A recent Underground Film Journal article titled “Web Series Or Movie: Which Should You Make?” inspired a lively and spirited discussion on Facebook between several independent filmmakers that explored their personal ideas on the future of digital distribution. The provocative back-and-forth has been reprinted below. (With all the filmmakers’ permission.)
The dialogue was particularly kicked off by Australian indie filmmaker Dominic Deacon (Only the Young Die Good, Burlesque) and also included filmmakers Nathan Wrann (Burning Inside, Hunting Season), Bob Moricz (Felony Flats, Bumps), Robin Franzi (Susan for Now), Michael Galinsky (Battle for Brooklyn, Horns and Halos) and Journal editor Mike Everleth.
(Filmmaker comments below have not been edited except for some extremely minor format/style changes and typos. Otherwise, these are their exact words.)
Dominic Deacon
“No filmmaker claims their feature-length film is only seven minutes and nobody is making 90 minute webisodes. But, why the hell not? Easy answer: Nobody...
The dialogue was particularly kicked off by Australian indie filmmaker Dominic Deacon (Only the Young Die Good, Burlesque) and also included filmmakers Nathan Wrann (Burning Inside, Hunting Season), Bob Moricz (Felony Flats, Bumps), Robin Franzi (Susan for Now), Michael Galinsky (Battle for Brooklyn, Horns and Halos) and Journal editor Mike Everleth.
(Filmmaker comments below have not been edited except for some extremely minor format/style changes and typos. Otherwise, these are their exact words.)
Dominic Deacon
“No filmmaker claims their feature-length film is only seven minutes and nobody is making 90 minute webisodes. But, why the hell not? Easy answer: Nobody...
- 1/28/2014
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This year will see the 9th annual edition of the Portland Underground Film Festival, which also marks it as the second edition run by filmmaker Bob Moricz and the first edition that will run for six nights at two different theaters. The fun begins at Puff’s traditional home of the Clinton Street Theater on August 21-23, then will conclude on August 24-26 at the Hollywood Theater.
Festival director Moricz, a maverick filmmaker himself, makes some bold moves with this year’s Puff with a real idiosyncratic lineup of films. For example, the opening night program — when most fests like to show the best film they can — Puff is hosting, along with Grand Detour, a special event looking for the worst films they can find in the “open mic style” showcase called War of the Worst. This will then be followed by a special program of the best Spanish underground...
Festival director Moricz, a maverick filmmaker himself, makes some bold moves with this year’s Puff with a real idiosyncratic lineup of films. For example, the opening night program — when most fests like to show the best film they can — Puff is hosting, along with Grand Detour, a special event looking for the worst films they can find in the “open mic style” showcase called War of the Worst. This will then be followed by a special program of the best Spanish underground...
- 8/5/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Underground filmmaker Carlos Atanes has recently published the screenplay of one of his films that he has never been able to complete: Aleister Crowley in the Mouth of Hell.
For over a decade, Atanes has tried numerous times to mount a production based on Crowley, the legendary cult figure and mystic. His latest attempt — begun in 2007 — followed Crowley on a mystical trip through the Egyptian underworld where he battles the demon Choronzon and encounters several significant people from his real life, such as Hanni Jaegger, Fernando Pessoa, Leila Wadell, Victor Neuburg and Raoul Loveday.
That project, instead of a completed film, is presented as the unproduced screenplay Aleister Crowley in the Mouth of Hell and is now available on Amazon.Crowley continues to be a subject of great interest to underground filmmakers, being a source of inspiration to classic filmmakers like Kenneth Anger and Harry Smith; figuring as a major...
For over a decade, Atanes has tried numerous times to mount a production based on Crowley, the legendary cult figure and mystic. His latest attempt — begun in 2007 — followed Crowley on a mystical trip through the Egyptian underworld where he battles the demon Choronzon and encounters several significant people from his real life, such as Hanni Jaegger, Fernando Pessoa, Leila Wadell, Victor Neuburg and Raoul Loveday.
That project, instead of a completed film, is presented as the unproduced screenplay Aleister Crowley in the Mouth of Hell and is now available on Amazon.Crowley continues to be a subject of great interest to underground filmmakers, being a source of inspiration to classic filmmakers like Kenneth Anger and Harry Smith; figuring as a major...
- 4/11/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The theme for this year’s B-Movie, Underground and Trash Film Festival, held in the city of Breda in the Netherlands, is “Apocalypse.” So get ready to watch the world end dozens of different ways on Sept. 5-9 at various venues around the city.
The fun kicks off on the 5th with the German movie Hell by director Tim Fehlbaum. If you didn’t know, “hell” means “bright” in German and, given that title, this flick is set appropriately in a post-apocalyptic future where global warming has decimated the planet and surviving tribes battle for water and food.
Other post-apocalyptic visions include Milan Konjevic’s Zone of the Dead starring legendary zombie killer Ken Foree; Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro’s Bazillian underground hit Beyond the Grave about a world where magic and madness rule the world; and Rob van Eyck’s bizarrely twisted Afterman and Afterman 2.
Not all the...
The fun kicks off on the 5th with the German movie Hell by director Tim Fehlbaum. If you didn’t know, “hell” means “bright” in German and, given that title, this flick is set appropriately in a post-apocalyptic future where global warming has decimated the planet and surviving tribes battle for water and food.
Other post-apocalyptic visions include Milan Konjevic’s Zone of the Dead starring legendary zombie killer Ken Foree; Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro’s Bazillian underground hit Beyond the Grave about a world where magic and madness rule the world; and Rob van Eyck’s bizarrely twisted Afterman and Afterman 2.
Not all the...
- 9/4/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Spanish underground filmmaker Carlos Atanes has released a funky and enigmatic teaser poster for his latest upcoming film, the highly anticipated Gallino: The Chicken System. And, no, the poster delivers no indication what a “chicken system” might be.
For a larger version of the poster, either click the poster image or click here.
From the film’s official website, the synopsis reads:
Gallino, the Chicken System is a feature film about an strange meeting at night in a poultry store lost in Antarctica. A story full of lechery, sarcasm, extravagance, impossible geometries, discovery of existence’s hidden sides and a pinch of Magick. As it is usual in Carlos Atanes’ filmography, Gallino is an unclassifiable film, with no genre, an amazing immersion into diffuse cracks between dream and reality. A multi-layer matryoshka doll programmed for spreading out in the viewer’s unconscious.
To learn more about Carlos Atanes, please visit...
For a larger version of the poster, either click the poster image or click here.
From the film’s official website, the synopsis reads:
Gallino, the Chicken System is a feature film about an strange meeting at night in a poultry store lost in Antarctica. A story full of lechery, sarcasm, extravagance, impossible geometries, discovery of existence’s hidden sides and a pinch of Magick. As it is usual in Carlos Atanes’ filmography, Gallino is an unclassifiable film, with no genre, an amazing immersion into diffuse cracks between dream and reality. A multi-layer matryoshka doll programmed for spreading out in the viewer’s unconscious.
To learn more about Carlos Atanes, please visit...
- 7/16/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
1 more shopping week until Christmas!
Robert Maier wrote a book about working for John Waters and now he’s got a blog with a ton more stories. This article about how Hairspray became a PG-rated movie is extremely fascinating, but go ahead and read through the entire site, too.Michael Varrati has a wonderful interview up with Lewis Jackson, director of the Christmas cult classic You Better Watch Out aka Christmas Evil. Jackson is very candid about all the horrible things that went wrong making the film and with its distribution. Yet, he still managed to make a masterpiece.Film Comment posted up their list of the Best Unreleased Movies in 2011 and, of course, they have some underground films on there, like Alex Ross Perry’s The Color Wheel, which screened at this year’s Chicago Underground Film Festival; and experimental features like Nathaniel Dorsky’s The Return, Ken Jacobs’ Seeking the Monkey King,...
Robert Maier wrote a book about working for John Waters and now he’s got a blog with a ton more stories. This article about how Hairspray became a PG-rated movie is extremely fascinating, but go ahead and read through the entire site, too.Michael Varrati has a wonderful interview up with Lewis Jackson, director of the Christmas cult classic You Better Watch Out aka Christmas Evil. Jackson is very candid about all the horrible things that went wrong making the film and with its distribution. Yet, he still managed to make a masterpiece.Film Comment posted up their list of the Best Unreleased Movies in 2011 and, of course, they have some underground films on there, like Alex Ross Perry’s The Color Wheel, which screened at this year’s Chicago Underground Film Festival; and experimental features like Nathaniel Dorsky’s The Return, Ken Jacobs’ Seeking the Monkey King,...
- 12/18/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
New On DVDMaximum Shame
Movies don’t get much cultier than Carlos Atanes‘ post-apocalyptic S&M musical. Filmed in a dirty warehouse filling in for the edge of the universe just as said universe is about to fall into a massive black hole, Maximum Shame plays out like an oblique chess match with a demented black leather clad Queen (the phenomenal Marina Gatell) forcing the other players to sit in barbed wire cardboard boxes and shovel pounds of spaghetti into their mouths. Atanes, already Spain’s underground master, really pulls out the stops on this happy mess of madness.
Buy on Amazon!
The Films of Bob Moricz
If you’re looking to give a special someone something absolutely out of this world and one-of-a-kind, then you can’t go wrong with a Bob Moricz hand-produced “Bobbywood” production or two. Or go for a full 6-pack of reality-warping DVDs! Whether it...
Movies don’t get much cultier than Carlos Atanes‘ post-apocalyptic S&M musical. Filmed in a dirty warehouse filling in for the edge of the universe just as said universe is about to fall into a massive black hole, Maximum Shame plays out like an oblique chess match with a demented black leather clad Queen (the phenomenal Marina Gatell) forcing the other players to sit in barbed wire cardboard boxes and shovel pounds of spaghetti into their mouths. Atanes, already Spain’s underground master, really pulls out the stops on this happy mess of madness.
Buy on Amazon!
The Films of Bob Moricz
If you’re looking to give a special someone something absolutely out of this world and one-of-a-kind, then you can’t go wrong with a Bob Moricz hand-produced “Bobbywood” production or two. Or go for a full 6-pack of reality-warping DVDs! Whether it...
- 12/15/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving weekend! Mine was productive and fruitful, so thanks for asking!
This week’s Absolute Must Read — which we haven’t had in awhile — is a recollection about an illicit screening at the legendary Charles Theater in NYC in the ’60s, which used to screen underground films. (See picture above.) Bhob Stewart starts the story that is continued by Tom Conroy and it involves filmmaker Larry Ivie and, mostly, cartoonist Joel Beck.Beyond fascinating is film preservationist Mark Toscano’s write-up on the cue rolls experimental filmmaker Will Hindle employed during the processing of his films back in the ’60s.Cult film review site Movies From Mars took a gander at Greg Hanson & Casey Regan’s Thy Kill Be Done saying they “couldn’t help but wish there was a full length version waiting to come out.” We agree!Film writer Rebecca Harkins-Cross has a...
This week’s Absolute Must Read — which we haven’t had in awhile — is a recollection about an illicit screening at the legendary Charles Theater in NYC in the ’60s, which used to screen underground films. (See picture above.) Bhob Stewart starts the story that is continued by Tom Conroy and it involves filmmaker Larry Ivie and, mostly, cartoonist Joel Beck.Beyond fascinating is film preservationist Mark Toscano’s write-up on the cue rolls experimental filmmaker Will Hindle employed during the processing of his films back in the ’60s.Cult film review site Movies From Mars took a gander at Greg Hanson & Casey Regan’s Thy Kill Be Done saying they “couldn’t help but wish there was a full length version waiting to come out.” We agree!Film writer Rebecca Harkins-Cross has a...
- 11/27/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
A trio of distinctly different films have been released on DVD:
Maximum Shame, dir. Carlos Atanes
Spain’s underground king of surrealism, Carlos Atanes, presents his densest, loopiest nightmare yet, Maximum Shame, a confounding puzzle of an enigma wrapped in video.
Atanes whisks viewers through a black hole that is swallowing the universe to a fetid cesspool ruled by a deranged, black leather clad queen who torments anyone unlucky enough to fall into her realm.
Maximum Shane is a cross between Alice in Wonderland and an S&M video, featuring a tour de force performance by Marina Gatell as the black queen.
Read the full review of Maximum Shame on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.
Buy Maximum Shame at Amazon!
Watch the trailer:
Bad Habits, dir. Dominic Deacon
A heroin-addicted nun finds a dead man in her bathtub in Dominic Deacon’s heady mix of high sleaze and high art.
Maximum Shame, dir. Carlos Atanes
Spain’s underground king of surrealism, Carlos Atanes, presents his densest, loopiest nightmare yet, Maximum Shame, a confounding puzzle of an enigma wrapped in video.
Atanes whisks viewers through a black hole that is swallowing the universe to a fetid cesspool ruled by a deranged, black leather clad queen who torments anyone unlucky enough to fall into her realm.
Maximum Shane is a cross between Alice in Wonderland and an S&M video, featuring a tour de force performance by Marina Gatell as the black queen.
Read the full review of Maximum Shame on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.
Buy Maximum Shame at Amazon!
Watch the trailer:
Bad Habits, dir. Dominic Deacon
A heroin-addicted nun finds a dead man in her bathtub in Dominic Deacon’s heady mix of high sleaze and high art.
- 11/9/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So, what’s it really like to make a go of it on the festival circuit, especially when you’re a much beloved cult filmmaking icon? The Washington City Paper runs a timeline of Jeff Krulik’s Heavy Metal Picnic film festival odyssey of 2011 — and it’s not a rosy journey. Much of the article is framed by a series of update emails that Krulik sends to his supporters, a group of people of which I’m a member. And those emails, thanks to Krulik’s incredible directness, frequently include some of the most hilarious exchanges ever. (The great portrait of Krulik above by Darrow Montgomery is from the article.)The Count Gore De Vol documentary Every Other Day Is Halloween is still racking up great reviews, this time from the Spooky Vegan. If you haven’t had the chance to enjoy this gem yourself, this is the perfect time of year to do so.
- 10/23/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
In the underground film world, there are some filmmakers who are still so obscure that they’re virtually unknown to anybody. One of those filmmakers is Avery Willard. However, documentarian Cary Kehayan hopes to change that in the very near future. Embedded above is a preview trailer of the upcoming doc In Search of Avery Willard, which hopes to bring the work of this pioneering gay avant-garde film artist to a more public light. Warning: The trailer is very Nsfw thanks to the frank display of male full frontal nudity taken from Willard’s gorgeously shot footage included in it.
In a blog post, Kehayan covers his discovery of Willard’s films while doing research for the Queer/Art/Film screening series at the IFC Center with fellow filmmaker Ira Sachs. The pair headed to the New York Public Library’s Manuscripts and Archives Division where, as Kehayan explains:
Upon...
In a blog post, Kehayan covers his discovery of Willard’s films while doing research for the Queer/Art/Film screening series at the IFC Center with fellow filmmaker Ira Sachs. The pair headed to the New York Public Library’s Manuscripts and Archives Division where, as Kehayan explains:
Upon...
- 8/26/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Jon Hewitt‘s X is a thriller set in the seedy underbelly of Sydney, Australia. A high-priced call girl (Viva Bianca) wants to call it quits on her career, but she has one last job to perform. She recruits a young runaway girl (Hanna Mangan Lawrence) working her first night as a prostitute to help satisfy a good-paying client.
But, during the course of their evening, the ladies of the night witness a murder and the killer targets them next.
Most recently, X has been selected as the feature film for the Melbourne Underground Film Festival’s “Mystery Screening,” which will be held on the night after the fest’s official Closing Night festivities. The screening will take place on Aug. 28 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Kilda Memo.
Then, the film will screen in Hewitt’s hometown as the Closing Night movie at the 5th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival on Sept.
But, during the course of their evening, the ladies of the night witness a murder and the killer targets them next.
Most recently, X has been selected as the feature film for the Melbourne Underground Film Festival’s “Mystery Screening,” which will be held on the night after the fest’s official Closing Night festivities. The screening will take place on Aug. 28 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Kilda Memo.
Then, the film will screen in Hewitt’s hometown as the Closing Night movie at the 5th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival on Sept.
- 8/19/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Spanish underground filmmaker Carlos Atanes has posted an ominous teaser trailer for his upcoming film Gallino, which is being subtitled The Chicken System and comes with the description, “A pornophilosophical film.” Although the trailer reveals little as to what all that means, it is a pretty spooky preview.
Atanes has directed numerous films reviewed on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film — Faq, Proxima and Maximum Shame among them — so we’re very excited by this new endeavor.
Keep up with Atanes’ latest progress on this project and others at his official blog.
Read More:Scream Queen: The TrailerMovie Trailer: Jon Hewitt’s XMovie Trailer: IconoclastClassic Movie Trailer: Andy Warhol’s Heat...
Atanes has directed numerous films reviewed on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film — Faq, Proxima and Maximum Shame among them — so we’re very excited by this new endeavor.
Keep up with Atanes’ latest progress on this project and others at his official blog.
Read More:Scream Queen: The TrailerMovie Trailer: Jon Hewitt’s XMovie Trailer: IconoclastClassic Movie Trailer: Andy Warhol’s Heat...
- 8/12/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 4th annual Minneapolis Underground Film Festival, which is now open for submissions, is mixing things up a little bit this year. The fest has appointed a new Director, Mark Hanson, to inject some new blood into the proceedings. And if there’s something Muff usually likes, it’s a little blood with their cinema.
It’s not known yet what new visions Hanson will bring to the table, but Muff has previously been known to enjoy the exploitation side of underground filmmaking, as one can tell from last year’s lineup, which included gruesome and spooky fare such as Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson‘s over-the-top offensive The Taint.
The fest also screened the female vampire film Camilla Hyde, directed by Dave de Vries; John Ervin’s Vixen Highway, Carlos Atanes‘ Maximum Shame and Bill Cooper’s Hunting Buddies. But, they also screened lighter documentaries such as Michael Peterson...
It’s not known yet what new visions Hanson will bring to the table, but Muff has previously been known to enjoy the exploitation side of underground filmmaking, as one can tell from last year’s lineup, which included gruesome and spooky fare such as Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson‘s over-the-top offensive The Taint.
The fest also screened the female vampire film Camilla Hyde, directed by Dave de Vries; John Ervin’s Vixen Highway, Carlos Atanes‘ Maximum Shame and Bill Cooper’s Hunting Buddies. But, they also screened lighter documentaries such as Michael Peterson...
- 8/3/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This week’s Absolute Must Read is a letter Hollis Frampton wrote to MoMA regarding a planned retrospective of his work in 1973. The hitch: The museum wanted Frampton to give them his films for free. Too bad he’s not still alive because we need more letters like this written, especially in today’s “free” internet culture. My favorite line: “I leave it to your surmise whether [Maya Deren's] life might have been prolonged by a few bucks.”In case you missed it on Bad Lit, Jonas Mekas reprinted the very informative and insightful comment he left here on his own website. Good stuff on the demise of his Movie Journal column.If you can name the three dudes and know where they’re sitting in this photograph, then you are a 100% underground film nerd. (And, yes, I canChris Hansen continues his production diary for his film An Affair. Day Three found...
- 6/12/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This week’s Absolute Must Read is a career overview of Spanish surrealist Carlos Atanes by Rob Smart for Bright Lights Film Journal. I’ve been touting Atanes’ work for years, so it’s really nice to finally see a much more respected film website than Bad Lit also champion him. His films are rarely seen — and that’s wrong! So, after you read the article, go Netflix the film Faq.For Filmmaker, Lauren Wissot interviews Zach Clark about his subversive feature films, Vacation! and Modern Love Is Automatic. Also on Filmmaker, Nicholas Rombes proves that Paranormal Activity 2 is an avant-garde film. Hey, he convinced me!For his latest Motion Picture Purgatory, Rick Trembles tackles the Jodie Foster cult classic The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. (Coincidentally, I just saw this film for the first time recently and immediately fell in love!)Candlelight Stories has some short...
- 5/15/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This week’s Absolute Must Read: Ian Olds has a long and touching remembrance of helping the late Garrett Scott make the documentary Cul de Sac, one of the greatest, little-seen documentaries ever made. Read and learn how genius comes together. It’s not an easy or pretty process.The second Absolute Must Read: Filmmaker Jennifer Reeves is thankful to be alive and ambulatory after being struck by a car. Send good wishes her way.Simple, but really cool: Phil Solomon posts up a film loop of about 4 frames that Stan Brakhage once gave him. Click Phil’s tiny image to get the embiggened version, which is quite astounding looking.The S.F. Weekly has a brief preview of this week’s Ata Film & Video Festival retrospective at the Roxie. The Weekly calls it “a killer selection of experimental works,” with which I have to agree!While the 2011 San Francisco...
- 4/17/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
My criteria for picking Bad Lit’s Movie of the Year is simple: First, I ask myself, “What movie has stuck in my head the most this year?” Then, whatever movie pops to mind first is my selection. But, at the same time, knowing how I think and all, some consideration goes towards what little-seen film do I think could use a little extra attention and a good publicity boost.
That didn’t happen this year.
Brent Green‘s live-action animated feature film Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then is about as close as an underground film can get to being a blockbuster. First of all, it had a theatrical run in NYC at the IFC Center, then Green and his live performance collaborators have been touring with it all over the country and screening the film to major audiences everywhere it goes. And it deserves every bit of attention and acclaim it has gotten.
That didn’t happen this year.
Brent Green‘s live-action animated feature film Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then is about as close as an underground film can get to being a blockbuster. First of all, it had a theatrical run in NYC at the IFC Center, then Green and his live performance collaborators have been touring with it all over the country and screening the film to major audiences everywhere it goes. And it deserves every bit of attention and acclaim it has gotten.
- 12/28/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
As the holiday season begins to ramp up, the 3rd annual Minneapolis Underground Film Festival is going to be spreading some naughty cheer on Dec. 3-5 for a weekend packed with over 16 feature films, several short films, parties and more.
While there are tons of great films to see at the festival, Bad Lit is especially excited by a trio of features that will be screening. First up is a rare U.S. screening of Spanish avant-garde filmmaker Carlos Atanes‘ third feature film Maximum Shame, an intense and surreal journey into an alternate reality on the verge of the destruction of the entire universe. The film combines philosophical ranting, verbal and physical torture, and singing! What more could you ask for?
Another international film that will be playing comes from just over the northern border. It’s Michael Peterson‘s wickedly entertaining Eddies: The Documentary, a truly inspiring film about...
While there are tons of great films to see at the festival, Bad Lit is especially excited by a trio of features that will be screening. First up is a rare U.S. screening of Spanish avant-garde filmmaker Carlos Atanes‘ third feature film Maximum Shame, an intense and surreal journey into an alternate reality on the verge of the destruction of the entire universe. The film combines philosophical ranting, verbal and physical torture, and singing! What more could you ask for?
Another international film that will be playing comes from just over the northern border. It’s Michael Peterson‘s wickedly entertaining Eddies: The Documentary, a truly inspiring film about...
- 11/29/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Uh-oh. Today is 10/10/10. That sounds binarily ominous…
Bill Plympton’s latest animated feature Idiots & Angels opened in New York this week, so there are a bunch of links about him this week. First, we have the New York Times review by longtime reviewer Stephen Holden who says the film is Plympton’s “best animated feature.” Plympton wrote an article for Truly Free Film chastising people for not considering animation a mature art form. IndieWire has a nice profile on Plympton and had the animator write a few words about himself. Zedura Magazine also has a long interview with Plympton. Paul Pritchard at Pulp Movies gives a glowing 4 star review to Carlos Atanes’ Maximum Shame. Pritchard and I agree: Great film, but difficult to write about. Very challenging work by Spain’s Atanes. Chicago’s Gapers Block interviews co-directors Brian Ashby, Ben Kolak and Courtney Prokopas of Scrappers, which won the...
Bill Plympton’s latest animated feature Idiots & Angels opened in New York this week, so there are a bunch of links about him this week. First, we have the New York Times review by longtime reviewer Stephen Holden who says the film is Plympton’s “best animated feature.” Plympton wrote an article for Truly Free Film chastising people for not considering animation a mature art form. IndieWire has a nice profile on Plympton and had the animator write a few words about himself. Zedura Magazine also has a long interview with Plympton. Paul Pritchard at Pulp Movies gives a glowing 4 star review to Carlos Atanes’ Maximum Shame. Pritchard and I agree: Great film, but difficult to write about. Very challenging work by Spain’s Atanes. Chicago’s Gapers Block interviews co-directors Brian Ashby, Ben Kolak and Courtney Prokopas of Scrappers, which won the...
- 10/10/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The B-Movie, Underground and Trash Film Festival is an annual celebration of the most outrageous, most exploitative, craziest and downright weird cinema that the world has to offer. The latest edition will unspool in the heart of the city of Breda in The Netherlands on Sept. 8-12.
This is truly a global exploitation fest with films from Spain, Indonesia, Canada, the U.S., Australia, Italy, Japan and more countries. Also, each year Butff celebrates the work of a particular living legend. This year, their guest of honor is German extreme filmmaker Jörg Buttgereit who will be present at screenings of his classic necrophiliac film Nekromantik, Schramm, a program of his short films, plus his latest shocking effort, Captain Berlin vs. Hitler.
There will also be a few Bad Lit favorites on hand, such as Spanish underground filmmaker Carlos Atanes‘ newest surreal masterpiece, Maximum Shame; the dark Australian drama Hole in...
This is truly a global exploitation fest with films from Spain, Indonesia, Canada, the U.S., Australia, Italy, Japan and more countries. Also, each year Butff celebrates the work of a particular living legend. This year, their guest of honor is German extreme filmmaker Jörg Buttgereit who will be present at screenings of his classic necrophiliac film Nekromantik, Schramm, a program of his short films, plus his latest shocking effort, Captain Berlin vs. Hitler.
There will also be a few Bad Lit favorites on hand, such as Spanish underground filmmaker Carlos Atanes‘ newest surreal masterpiece, Maximum Shame; the dark Australian drama Hole in...
- 9/7/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Post-apocalyptic films are, of course, typically allegories for life in our modern world or specific historical eras. However, Spanish underground filmmaker Carlos Atanes has stuffed the allegorical envelope so full that very little in his down-the-rabbit-hole fantasy Maximum Shame remotely resembles anything that could be considered reality.
Atanes’ “wonderland” is a massive, garbage-strewn, sewer water-soaked abandoned warehouse that is presided over by a black leather-clad, roller skate-wearing Queen, played with total sadistic glee by Marina Gatell. The world, apparently, has fallen into a black hole and this hellish place is all that exists anymore.
The Queen humiliates her subjects by trussing them up in S&M gear. Although these devices are not used for sexual purposes. Instead, her subjects are simply robbed of the ability to speak or eat. Thus, they are rendered as mute imbeciles, forced to listen to her megalomaniacal ranting.
Maximum Shame is an incredibly dense movie,...
Atanes’ “wonderland” is a massive, garbage-strewn, sewer water-soaked abandoned warehouse that is presided over by a black leather-clad, roller skate-wearing Queen, played with total sadistic glee by Marina Gatell. The world, apparently, has fallen into a black hole and this hellish place is all that exists anymore.
The Queen humiliates her subjects by trussing them up in S&M gear. Although these devices are not used for sexual purposes. Instead, her subjects are simply robbed of the ability to speak or eat. Thus, they are rendered as mute imbeciles, forced to listen to her megalomaniacal ranting.
Maximum Shame is an incredibly dense movie,...
- 6/28/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Director Carlos Atanes let us know that his sci-fil film “Proxima” is now available for download at IndieFlix.com. “Proxima” which was written and directed by Carlos Atanes stars Oriol Aubets, Anthony Blake, Manuel Solas, Abel Folk and Joan Frank Charansonnet. Synopsis: A renowned Sf writer is at a local convention to talk about his work. As he takes the podium he renounces his work as utter fictional rubbish and declares that he has found a portal to another world, orbiting the star Proxima. “Simply listen to my new book-on-cd and be delivered”, he proclaims. Unsurprisingly, this bizarre announcement is not well received by his fans. But Tony, the owner of a specialist DVD and video store is attending the conference, and [...]...
- 10/28/2008
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
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