It's Time for a Clean Out!
PROGRAM AVAILABLEThe Official MUFF 6 Program for 2005 is now available to DOWNLOAD as a PDF file. NOTE: A pre-press release of the Program was online earlier in the week - but now we have updated it to fix any layout erros that may have been present - 16/06/05 web ed The full web version of the program should be online by next week... Also check out the MUFF 6 POSTER now on a street corner near you.
TEKNIKUNST RELEASES:
CHECK OUT THE GREAT
NEW TEKNIKUNST SITE FOR 2006
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All media enquiries
can be directed to:
Karen Cochrane
Marketing Manager
Kino Dendy Cinemas
Phone: +61 3 9650 2100
Fax: +61 3 9650 5105
Email: karen@kinodendy.com.au
mobile: 0411 965 145
Romayne Perera
Phone: 0411.047491
Email: romayne83@hotmail.com
Festival Director
Richard Wolstencroft
Email: richardm777@yahoo.com
Congratulations to Scott Ryan and The Magician!
Congratulations to MUFF award winner Scott Ryan for securing local theatrical distribution for his brilliant movie “The Magician” with Hopscotch and getting into MIFF and SIFF 2005. This was our vote for best Australian film so far this decade in 2003 and finally others are beginning to catch on…
Well, we wondered how long it would take for the Melbourne and Sydney International Film Festivals to get the magic of “The Magician”. But we now have an answer to that conundrum, two years (Will the media even mention this? SIFF won’t and MIFF, well we would be pleasantly surprised if they did). That’s right the winner of the 2003 MUFF awards for Best Picture, Director and Actor, Scott Ryan and his film “The Magician” will have its new premiere at the 2005 MIFF and SIFF festivals in a new redux film version that should be a truly exciting experience. We think it is great to see these festivals take on board, at last, some of the burgeoning new talent we are showcasing at MUFF. Maybe next year they will play Mark Savage’s “Defenceless” and Gregory Pakis’ “The Garth Method”, last year’s local corkers and award winners. Only time will tell…
In the meantime, if you want to see the action two years ahead of da Dinosaurs, get on down to MUFF, July 7-17 2005 and be part of the contemporary film revolution… today. What with James Wan’s recent mega success, Scott Ryan’s triumph covered above, Shannon Young’s goal kicking overseas with “RazorEaters”, Mathew George gearing up for another big film, Mark Savage already prepping his next flick, Jon Hewitt about to unleash “Dark Love Story”, Bill Mousoulis’ whipping up a “Spring Rhapsody” and many other brilliant MUFF filmmakers doing well all over the industry, things are looking very bright indeed on the indy scene. One could say, what we have been saying all along, that MUFF is THE screening forum for a new movement, voice and generation in Australian film, a real second Australian Film renaissance. Will this bubbling well spring be nurtured, fostered and kept in this country or be allowed to be sub-developed and appropriated by our American cousins? Will the local funding bodies make some drastic changes needed to keep the talent here, happy and working; as I’m sure most Australian filmmakers want to (accept for the odd Hollywood sojourn of course)? Time again will tell…
Congratulations to James Wan MUFF filmmaker
(We World Premiered his directorial debut at MUFF 1 with Stygian. Did you miss that at SIFF and MIFF?) on his recent success with SAW.
SAW has already made more money in the US than every feature film made in Australia over the past three years grossed collectively worldwide! Remember you can see all the new talent first here at MUFF! By the way, film scribes in the media and industry commissars; the real point of SAW's success is not that the film wasn't submitted cap in hand to the funding bodies to go through their "process" of filmmaking by committee but snapped up first by savvy talent hungry Hollywood. The real issue is that a relationship was not established with James Wan and Leigh Whannel as indy filmmakers when they were struggling with our high handed funding bodies so that they would have a relationship with them i.e. and not let such a great local script escape overseas.
Do the funding bodies take MUFF filmmakers seriously, even know who they are and ask them about their future projects? They should as this example has proven. How many other cash cows will this industry allow to escape to Hollywood due to their snobbery, passe filmmaking by committee "process" and out dated cinematic tastes and attitudes? Like Leigh Whannell said recently in the Sydney Morning Herald "If Australian producers and people want to keep filmmakers here, they have to be as aggressive as the Americans and jump on board things as aggressively."
No mention of committees and funding rounds there surprise, surprise. We at MUFF can tell you we need change and fast in this industry if we are to survive the tough times ahead and who dares speak out about all this in this industry for fear of falling from favour at the funding bodies? Who dares? We at MUFF do. A few more local SAW's could cut a mean path at the box office and actually make money for the Australian industry rather than swallow it. Meanwhile, we will keep bringing you the real Australian film revolution and showcase the hot talent of tomorrow right here so stay tuned!
Special Pre-Festival MUFF fundraiser Preview of Tarnation!
July 1st 9pm at Kino Dendy
This amazing new film executive produced by Gus Van Sant and directed
by the films second central character Jonathan Caouette is our special
fundraising event this year. Baise Moi was a previous cool screening we
held at Lumiere a few years back with Cate Blanchett in the audience…so
who knows who will rock up for this special pre MUFF event. Tarnation follows
the story of Caouette’s mother who now has mental problems due to
years of electro shock therapy and abuse from her parents and the psychiatric
industry. We also see the effect this dysfunctional family has on a young
and maturing Jonathan, who is the films maker and semi narrator ala Capturing
the Friedmans.
Tarnation uses home movies starting around Caouette’s 11th year (with amazing youthful narcissistic drag performances) charting his own descent into a 1980’s hair crisis and drug experimentation counter pointed against his Mother’s worsening mental condition. All edited MUFF style using the Apple editing program iMovie this film has an incredible 80’s new romantic Soundtrack and features scenes from many of Caouette’s underground movies made over the years.
Plus special scenes from Jonathan Caouette’s high school musical version of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet....Wow or what? This film was a real toss up for Opening Night at MUFF and we are truly proud to be able to bring you the preview screening MUFF fundraiser one week before the festival begins to get you all in the mood for brilliant indy cinema. Tarnation is a must see… it’s that simple.
SCREENING FRI 1ST JULY | 9pm | KINO DENDY
TICKETS ON SALE THROUGH KINO DENDY NOW 12$ and 10$ concesion…
SO BE EARLY... SURE TO SELL OUT.
MUFF poster image banned from MIFF catalogue.
Hello James Hewison… got a new motor? You remember that song by Alexi Sayle in the 80’s. Well James has a new revved up lawn mower and has decided to make that his festival image for 2005. Good on you man! Its relevance to films or the film industry is? What the girl is doing playing with the lawnmowers knob is anyone's guess...
Meanwhile… our poster image, the subversive little colonic number, is banned from the MIFF catalogue. Yes, our Kino Dendy Cinemas MUFF ad in the 2005 MIFF catalogue has surprise, surprise had to be censored (we have produced a tamer version alas now running). Obviously, it is way to adult for all the little children who attend MIFF and we don’t want to shock them with our wicked and controversial adult themes. Sorry kids… just all play it safe and don’t let big bad MUFF compare the changes needed in the Australian Film Industry to clearing out shit from a blocked up colon. Everything is all right in the Australian film industry remember…just keep repeating that like a mantra and who knows… you may even start believing it.
By the way to all those who thought last years poster was sexist or misogynist. What about this year?… Are we exploiting men this time? Are we exploiting the colonic cleansing industry? Or are we simply presenting a confrontational, topical and humorous image to get people talking… like we do every year and being balanced, in our own unbalanced fashion of course? You decide.
So it’s the lawn mower versus the enema bag. May the best festival image win!
The MUFF archive!
Good news we are in initial discussions with Screen Sound and the National Film and Sound Archive to get all the films ever accepted into MUFF, put in the National archives in Canberra and maybe even all the films ever entered into the festival! After six bumper years we have boxes and boxes of entries both accepted and rejected. We can now no longer store them… so we have approached the cool dude’s at Screen Sound/NFSA to see if they care to take the MUFF archive off our hands. Will keep you all posted on developments in this area.
We will probably need to get permission from filmmakers or more like it… get any objecting filmmakers to say if you do not want your film archived at the NFSA. And what silly sausage would object to that? More to follow post MUFF on these great archiving opportunities. Who knows after maybe another ten years of MUFF this archive could be un invaluable resource and history of early twentieth century Australian Independent cinema. Cool or what?
More MUFF Volunteers Wanted!
Do you want to attend the MUFF festival free in 2005? Do you feel like volunteering to be part of MUFF’s growing army of troublemakers? If so drop the Festival Director Richard Wolstencroft an email (below) and join “Operation MUFF Mayhem” volunteer task force. We need people to put up posters, man venues, perform publicity festival tasks, look after overseas guests, devise plans for causing trouble and generally participate in our wild little festival. Your payment? Eternal gratitude, pride knowing you have down something active to support Indy film and a free run of the festival pass – priceless… as the American Express folk might say. We need about four or five more keen as mustard MUFFites. So send a brief bio, phone number (and only people with cars please)… so you are all mobile, motivated and ready to be mobilised.
Send an email to: richardm777@yahoo.com to join “Operation MUFF Mayhem” and be part of the team