitchcock’s Rear Window.
THE VILLAGE VOICE.
LUCE VIGO: LINES OF THE HAND
The Green Fog Dir.Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson / Canada / Experimental / 2017 / 63mins The Green Fog is eccentric Canadian artist Guy Maddin’s latest madcap experiment: a quasi-narrative pastiche that pays tribute to Hitchcock’s Vertigo while writing a general love letter to San Francisco. It’s comprised of a dizzying assemblage of images sourced from around 100 films and television shows, both familiar and
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TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
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unknown, all set in the Bay area. From this trove of found material, Maddin creates a cinematic fantasy that pulls the viewer in and never lets go. The result is what Maddin calls a “parallel-universe version” of Vertigo, where dialogue scenes play out in surreally silent gestures bursting with the filmmaking great’s irrepressible sense of humour.
SAN FRANCISCO FILM FESTIVAL
Dir. Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson / 2016 / Canada / 3mins / Australian Premiere To Luce Vigo, with love...a fragment of adaptation of Jean Vigo’s unrealised Les Lignes de la Main.
Fri 14 SESSION 2
8.30pm
CINEMA 3
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2017
BERLINALE
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
FEATURES 23
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
How far tomorrow
fri 14 SESSION 1
6.30pm
CINEMA 3
24 FEATURES
Dir. Wang Jinsong / China / Drama / 2018 / 81mins With no motion-picture rating system in place in China, films must be deemed suitable for all audiences in order to be shown. Officially, the censorship system is designed to promote Confucian morality, political stability and social harmony, which means that features are often removed from reality and didactic in tone. Enter upcoming director Wang Jinsong, whose How Far Tomorrow is one of the very first Chinese movies to tackle the grim reality of rising recreational drug use head-on. Following in the footsteps of modern classics such as Requiem for a Dream and 21 Grams, the film follows happy wife and mother Yu Lanben, whose life spirals out of
control when she stumbles across her town’s seedy underbelly and quickly falls victim to addiction. A blistering critique of China’s public welfare system and the danger of excess, as well as a groundbreaking work of social realism, this is a trailblazing vision from a filmmaker whose star is very much the rise.
FOLLOWED BY Q&A WITH PRODUCER WENSHUANG XU
SYDNEY PREMIERE Cattet and Forzani’s Let the Corpses Tan may come to be recognized as one of the best and most original literary adaptations in decades, even as it is an astonishingly cinematic experience. CHRISTOPH HUBER, CINEMA SCOPE
Let the Corpses tan Dir. Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani / France/Belgium / Thriller / 2017 Based on the cult novel by JeanPatrick Manchette and Jean-Pierre Bastid, Let the Corpses Tan tells the story of Rhino and his wily band of thieves — who make off with a truckload of stolen gold, only to find themselves in an all-out firefight among the Mediterranean ruins. A deliriously hypnotic,
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2017
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
ultra-violent pastiche of retro Euro crime thrillers, spaghetti westerns and giallo, this mind-blowingly stylized shoot-em-up from Belgian filmmaking team Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani is a beautiful, experimental and bold take on the classic pulp crime tale.
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FANTASTIC FEST
sat 15 SESSION 5
7.00pm
CINEMA 1
sun 16 SESSION 2
1.00pm
CINEMA 3
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
FEATURES 25
Liquid Sky has always been caught smack between delirious curio, avant-garde put-on, exploitation cheapie, and naive masterpiece. Today, it seems prescient… A singular vision of a twilight Manhattan haunted by the lost, the daring, the damned, the jonesing – and some aliens. ALAN SCHERSTUHL, VILLAGE VOICE
Liquid Sky sat 15 SESSION 7
11.00pm
CINEMA 1
RESTORATION
Dir. Slava Tsukerman / USA / Retrospective / 1982 / 92mins Bodiless extra-terrestrials descend on Manhattan’s post-punk club scene for the heroin and stay for the sex, vaporising their fodder in explosions of psychedelic ecstasy at the moment of climax. Thankfully pansexual fashion star Margaret discovers she can dispatch these unwelcome suitors by feeding the aliens’ habit. Hailed by Time Magazine as “a two hour act of pure imagination”, Slava Tsukerman’s Liquid Sky
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
26 FEATURES
NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
is an underground masterpiece of avant-garde science-fiction filmmaking. Set against the visual majesty of New York in the early ‘80s, and filled with arresting cinematography by Yuri Neyman — along with an acclaimed original soundtrack featuring Blondie and Talking Heads — this is a quintessential artefact of 1980s New Wave that looks and sounds sharper than ever in this neverbefore-seen digital restoration.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
FANTASIA
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FRIGHTFEST LONDON
An effective exercise in stylistic pastiche that has more to offer than its eerie retro mood, Tilman Singer’s Luz presents a refreshing take on demonic possession in which the usual frightflick cliches are nowhere to be found. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
LUZ
Dir. Tilman Singer / Germany / Horror / 2018 / 70mins On a dark and rainy night, dazed and numb, young cabdriver Luz drags herself into the brightly lit entrance of a rundown police station. Meanwhile, in a nearby bar, Nora seductively engages police psychiatrist Dr. Rossini in a conversation about her old schoolmate Luz’s rebellious past. Little does the doctor know that
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
BERLINALE
Nora is possessed by a demonic entity that will stop at nothing to reclaim Luz, its one true love. Featuring a menacing synth score by Simon Waskow and shot immaculately on retro 16mm, Luz easily beats Hereditary as the creepiest and most enthralling possession flick of 2018.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
FANTASPOA
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FANTASIA
SAt 15 SESSION 2
12 noon
CINEMA 3
FEATURES 27
SYDNEY PREMIERE
All I can safely assert after one viewing is this: Decker and Howard are formidable talents, and Madeline’s Madeline is a must for anyone who cares about the future of this medium. JEREMY SMITH, BIRTH.DEATH.MOVIES.
MADELINE’S MADELINE
sun 16 SESSION 3
3.00pm
CINEMA 3
28 FEATURES
Dir. Josephine Decker / USA / Drama / 2018 / 93mins Newcomer Helena Howard delivers a star-making turn in this fierce and vividly impressionistic tour-de-force from up-and-coming indie director Josephine Decker. Much to the worry of her anxious mother (Miranda July), Madeline has become an integral part of an experimental theatre troupe in the city, one that emphasises an intense focus on authenticity. When the workshop’s unorthodox director (Molly Parker) pushes
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SUNDANCE
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BERLINALE
Madeline to channel her troubled history into their collective art, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur in surprising and dangerous ways. What follows is an exceptional coming-of-age film framed through an abstracted narrative, exploring themes of performance, charisma, power and belonging — all while centred on a mother and daughter caught in a mesmerising psychological dance.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
NEW ZEALAND MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FILM FESTIVAL
Cohen takes the slasher/ serial-killer genre and puts a unique spin on it while adding plenty of gallows humor. CHUCK O’LEARY, FULLVUE DRIVE-IN
30TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING
maniAc Cop
RESTORATION
Dir. William Lustig / USA / Retrospective / 1988 / 85mins “You have the right to remain silent – forever!” Following our screening of King Cohen, come and celebrate one of Larry Cohen’s masterpieces as it turns the big-3-0: the original, quintessential video nasty, Maniac Cop. After reports of a man in a police uniform committing horrific murders on the streets of New York, officer Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) stands accused. Now, with few friends, powerful enemies
WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY KING COHEN ABOUT THE WRITER OF MANIAC COP, LARRY COHEN, BEFOREHAND AT 9PM. SEE PAGE 49
and a psychopathic slayer still at large, it’s up to Jack to prove his innocence and bring down the killer before it’s too late. A violent, sleazy, rip-roaring gore-a-thon for lovers of pure cinema, legends Cohen, Lustig, Campbell, and Landon (the A-team for B-movie freaks) turn this into a gleeful grindhouse romp that’s about as much fun as you can have at the movies.
sat 15 SESSION 7
11.00pm
CINEMA 2
FEATURES 29
The Misandrists is a diverting bad-taste frolic for the sufficiently jaded. DENNIS HARVEY, VARIETY.
THE MISANDRISTS Fri 14 SESSION 1
6.30pm
CINEMA 1
30 FEATURES
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Dir. Bruce La Bruce / Canada / Comedy / 2017 / 91mins In an alternate reality, somewhere in Ger(wo)many, the Female Liberation Army prepares to overthrow the patriarchy and usher in a new female world order. How? A new sort of lesbian porn that functions as propaganda for the female revolution. However, when Isolde, a self-proclaimed “separatist among separatists,” is caught harbouring a young injured man in the basement of the feminist headquarters, secrets are revealed
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BERLINALE
that will question the very nature of womanhood. Canada’s most anti-conformist filmmaker Bruce La Bruce (LA Zombie, Otto, or Up With Dead People) is back with The Misandrists, a delightful anarchist screed, in the tradition of queer cinema that appropriates our most exuberant fantasies to transgress society’s mindless rules. Be sure to stay through the rousing end credits that feature a collage of famous feminists through the ages!
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2017
RAINDANCE
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MELBOURNE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL
AUS PREMIERE
The craziest goddamn movie of 2018… Wild, in your face, and meant to be experienced with the rowdiest crowd imaginable. JACOB KNIGHT, BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH
PRESENTS
PUPPET MASTER - THE LITTLEST REICH Dir. Sonny Laguna & Tommy Wiklund / USA / Horror/Comedy / 2018 / 84mins During a road trip to a convention commemorating the 30th anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders, a comic book nerd, his new girlfriend and his best friend come face-to-face with a set of sadistic Nazi puppets. All hell breaks loose when a strange force animates the puppets at the convention, setting them on a bloody killing spree that’s motivated by an evil as old as time. Written by ferocious genre talent S. Craig
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FANTASIA
Zahler, (Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99), Puppet Master mixes fresh socio-political insights and gaudy political incorrectness with insane amounts of splatter, resulting in one hell of an intoxicating cocktail. Top it off with appearances from legends Udo Kier, Barbara Crampton and Thomas Lennon (Reno 911), and you’ve got a movie destined to win a whole new 21st century cult following.
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POPCORN FRIGHTS
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CINEPOCALYPSE
Sat 15 SESSION 6
9.00pm
CINEMA 3
FEATURES 31
Milk vomit and Pac-Man: Joel Potrykus’ Relaxer is a masterpiece of depraved ’90s nostalgia. INDIEWIRE
Relaxer sat 15 SESSION 4
5.00pm
CINEMA 2
32 FEATURES
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Dir. Joel Potrykus / USA / Comedy / 2018 / 91mins One of the originals of 21st-century American transgressive cinema and a true provocateur, Joel Potrykus (Buzzard) returns with Relaxer, a skuzzy Y2K flashback that’s both absurdly funny and disturbing in its portrayal of the cultural detritus of the turn of the millennium. Cam just gave his younger brother Abbie the dopest, most ultimate challenge ever: to beat Billy Mitchell’s infamous Pac-Man high score — by going beyond level 256’s glitch, of
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SXSW
course — without ever getting off the couch. Think Slacker meets The Exterminating Angel, although this only begins to describe the madness that Potrykus unleashes. His fourth and best feature film to-date is a closed-room tourde-force, at once philosophically dense and grandiose. This is a true punk film that’s indescribable, demanding and completely insolent, encapsulating the best and worst of ‘90s pop culture in one experiential trip.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
MARYLAND FIM FESTIVAL
Revenge is a bloody middle finger...a kick in the balls with a feminine combat boot. You’ve been warned, gents. DAVID FEAR, ROLLING STONE.
Revenge
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Dir. Coralie Fargeat / France / Thriller / 2017 / 108mins Jen arrives at a remote villa with her wealthy boyfriend, Richard, for a weekend of illicit romance. Things quickly go from hedonistic to devastating when her lover’s hunting buddies show up unannounced and what begins as a night of drunken revelry ends in horror. Leaving Jen for dead, these men underestimate not only her will to survive but also her thirst for vengeance. Drenched in enough blood to paint an entire town red, Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2017
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FIM FESTIVAL
nevertheless reframes the rape/ revenge genre’s typical proclivities with a gaze that scrutinizes male bodies and foregrounds its protagonist’s transformation into a hardened vehicle of vengeance. Culminating in a grisly, shockingly violent climax that needs to be seen to be believed, first-time French director Fargeat’s explicitly controlled yet wildly over the top masterpiece, assures her a spot amongst the highest echelons of the New French Extreme.
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SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FIM FESTIVAL
Sat 15 SESSION 5
7.00pm
CINEMA 2
sun 16 SESSION 3
3.00pm
CINEMA 1
FEATURES 33
A Quiet Place and Hereditary have already been dubbed 2018’s scariest films to beat, but you can add Satan’s Slaves to that list now – the most horrifying film of 2018 you haven’t heard of yet… Immersive, past-bedtime nightmare fuel. MATT DONATO, SLASHFILM.
sat 15 SESSION 6
9.00pm
CINEMA 4
sun 16 SESSION 4
5.00pm
CINEMA 4
34 FEATURES
Satan’s Slaves
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Dir. Joko Anwar / Indonesia / Horror / 2017 / 107mins For years, versatile Indonesian director Joko Anwar wanted to remake Pengabdi Setan, not only a 1982 horror classic from his home country, but a film that was based on the cult classic Phantasm. With Satan’s Slaves he finally has, telling the chilling tale of four children who are left alone when their mother passes away from a mysterious illness. But soon, the kids sense that their
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
late mum may not have left at all. Things only get worse when they realise she has returned to take them back to the underworld. What results is a tense and stylistic horror movie that lured over a million viewers to cinemas during its premiere weekend, and also received a record 13 nominations at this year’s Indonesian Film Awards.
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OVERLOOK
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FANTASIA
FOLLOWED BY A NOT-TO-BE-MISSED Q&A WITH ALEX PROYAS
RESTORATION
SPIRITS OF THE AIR, GREMLINS OF THE CLOUDS Dir. Alex Proyas / Australia / Retrospective / 1989 / 93mins Siblings Felix and Betty struggle to etch out a living in a postapocalyptic desert wasteland. Felix’s impulsiveness and obsession with flying has left him in a wheelchair, while Betty insists that a demon is to blame for their woes. Enter Norm, who will shatter their family bond and turn their lives completely upside down. This one-of-a-kind film is the feature
DON’T MISS ALEX PROYAS FILM WORKSHOP “IS HOLLYWOOD DOOMED?” ON SAT 15 SEPT SEE PAGE 63
debut of Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City), and presents a distinctly Australian vision full of madcap inventions and colourful flights of fancy, now enhanced in this pristine digital restoration. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to discover an unearthed gem of independent Australian cinema.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
sat 15 SESSION 2
12 noon
CINEMA 1
FEATURES 35
If Wes Anderson and Park Chan-wook went to Japan and got high on acid, the result would look something like Toyko Vampire Hotel. ANDREA THOMPSON, CULTURE ADVENTURES.
TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL
fri 14 SESSION 3
10.30pm
CINEMA 1
36 FEATURES
AUS PREMIERE
Dir. Sion Sono / Japan / Horror / 2017 / 144mins SUFF is honoured to present the theatrical cut of Sion Sono’s nine-part mini-series Tokyo Vampire Hotel, a film that oozes with colour, delirious spectacle, and tons of blood and gore. Festival regular Sono needs no introduction, having helmed past favourites The Virgin Psychics, Why Don’t You Play in Hell? and Guilty Romance. Here, he tackles an eternal vampire blood feud in 2021, as the Dracula family and
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TIFF
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SITGES
fellow vamp clan the Corvins prepare for cataclysmic battle. The result is a confetti cannon full of blood squibs coming right at your face, in typical Sono fashion. With vampire flicks proving so passé of late, Tokyo Vampire Hotel is a refreshing blast, rising out of the ashes to prove that the genre still has life — and offering a nonstop rush of bloodsucking mayhem in the process.
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OFFSCREEN
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FANTASIA
Trauma is easily one of the most brutal, graphic and disturbing horror films to have been made in recent memory. ANDREW MACK, SCREEN ANARCHY
AUS PREMIERE
TRAUMA Dir. Lucio A. Rojas / Chile / Horror / 2017 / 106mins Drawing comparisons to A Serbian Film, director Lucio A. Rojas’ twisted home-invasion horror is not for the faint of heart or stomach. What starts as a sun-soaked, winedrenched getaway for four friends quickly spirals into a nightmare when two unwelcome visitors crash their party. The next morning, the remainder of the group desperately
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MORBIDO FEST
search for help in a nearby village, unaware that their perpetrators stem from the most brutal period of Chile’s dark, dictatorial past. Though extreme, Trauma is far from thoughtless exploitation, weaving together a brilliant allegory about the violence of Pinochet’s regime that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
BRUSSELS INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL
fri 14 SESSION 3
10.30pm
CINEMA 2
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
XV CINE DE TERROR FILM FESTIVAL
FEATURES 37
Jack Black is hysterical in every scene he’s in. MUSANNA AHMED, FILM INQUIRY
WATCH COMPANION PIECE ‘THE MAGIC OF GROO’ BEFOREHAND AT 6:30PM SEE PAGE 50
WITH STEPHEN GROO IN ATTENDANCE
the UNEXPECTED RACE
fri 14 SESSION 2
8.30pm
CINEMA 4
38 FEATURES
WORLD PREMIERE
Dir. Stephen Groo / USA / Fantasy / 2018 / 93mins You’ve peered behind the scenes in The Magic of Groo — now check out the finished product. Stephen Groo’s uncompromising and truly independent The Unexpected Race is a remake of his own 2003 original, but re-cast with comedy icons Jack Black, Jared Hess and the Grooster himself. It’s a testament to what a filmmaker can achieve with a never-say-die attitude, following Amber, who is sent to live with her estranged father after a tragic car accident. During her recovery, she spots a peculiar man living in the woods, and discovers he’s the last remaining elf to survive an FBI-
There’s a certain charm in the lack of polish. JACK BLACK
enforced genocide. As the pair fall madly in love, they must decide whether to give themselves over to their feelings or fight to protect this unexpected race. Forging ahead with family, friends and no discernable budget, Groo proves the master of resourcefulness and efficiency. Never utilising more than two takes, he follows in the footsteps of true DIY auteurs such as Joe D’Amato and Tommy Wiseau, resulting in a low-fi gem that needs to be seen to be believed.
Wild Boys is highly pleasurable both as an hyper-crafted aesthetic object and as a sweetly dirty-minded erotic fantasia, polyvalent enough to please all comers. JONATHAN ROMNEY, FILM COMMENT.
The Wild Boys
AUS PREMIERE
Dir. Bertrand Mandico / France / Experimental / 2017 / 110mins Transgressive, erotic and powerfully playful around concepts of gender, sex and desire, The Wild Boys is something special. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the film centres on a group of notoriously delinquent upper-class schoolboys, all played by women, who take their newfound sexual aggression too far. As punishment, they’re entrusted to a barbaric sea captain, thrust onto a dilapidated sailboat and sent into the unknown. Their port of call is a supernatural island with luxuriant
vegetation and bewitching powers that holds a dark and disturbing secret. Impressively merging such disparate influences as Joseph Conrad, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kenneth Anger, Joseph Von Sternberg and Wakamatsu Koji in a gorgeous, mostly black-and-white feast of magical visions, The Wild Boys is a one-of-a-kind coming-ofage fantasy adventure that probes the dark, dank regions of the human psyche.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
GOTEBORG VENICE FILM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FILM FESTIVAL FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
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OUTFEST
Sat 15 SESSION 2
12 noon
CINEMA 2
FEATURES 39
Wobble Palace is a gorgeous, narcissistic, relationship nightmare… as genius as it is unique. LENA WILSON, THE PLAYLIST
AUS PREMIERE
WOBBLE PALACE sat 15 SESSION 4
5.00pm
CINEMA 3
40 FEATURES
Dir. Eugene Kotlyarenko / USA / Comedy / 86mins Wobble Palace is a darkly hilarious and unexpectedly poignant look at one couple’s attempts to navigate a failing relationship on the eve of America’s most devastating election in history. Eugene (director Kotlyarenko) and Jane (co-writer Dasha Nekrasova) decide to open up their faltering relationship and divide time in their shared house. Desperate to make new connections, Jane and Eugene
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SXSW
find themselves in a series of unpredictable misadventures, sexual escapades and unexpected emotional traumas. Shot by the legendary Sean William Price (Good Time, Golden Exits), Wobble Palace presents a deep dive into a manic and hilarious world of lust and mistrust, musing on the identity crises and narcissistic selfloathing at the core of the millennial experience.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL
DOCUMENTARIES
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AUS PREMIERE Barbara Rubin & The Exploding Underground makes a pretty good argument that Barbara Rubin is the single most important person in American culture in the early 60s. NORMAN WILNER, NOW.
PRESENTS
BARBARA RUBIN & THE EXPLODING NEW YORK UNDERGROUND
fri 14 SESSION 2
8.30pm
CINEMA 2
42 DOCOS
Dir. Chuck Smith / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 78mins The short experimental film Christmas on Earth caused a sensation when it first screened in New York City in 1964. Its orgy scenes, double projections and overlapping images shattered artistic conventions and announced a powerful new voice in the city’s underground film scene. All the more remarkable, that vision belonged to a teenager, 18-yearold Barbara Rubin. An icon of the ‘60s, she introduced Andy Warhol
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BERLINALE
to the Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan to Kabbalah and bewitched Allen Ginsberg. Thankfully, after her untimely death, lifelong friend Jonas Mekas saved all her letters, creating a rich archive from which filmmaker Chuck Smith carefully sculpts this fascinating portrait of a nearly forgotten artist. An avantgarde maverick, a rebel in a man’s world, through this film Barbara Rubin regains her rightful place in film history.
Behind the Curve offers portraits of flat earthers as human beings who are worthy of our respect, and it makes a compelling case for empathy and dialogue. VICE
Behind the curve
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Dir. Daniel J. Clarke / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 96mins Flat Earthers is a term synonymous with conspiracy theorists and tin foil hat-wearing loons. In reality, this is a small but rapidly growing group that believes there is a centuries’ long conspiracy to suppress the truth that the Earth is flat. With Behind the Curve, Daniel J. Clark ventures into the midst of this community to investigate its astonishing rise, as well as the psychological foundations that keep its adherents going. The film centres on Mark Seargent, host of the first major Flat Eathers’ conference, who offers insight into the dedicated dating sites, pseudoscientific experiments and the group’s celebrity members
(including NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving and Outkast rapper B.O.B.). Refraining from ridicule, Clark brings genuine curiosity and compassion to this portrait of people who want to believe, while balancing their outlandish ideas with input from psychologists and astrophysicists.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
HOT DOCS
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
sun 16 SESSION 2
1.00pm
CINEMA 2
DOCOS 43
This is hands down one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. TORY DANIELLE, POP HORROR
SYDNEY PREMIERE The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man
sat 15 SESSION 4
5.00pm
CINEMA 1
44 DOCOS
Dir. Tommy Avallone / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 70mins You’ve probably heard the stories. The famously private Billy Murray is spotted doing dishes at a house party, or serving drinks at a local bar; crashing karaoke clubs, commandeering taxis and photo-bombing wedding photos. After hearing them himself, director Tommy Avallone wants a Bill Murray story of his own. As if hunting Bigfoot, Avallone follows the star’s trail across America, tracking his alleged appearances. The stories often finish with Murray slyly whispering “no one will ever believe you”, but Avallone wants to believe. The Bill Murray Stories presents one man’s journey to find meaning in Murray’s unexpected
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SXSW
adventures with everyday people. More than a compelling fan doc, this wonderfully funny, intimate film intelligently explores the disconnection between celebrity culture and spontaneous acts of kindness, joy and humanity.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
HOT DOCS
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MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
INTRODUCED BY
JACK SARGEANT
It somehow manages, against almost impossible odds, to capture the power of events that revolutionized pop music as we knew it. MIKE USINGER, THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT.
DESOLATION CENTER
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Dir. Stuart Swezey / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 92mins In the early 1980s, before raves, before Coachella, before Burning Man, a series of legendary performances took place in the California desert. A collective experiment and rebellion in the middle of the Mojave with just 100 young participants, headed by the merely 20-year-old organiser (and director of Desolation Center) Stuart Swezey. Inspired by a trip to Berlin, Swezey incorporated outsider art into all his events, with explosions, robots, and gunshots becoming commonplace alongside raging performances from the likes of Sonic Youth, EinstĂźrzende Neubauten, the Meat Puppets, the Minute Men and a young Perry
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
DOXA
Farrell. Luckily for us, Swezey taped it all on video! Killer archive footage and interviews with musicians, artists, and audiences, makes for an energizing documentary about a subculture that takes a journey back in time to an avant-garde punk nirvana.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
CPH:DOX
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
REVELATION PERTH FILM FESTIVAL
sun 16 SESSION 4
5.00pm
CINEMA 2
DOCOS 45
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE An eccentric presentation of rare materials that will please the artist’s most devoted followers. JOHN DEFORE, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
ESCAPE FROM RENTED ISLAND: THE LOST PARADISE OF JACK SMITH
sat 15 SESSION 4
5.00pm
CINEMA 4
46 DOCOS
Dir. Jerry Tartaglia / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 88mins For more than twenty years, Jerry Tartaglia has worked on restoring, preserving and exhibiting the film legacy of New York underground legend Jack Smith. Beneath the glitter and the camp in his films, photographs, and performance art, there lurks a biting political satire; an irony born from the alienated sensibility of a Queer American artist. Smith liberated cinema from the straightjacket of “good” technique and “appropriate”
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BERLINALE
behaviour. Now, with Escape from Rented Island: The Lost Paradise of Jack Smith, Tartaglia has assembled a loving film essay more than just about his life but about the artist’s work. Eschewing a rational, linear, and detached explanation of his art, the film, mirroring Smith’s own guerrilla style, compels us to sympathetically experience the aesthetic choices behind the work of this pioneering and underappreciated artist.
Eulogy for a ghost
WORLD PREMIERE
Dir. Gil Kofman / Austria / Documentary / 2018 / 93mins A film of great intimacy and spontaneity, Eulogy for a Ghost follows revered director Gil Kofman (Unmade in China, Memory Thief) as he explores his relationship with his father, hospital-ridden and recently paralyzed from a stroke. Shot entirely on an iPhone - Kofman utilises his mobile pocket camera to evoke the precise intimacy for such a situation, capturing private and insular moments of fear, acceptance and delusion - as a way to forge moments of communication between father and son. Without judgment, Kofman uses the camera’s lens in an attempt to see the world from his father’s bruised perspective, and in doing so drags up ghosts of the past, most notably that of his mother who is recently deceased. Blurring the lines of reality, the interpersonal
and supernatural, the film presents an eerie and beautiful communion beyond death - a séance in life. Although intensely personal, Eulogy for a Ghost is also a film of universal appeal - at once tender, metaphysical and full of love.
sat 15 SESSION 2
12 noon
CINEMA 4
DOCOS 47
A fascinating exposé of a raucous, rebellious, groundbreaking female rock group, hitherto obscured in history. PRESENTS
THE UPCOMING
HERE TO BE HEARD: THE STORY OF THE SLITS
SUN 16 SESSION 2
1.00pm
CINEMA 1
48 DOCOS
SYDNEY PREMIERE
Dir. William E. Badgley / USA / Documentary / 2017 / 86mins Here to Be Heard tells the story of The Slits, the world’s first allgirl punk rock group. Founded in London by a group of fourteenyear-old girls in 1976, the band was threatening to men and inspiring to women. In an England ruled by bowler-hatted men, Tessa, Palmolive, Viv Albertine and frontwoman Ari-Up made the music they wanted to: way past rock ‘n’ roll and punk, with feminine,
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
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reggae-inspired rhythms. Thanks to director William E Badgley’s Here to Heard, The Slits’ importance is finally being presented to a new generation. Combining new and archival footage with probing interviews with band members as well as compatriots Don Letts, Gina Birch and Thurston Moore, the film makes for an unruly portrait of a band almost too punk for punk.
BFI LONDON INTERNATIONAL FILM FILM FESTIVAL FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SUPERSONIC FESTIVAL
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MIFF
Cohen’s enjoyed a wild ride in Hollywood for over six decades now, and King Cohen is a perfect celebration of his unwavering dedication to the creative spirit and to delivering movies that he believes fans want to see. HEATHER WIXON, DAILY DEAD.
SYDNEY PREMIERE
King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen Dir. Steven Mitchell / USA / Documentary / 2017 / 110mins Stap yourself in for King Cohen, the true story of writer, producer, director, creator and all-around film maverick Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, Maniac Cop, The Stuff). Labelled “the John Cassavetes of exploitation,” Cohen’s story is told through interviews and film clips of the people who helped fulfil his vision, including industry icons such as Joe Dante, John Landis,
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2017
CALGARY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
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FANTASTIC FEST
Martin Scorsese, Fred Williamson, J.J Abrahms and many more. King Cohen brings one-of-a-kind insight into the work, process and legacy of a true American auteur. It’s a raucous celebration of a remarkable and prolific filmmaker, who has spent over 50 years entertaining and shocking audiences without the slightest hint of compromise.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2017
FANTASTIA
sat 15 SESSION 6
9.00pm
CINEMA 2 WATCH ‘MANIAC COP’ AFTER ‘KING COHEN’ AT 11PM SEE PAGE 29
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CINEPOCALYPSE
DOCOS 49
WITH STEPHEN GROO IN ATTENDANCE
Groo’s body of work makes Tommy Wiseau look like Tarkovsky. ALAN HUNTER, SCREEN DAILY.
The Insufferable Groo (AKA The Magic of Groo)
fri 14 SESSION 1
6.30pm
CINEMA 2
50 DOCOS
AUS PREMIERE
Dir. Scott Christopherson / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 98mins Stephen Groo, aged 40, has made over 180 films in the past twenty years crossing a broad range of genres from fantasy to romance to sci-fi thriller. Boasting names such as She-Hulk, Circle of Fire: The Dark Lord and Challenge of Faith, not one has secured distribution or turned a profit. Despite this, Groo pushes on; a true American independent filmmaker whose eccentric style has gained him a loyal Hollywood fan base including Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), Jack Black, Jemaine Clement, and Mike White. The Insufferable Groo (AKA The Magic of Groo) follows the titular director as he seeks production funds and
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SHEFFIELD DOC FEST
the involvement of celebrity fan Jack Black for a remake of his 2003 human/elf fantasy drama The Unexpected Race. Scott Christopherson’s (Peace Officer) hilarious yet sincere portrait depicts this uphill battle, while examining the unusual methods of a determined DIY auteur who will stop at nothing to see his films brought to life.
WATCH ‘THE UNEXPECTED RACE’ AFTER ‘THE MAGIC OF GROO’ SEE PAGE 38
Polon is setting up one of the great standup-and-cheer movieindustry underdog sagas of all time. A heady mix of magical realism, comic-book heroics, and social commentary – signals a potentially visionary creative voice. FILM THREAT
Mexman
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Dir. Josh Polon / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 90mins L.A.-based artist Germán Alonso is a walking, talking repository of creativity. Puppetry, animation, drawing, computer graphics and filmmaking are all mediums he has dabbled in, but his passion project is a live-action feature based on his comic book character MexMan. Despite his ambition, Alonso struggles with conspiring producers, an aging Hollywood actor and his own mental health issues as he fights to bring his
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
SLAMDANCE
Mexican cyborg-superhero to the big screen. MexMan is a fascinating documentary as well as a cautionary tale that is required viewing for anyone who has or intends to dabble in filmmaking. An instantly relatable underdog story through and through, this is a heartfelt and touching documentary about the fight to make your mark while struggling with the harsh realities of the world.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
BOSTON UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
CALGARY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
sun 16 SESSION 3
3.00pm
CINEMA 4
DOCOS 51
This is a gruesome art-world fairy tale unafraid to face the bitter details of its hero’s tumultuous life. PETER GOLDBERG, SLANT MAGAZINE.
Shadowman sun 16 SESSION 1
11.00am
CINEMA 3
52 DOCOS
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Dir. Oren Jacoby / USA / Documentary / 2017 / 81mins Before Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring there was Richard Hambleton. Not unlike today’s Banksy, Hambleton created his singular paintings—black, ghostlike silhouettes plastered on Manhattan’s buildings walls—out of plain sight, earning him a largerthan-life reputation. But in a flash, Hambleton disappeared from the NYC art scene, succumbing to drug abuse and homelessness. Anchored by a wealth of archival footage from 1980s New York,
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Shadowman also revisits Hambleton’s bygone legacy, and finds him today, still painting and unrecognized among New York City’s street art legends. For all of its historical intrigue, director Oren Jacoby’s riveting documentary is, first and foremost, the story of one man’s redemption, as he struggles to preserve both his identity and creative gifts in the face of calamitous addictions and overwhelming personal demons.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
SYDNEY PREMIERE A brilliantly clever doc about the musician known as Chilly Gonzales… as eccentric and over-the-top and totally wild as Chilly himself.. FIRST SHOWING
SHUT UP AND PLAY THE PIANO Dir. Philipp Jedicke / Germany / Documentary / 2018 / 82mins Punk, rapper, pianist and iconoclast Chilly Gonzalez is known for his piano albums full of striking, atmospheric vignettes. Following Gonzales from his native Canada to late-‘90s underground Berlin via some of the world’s great philharmonic halls, Shut up and Play the Piano offers a compelling deep dive into the dichotomy of the artist’s stage persona and personal life. Director Philipp Jedicke artfully constructs this funhouse mirror portrait around a ripping conversation between Gonzales and acidic German novelist Sibylle Berg. The alwaysentertaining verbal joust is punctuated with surreal video clips,
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
BERLINALE
loopy dramatisations and insightful commentary from collaborators such as Peaches, Feist, Jarvis Cocker and Daft Punk. In your face, uncompromising, profound, bitter and outright hilarious, this is everything you could want in a film about an artist. Regardless of whether you’re already a fan, the end result is a documentary not to be missed.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
sun 16 SESSION 1
11.00am
CINEMA 1
DOCOS 53
For those who have a serious interest in the liberation of ideas and content in films, one viewing of Sickies Making Films just won’t be enough.
SYDNEY PREMIERE
DAVID MORGAN BROWN, X-PRESS.
SICKIES MAKING FILMS SAt 15 SESSION 3
2.30Pm
CINEMA 2 FOLLOWED BY Q&A WITH DIRECTOR JOE TROPEA
Dir. Joe Tropea / USA / Documentary / 2017 / 83mins A love letter to the movies, Sickies Making Films looks at the recurring problem of censorship in America and asks why? By focusing on the nation’s longest lasting censor board, the Maryland Board of Censors, the film uncovers both the absurd and sometimes surprisingly justifiable reasoning behind historical censorship. Sickies Making Films thoughtfully and thoroughly examines the reasons behind the unique tenacity,
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
54 DOCOS
MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL
longevity and immense power censors have over creative output in America. Enhanced by archival footage, classic film segments and interviews, the film tells the perplexing and often downright peculiar story of how Maryland went from being one of the most culturally conservative states to the birthplace of John “Prince of Puke” Waters, with candour, humour and compassion.
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
OFFICIAL SELECTION 2018
BIG SKY PERTH REVELATION DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL FILM FESTIVAL
2018 SUFF FESTIVAL TEAM FESTIVAL DIRECTOR / PROGRAM DIRECTOR Stefan Popescu FESTIVAL DIRECTOR Katherine Berger PROGRAM MANAGER Nathan Senn GRAPHIC DESIGNER Liz Berger ONLINE MARKETING COORDINATOR Jeremy Word VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR Stephanie Gal EVENT COORDINATOR Toni Clancy CONFERENCE ORGANISERS Dr Stefan Popescu & Dr Aleksandr Wansbrough
WORDS EDITOR Sarah Ward GRANTS AND FUNDING OFFICER Andrew Robards FESTIVAL ASSISTANT Bonnie Deidier WEBSITE DESIGNERS Abdullah Gardezi & Jehanzeb Alvi SUFF EVENT MCs Jaimie Leonarder & Alexei Toliopoulos 2018 KEY ART DESIGNERS WE BUY YOUR KIDS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS : Alberto Alvarez Aguilera, Alex Proyas, Antoine Duruel, Ari Harrison, Belinda Dyer, Ben Bassauer, Cameron Swanagon, Charlie Stone, Claire Allon, Danny Gusman, Deb & Ian, Emily Gotto, Emmanuel Lefrant, Elizabeta Moxey, Gary Phillips, Georgie Zuzak, Graham Fine, Grant Hardie, Helena & Michael Berger, Howard Duggan, Ian Haig, Jack Moxey, Jack Sargeant, Jack Shit, Jaimie & Aspasia Leonarder, Joe Caruso, Joe Tropea, Joe Yanick, John Tonkin, Jonny Brugh, Joshua Hutchins-Smith, Kathy Gal, Lawrence Gibbons, Louise Rinaldi, Lulu Keating, Mark Pesce, Mami Furukawa, Marie Tarascon, Marilena Netzker, Mark Lazarus, Michael Lurie, Mikey Hamer and everyone at P2 Content Agency, Mody Grant, Murray Dibbs, Nadia Bruce-Rawlings, Nena Serafimovska, Nerida Olson, Olivier Semonnay, Paris Pompor, Peter Humble, Phil - Island Boys, Sandra Lee, Sarah Mandelson, Sean Cubitt, Shane Smith, Sonny & Biddy (W$YK), Steven Shaviro, Tanya Ali, Tim van Dammen, Weinan Song, Wenshuang Xu, Wilfred Brandt, Zsofi Halasz + anyone we may have missed!
SHORTS
WORKSHOP PROGRAM ORGANISERS Katherine Berger & Tamara Voninski
Kinky is to use the feather, perverted is to use the whole chicken.
Love/sick
A SHORT FILM SESSION
sat 15 END OF THE LINE
Dir. Jessica Sanders / USA / Comedy / 2018 / 14:30 / Sydney Premiere A lonely man goes to the pet store and buys a tiny man in a cage.
GLORY
Dir. Mike Frazier / USA / Comedy / 2017 / 7:06 / Sydney Premiere A meat-packing motorcyclist gets more than he bargained for when he stops at a licentious late night shop in the middle of nowhere.
SHORTS 56
LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP
Dir. Carolina Markowicz / Brazil / Comedy / 2018 / 4:47 / Sydney Premiere A brief story of a guy who’s obsessed about having sex with ETs
STAY
Dir. David Mikalson / USA / Horror/Comedy / 2018 / 8:40 / Australian Premiere A cult of women summon a demon, but one rogue member, Carol, gets in the way of their plans.
CLAW SLAP HAPPY
Dir. Dusty Mancinelli & Madeleine Sims-Fewer / Canada / Comedy / 2017 / 11:00 / Australian Premiere A dysfunctional couple with a penchant for twisted sexual fantasies fight to stay together as their relationship crumbles over the course of a day.
Dir. Christopher Litten / USA / Horror / 2018 / 17:37 / Australian Premiere An adult film performer meets a mysterious producer and discovers the true price of fame.
THIRD WHEEL
Dir. Daniel DelPurgatorio / USA / Horror/Comedy / 2018 / 4:09 / Australian Premiere Susan has more than just skeletons in her closet.
SESSION 5
7.00Pm
CINEMA 4
TOKOPHOBIA Dir. Andy Diep / Australia / Drama / 2018 / 12:30 / Australian Premiere When Jared discovers that his girlfriend has become pregnant, he struggles to understand her irrational fear of pregnancy until he experiences it for himself.
Who needs drugs when you have LSD FACTORY - known to mess with your shit!
fri 14 SESSION 3
10.30Pm
CINEMA 3
[0]
Dir. Mario Radev & Chiara Sgatti / UK / Animation / 2017 / 6:34 / Sydney Premiere A film that imitates nature in its manner of operation, depicting animated cycles in a world entirely based on sound frequency and vibration.
LSD Factory
MUSIC FOR DIRTY FILM
Dir. Peter Humble / Australia / Experimental / 2018 / 3:00 / Australian Premiere Hand processed 16mm off cuts are arranged visually and edited using musical rhythms to highlight the materiality of both the film itself and artefacts created at the point of digitisation.
Dir. Jennifer Proctor / USA / Horror / 2018 / 9mins / Sydney Premiere The bathtub is a private space for women - a place to groom, relax, think, grieve, to be alone, to find sanctuary. For Hollywood, it’s also a place of naked vulnerability, where women narratively placed in harm’s way cannot escape.
Dir. Jessie Mott & Steve Reinke / USA / Animation / 2017 / 4:08 / Australian Premiere The fourth collaboration between Jessie Mott and Steve Reinke continues their melancholic musings on desire and mourning, this time with more twerking.
Dir. Alex Faoro / USA / Experimental / 2018 / 4:36 / Australian Premiere Cold Butter is a super 8mm film that obscures time in order to amplify the mundane frustrations of life and explore ideas of repetition and mortality.
Dir. Christopher Bonador / Australia / Experimental / 2018 / 3:00 / Australian Premiere A combination of videosynthesis and data-bending to enquire the inherent visual artefacts of analog VHS feedback and digital glitch. Analog becomes the digital and the digital becomes analog. A different type of feedback is played: Videomania in Pixelmosh.
FIRESTORM
Dir. Tony Lawrence / Australia / Experimental / 2018 / 3:00 / Australian Premiere A driver is engulfed in frames of celluloid damage as this 35mm Film Trailer disintegrates.
OPTICAL SOUND IN FILM WAAH Dir. Sawako Kabuki / Japan Dir. James Adam Richardson / Australia / Experimental / 2018 / 3:00 / Australian Premiere An experimental, cameraless film exploring the optical soundtrack of 16mm celluloid film. Depicting the manipulation of the entire width of 16mm film stock, including the optical soundtrack, we see a hybrid of analogue and digital processes as reflection of the post-digital, new media environment.
SUGAR COLD BUTTER
VIDEOMANIA IN PIXELMOSH
EAT YOUR SECRETS
BEAN::QUEEN
Dir. Paul Winkler / Australia / Experimental / 2018 / 8:00 / Sydney Premiere An irreverent, amusing and absurd examination of icons from popular culture and the plastic baubles mass-produced in their image.
NOTHING A LITTLE SOAP AND WATER CAN’T FIX
MOUTHS
Dir. Mathieu Girard / Canada / Animation / 2017 / 3:56 / Australian Premiere A mouth torn by hunger gives birth to a man in an empty room. The encounter with a piece of meat will propel him into unsuspected mouth spheres, plunging the man into a series of visual and sound anecdotes.
Dir. Kristin Bonelli Pearson / USA / Animation / 2018 / 3:19 / Australian Premiere A stop-motion dream illustrating the futility of a good night’s rest.
/ Animation / 2018 / 1:15 / Australian Premiere I synchronized the irritation of baby cries and the frustration I have ever experienced. Everyone was born while crying, and grew crying. I grew up to be an adult, but I strongly want to be a baby again.
WORLD OF TOMORROW 2
Dir. Don Hertzfeldt / USA / Animation / 2017 / 23:00 Australian Premiere Emily is visited by a backup clone of herself from the evenmore distant future, as they must venture into each other’s psyche in order to restore the clone’s deteriorating mind.
A SHORT FILM SESSION
SHORTS 57
An outrageous collection of the year’s best homegrown shorts.
OZPLOIT!
A SHORT FILM SESSION
sat 15 SESSION 3
2.30Pm
CINEMA 3
O-O-O
Dir. Henry Young / Australia / Drama / 2018 / 13:18 / Australian Premiere Narrated by Lawson, the audience is jolted into an absurd house party that is spiralling into a drunken mess of mateship, violence and anxious masculinity.
CHERRY
Dir. Claudia Bailey, Vanessa Bray and Evie Friedrich/ Australia / Drama / 2018 / 10:23 / Sydney Premiere Cherry’ is a coming of age short film that gives insight into the innocent nature of sex through a series of diverse virginity stories.
EUDAEMONIA
Dir. Julia Ngeow / Australia / Drama / 2017 / 14:28 / Sydney Premiere A talkative Australian traveller and a reclusive artist form an unlikely bond after an accidental ‘break and enter’ in Brooklyn.
HOUSE GUESTS SCHEDULE ONE Dir. Tori Savage / Australia / Crime/Horror / 2018 / 7:18 Melissa and Simon need an escape. They organise a weekend away in the country. On arrival, they are greeted by their host Tracy, a lonely, eccentric woman. As the weekend progresses, suspense rises, as things are not what they seem.
PROCEEDS OF CRIME
Dir. James Chappell / Australia / Horror / 2018 / 10:23 / Australian Premiere Miss Hogg’s gang ‘The Birds of Prey’ terrorise the city streets, stealing the hair of beautiful women, but when they set their sights on the wrong target, they realise darker forces than themselves rule the night.
HOLE
Dir. Tony Radevski / Australia / Animation / 2018 / 4:48 / Australian Premiere Two men share an unlikely encounter in a bathroom cubicle.
SHORTS 58
Dir. Michael Gosden / Australia / Thriller / 2018 / 7:53 / Australian Premiere When a mentally ill patient refuses to leave his home, a probationary constable learns a deadly lesson her training never prepared her for.
SINK HOLE
Dir. Alex Serafini, & Madeline Kelly / Australia / Comedy / 2018 / 6:43 / Australian Premiere In his darkest hour, a depressed IT guy is on the verge of suicide when he is confronted by an ex school mate… but this old ‘friend’ is no guardian angel.
THE STARE RITE
Dir. Tahsin Rahman & Ben Brown / Australia / Experimental / 2018 / 3:00 / Australian Premiere Rite is a brief excursion into a violent tradition, spectatorship.
Dir. Louisa Weichmann / Australia / Horror / 2018 / 7:42 / World Premiere A young woman catches the last train home only to encounter an unnerving homeless man staring at her unflinchingly from the far end of the carriage.
A program of fascinating real-life narratives in short bite-sized pieces.
A SHORT FILM SESSION
REALITY BITES fri 14
AFTER THE FACTS
Dir. Dr. Karen Pearlman / Australia / Documentary / 2018 / 4:59 / Sydney Premiere Looks at Esfir Shub (18941959), credited with inventing the remix film, and shows the groundbreaking work of women editors who profoundly influenced some of the masterpieces of cinema.
A LIFE TOGETHER
Dir. Simon Direen / Australia / Documentary / 2017 / 12:54 / Sydney Premiere Davo and Valetta live a life of hardship on the streets of Melbourne, but they are connected by love and loyalty.
A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN
Dir. Marshall Curry / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 7:06 / Australian Premiere In 1939, New York’s Madison Square Garden was host to an enormous-and shockinggathering of 22,000 Americans that has largely been forgotten.
ANIMAL CINEMA
Dir. Emilio Vavarella / USA / Documentary / 2018 / 12:12 / Australian Premiere Animal Cinema is a film composed of fragments of videos of animals operating cameras. All cameras were stolen by animals who acted autonomously.
DEAD.TISSUE. LOVE.
PERFORMANCE AND CONVENIENCE Dir. Andrew Robards / Australia / Documentary / 2018 / 2:10 / Australian Premiere A video triptych that repurposes obsolete images from a television commercial, a medical film and an educational video. Through the collision of these found images the piece connects the experience of viewing with invasive bodily procedures and processes.
Dir. Natasha Austin-Green / UK / Documentary / 2018 / 9:48 / Australian Premiere Dead. Tissue. Love. is an intimate experimental documentary exploring the character of a female necrophile, as she recounts her life experiences and sexual awakening.
SNAKE HIPS LULU
OBJECT
USED
Dir. Sydney Southam / Canada / Documentary / 2018 / 3:15 / Sydney Premiere A response to the artist’s experience working as a professional stripper. What began as an exciting adventure quickly turned dark as the artist was criticized for not having an augmented body.
Dir. Lulu Keating / Canada / Documentary / 2018 / 6:05 / Australian Premiere A dance hall girl from the Klondike Gold Rush has a painful rebirth in present day Dawson City, Yukon.
Dir. Ronaldo Nieves / USA / Documentary / 2017 / 15:24 / Australian Premiere Used explores the world of used underwear purchasing and selling. The documentary includes candid interviews with men who buy and sell used underwear, as well as a paraphilia specialist.
SESSION 1
6.30pm
CINEMA 4
THE ECONOMIST PLAZA
Dir. Ryszard Dabek / Australia / Documentary / 2018 / 2:52 / Australian Premiere This film revisits a key site of Michelangelo Antonioni’s BlowUp: Alison and Peter Smithson’s Brutalist masterpiece The Economist Plaza. Shot on Super 8 on a grey Sunday morning the film operates at the nexus of personal obsession, architectural space and cinematic memory.
SHORTS 59
Shorts so mindmeltingly weird, you’ll be left asking...
WTF!
A SHORT FILM SESSION
sun 16 SESSION 1
11.00am
CINEMA 2
BFF GIRLS
Dir. Brian Lonano / USA / Comedy / 2018 / 13:28 / Australian Premiere Three dorky American girls magically transform into beautiful Japanese Superheroes and fight a tampon monster as they begin their journey into womanhood.
ENTROPIA
Dir. Marinah Janello / USA / Experimental / 2017 / 14:55 / Australian Premiere An aging woman attempts to regain her youth through her taxidermy and spell books.
ALLEN ANDERS GRANNY LIVE AT THE David Burrowes / BORED CLOWN Dir. Australia / Horror / 2017 / Dir. Adam Geczy / Australia / COMEDY 15:08 / Australian Premiere / 2018 / 9:33 / A young man flees for Australian Premiere CASTLE - CIRCA Experimental his life when the beloved A short film of a young clown grandmother he attempted 1987 just standing there really, really to put in a home goes on a Dir. Laura Moss / USA / Comedy / 2018 / 7:05 / Sydney Premiere Allen Anders is either having a nervous breakdown or the best set of his life. ‘Found footage’ of Allen Anders famed 1987 performance at New York City’s Comedy Castle offers a revealing window into the troubled comedian’s psyche.
60 SHORTS
bored.
murderous rampage.
MY MONSTER
Dir. Izzy Lee / USA / Horror/ Comedy / 2018 / 7:10 / Australian Premiere Christmas is coming. If that’s not stressful enough, Lily (Brea Grant) has to contend with a clueless partner (Adam Egypt Mortimer) and an unexpected, inter-dimensional holiday guest who just wants two things — blood and cuddles.
WE SUMMONED A DEMON
Dir. Chris McInroy / USA / Horror/Comedy / 2018 / 5:56 / Australian Premiere They just wanted to be cool. Instead, they got a demon.
COYOTE
Dir. Lorenz Wunderle / Switzerland / Animation / 2018 / 9:55 / Sydney Premiere A Coyote loses his wife and children from an attack of wolves. Anguished from human emotions he’s trying to process the experience. Besides grief and delusion, evil takes up more and more space.
MILK
Dir. Santiago Menghini / Canada / Horror / 2018 / 9:30 / Australian Premiere On a late night, a young teen goes into the kitchen for a glass of milk. Upon encountering his sleepless mother, he quickly realizes things are not as they seem.
Late Night All-You-Can-Eat Cartoon Cereal Party sat 15 SESSION 7
11.00Pm
CINEMA 3
SPONSORED BY
Some of our favourite adolescent memories revolve around late night cartoons. It was the height of luxury to be able to stay up into the early hours binging whacked out cartoons and shovelling down sweet, colorful cereal. As adults, we don’t often give ourselves permission to indulge our teen spirits but now is your chance! For those who missed our inaugural screening in 2017, we’re bringing back the sugary sideshow that is the Late-Night-All-You-Can-EatCartoon-Cereal Party! You’ll see both all-time faves and trippy obscurities spanning the last 20
years. The lineup is always kept secret, but there will be monsters, sci-fi, sleuths, superheroes and all manner of animated silliness. As always, this 2-hour trip into the weird and wonderful world of yesteryear’s animated antics will be accompanied by an all-you-can eat buffet of cereal that is open throughout the show (and yes, there will be non-dairy options too!) So get ready for a sugar rush and an explosion of nostalgia all wrapped up in one candy-coated package. It’s a Cereal-ously good time!
SHORTS 61
NEWTOWN Boutique accommodation with an industrial style nestled in the heart of funky Newtown.
Book directly with The Urban Newtown at www.theurbannewtown.com.au Use the promo code SUFF2018 to get 15% off the best available rate.
The Urban Hotel Advert SUFF 2018 promo code SUFF2018
TRASH VIDEO ARCHIVES
The rarest and wildest films in existence TRASH VIDEO is opening its vaults, and now more than 30 years of film hoarding by filmmaker ANDREW LEAVOLD (The Search for Weng Weng) can be yours...
FEEL LIKE A TRIP DOWN THE FILMIC RABBIT HOLE? Email “FEED ME!” to andrewleavold@gmail.com
Special Festival Rate Available
SUFF has partnered with Sydney College of the Arts, the University of Sydney, to host the 4th annual workshop program on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th September at The Factory Theatre. Kicking off with a special master class with Alex Proyas, on offer will also be workshops in film directing, acting, armoury, virtual reality and low-budget and 16mm filmmaking.
PRESENTED BY
WORKSHOPS IS HOLLYWOOD DOOMED?
With Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City, I, Robot, Gods of Egypt)
SAT 15 SEPT 10.00AM CINEMA 5 For the greater part of the 20th century cinema was arguably the most influential of all art forms. There was no medium more innovative, more popular, more challenging and groundbreaking. Movies constantly evolved and transcended as society underwent unimagined transformation. It was an era of extraordinary discovery and progress; a time for original thinking and ideas. And movies reflected all this. But around the early years of the new century something happened… Hollywood movies stopped innovating;
the original was shunned, indeed often openly scorned as consensus opinion was embraced. Studios stopped funding anything that wasn’t a sure bet. The eternal hunger for greater profits meant movies became increasingly formulaic and safe. New ideas were relegated to the low budget indie domain, or television, if at all. The age of the Hollywood movie franchise was upon us. In 2018 we are facing the demise of original innovative big screen cinema… How can we save it?
SCREEN ACTING & IMPROV WORKSHOP With Jonny Brugh (Mega Time Squad)
SAT 15 SEPT 12 NOON CINEMA 5
This workshop will unpack the screen actor’s craft. You will explore the basic techniques of working on camera and learn effective ways of getting to emotional truth in order to get the best take. Comedian and actor Jonny Brugh also played Deacon the Vampire in What We Do In Shadows.
WORKSHOPS 63
PRESENTED BY
SUFF has partnered with Sydney College of the Arts, the University of Sydney, to host the 4th annual workshop program on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th September at The Factory Theatre. Kicking off with a special master class with Alex Proyas, on offer will also be workshops in film directing, acting, armoury, virtual reality and low-budget and 16mm filmmaking.
Saturday Workshops Day 1
STORYTELLING: WHAT IS A DIRECTOR? With Tim van Dammen
SAT 15 SEPT 2.30PM CINEMA 5
From concept to completion, Director of Mega Time Squad, Tim van Dammen will present his process from identifying the heart of a story and using it to inform character, plot and direction. Tim is an awardwinning Filmmaker, who has also directed over 180 music videos.
64 WORKSHOPS
CHINA / AUSTRALIA COPRODUCTIONS with Mark Lazarus and Weinan Song
SAT 15 SEPT 5.00PM CINEMA 5
Co-productions between China and Australia are a niche and growing international filmmaking field. Weinan Song and Mark Lazarus will cover culture, financing, production and development with examples from Chinese TV and features Guardians of the Tomb and Old Boy.
MAKING FILMS WITH LITTLE OR NO MONEY With Lulu Keating
SAT 15 SEPT 7.00PM CINEMA 5
Award-winning Canadian Filmmaker Lulu Keating will show how to make simple, yet successful, short films with little or no money. Distribution to festivals will be discussed. Interspersed throughout the workshop will be several of her short films that have reached a wide audience through festivals and broadcasters.
Sunday Workshops Day 2
VIRTUAL REALITY READY, AIM, / 360 VIDEO SHOOT With Gideon Marshall WORKSHOP With Mark Pesce & John Tonkin
SUN 16 SEPT 11.00AM CINEMA 5
A hands-on workshop covering aesthetic, technical issues in shooting, editing, viewing 360 video with Mark Pesce and John Tonkin. This workshop will supply 360 video cameras and Google cardboards. Editing and viewing of the work will happen using your mobile phone. Participants to bring a 2015 or more recent smart phone.
SUN 16 SEPT 1.00PM CINEMA 5
A practical workshop to learn the most realistic and safe use of weapons in films. On Set Armourer Gideon Marshall, will lead a vibrant insight into filming a broad range of weapons in productions. Marshall’s career as an Armourer spans 30 years on high profile Australian and International productions.
RETRO 16MM FILMMAKING With Peter Humble
SUN 16 SEPT 3.00PM CINEMA 5
Learn how to use the iconic Bolex camera and shoot on 16mm film with Peter Humble. The workshop will cover using the (Bolex) camera including camera loading, exposure, continuous and variable speed shooting, time lapse & time exposure, lenses, film sensitivity, light metering, film speed ISO/ ASA/DIN.
These classes aim to give participants new skills, tools and invaluable insight to help them with future projects. To find out more about each masterclass and workshop, head to: suff.com.au/workshops
WORKSHOPS 65
Inhuman Screens
SUFF and Sydney College of the Arts, the University of Sydney are pleased to announce the inaugural “Inhuman Screens” conference, which aims to open a conversation as to how technology has redefined the human. To this end, the conference examines all aspects of contemporary screen ecologies, including frontier technology, social media, theories of screen culture, contemporary art, and other engagements with digital technology and posthumanism.
FRI 14 9Am-5pm
CINEMA 2
$5O TICKET ($25 STUDENT) INCLUDES ENTRY TO FRIDAY NIGHT FILMS
The conference is delighted to have two outstanding international keynotes: Steven Shaviro and Sean Cubitt. Sean Cubitt will present “Mediations of Xinjiang: For an aesthetic politics” and Steven Shaviro will explore “Whack World” by Tierra Whack in a paper entitled “Out of Whack: Tierra Whack’s Audiovisual Inventions.” Both present their papers appropriately disembodied via the digital interface.
Keynote Speakers
66 Events
Steven Shaviro
Sean Cubitt
Inhuman Screens ACADEMIC CONFERENCE Other impressive speakers will cover topics as diverse as pornography to early marine cinematography and drone videography. Some confirmed presenters include Associate Professor Ann Elias (author of the forthcoming Coral Empire to be published by Duke University Press) who will present on the adventures of the Australian explorer and cinematographer Frank Hurley. Practicing artist Adam Geczy, author of over 15 books, will present on what he calls the “Natrificial
Body” in porn whereby the “body is altered by technology and prosthetics.” Dann Binns, author of The Hollywood War Film, will frame “Dronopoetics” with respect to drone’s uses in films. Bruce Isaacs, Senior Lecturer of Film Studies at the University of Sydney and author of Toward a New Film Aesthetic, will present on Brian De Palma’s film, Femme Fatale and Hitchcock’s Marnie via Gerard Genette’s theory of Archi-textuality. Ryszard Dabek, artist and academic,
Convened by Dr Stefan Popescu & Dr Aleksandr Wansbrough For more information, visit: suff.com.au/inhuman-screens
starts from Gilles Deleuze’s observation that “the brain is the screen”, examining the work of Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg and Spike Jonze; and Andrew Robards, artist and researcher will examine how Australian artists and filmmakers interrogate cultural archetypes through the embodiment of mythic “outsider” characters. After engaging with changing media environment, attendees will also be granted access to a night of films.
PRESENTED BY
Events 67
ALL NEW COMEDY, ALL MONTH LONG!
FACTORY THEATRE
105 VICTORIA ROAD, MARRICKVILLE | FRINGECOMEDY.COM.AU