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MUFF NeuDonald Cammell: PerformedMini MUFFLarry WesselPeter "Sleazy" ChristophersonGiallo One...MUFF RealAvant MUFFSome PsychopathologiesSexy MUFF
All the new films from our ‘call for entries’ that gets bigger and bigger each year! We play about as many Australian features as MIFF (The Melbourne International Film Festival) and more shorts, so get down and support local talent! Also check out our amazing selection of international films sent to MUFF for the competition. Awards will be presented on Closing Night at LOOP. Be there early, as it is certain to sell out (and you may find out after the festival that your film, or your favourite film, has won a MUFF award)!
The Following is written by RW:
Left Ear
Dir: Andrew Wholley
This film is a bizarre gem. Sort of like Borat if it was a piece of social realism. It is the video diary of a Polish immigrant who seeks ‘sexy time’ with members of the opposite sex, but all he finds is a sex doll. Great performance from lead Lech Mackiewicz – grim, but brilliant. This film came highly recommended to us from Kim Lewis and was a toss up for Closing night. Funded by the AFC and rejected by MIFF and SIFF (The Sydney International Film Festival), MUFF presents the world premiere of this controversial work. Lech Mackiewicz in person, straight from Europe plus the film makers to intro q&a.
9pm Sat 22 Sept Glitch.
Second Session added to anticipate demand -
10.15pm Sat 22 Sept Glitch.
Susan For Now
Dir: Robin Franzi
After a ten year celibacy trip, a woman explores the world of BDSM. Yes… it’s spanks a lot after all that no-sex nonsense. This mature and revealing film probes the underbelly of the Sadomasochistic underground and comes up trumps. Can you dig it?
Midnight Sat 29 Sept Glitch.
Moonlight and Magic
Dir: Timothy Spanos
Timothy Spanos is back with a cool new feature. A mohawked free spirit and diabetic older women embark on a road movie that takes them across the country in search of adventure and mischief. Spanos’ lyrical film making is a treat to watch. From the same director as past MUFF hits Prisoner Queen and Nicholas Dickmuncher.
5pm Fri 21 Sept Glitch.
Ashley and Kisha
Dir: Tony Comstock
Well, we played Damon and Hunter last year (against the wishes of our Big Brother at the OFLC) and we will do our best to do so again with Ashley and Kisher, this time a hot lesbian romp that will have even the hetero men lining up at the door. Comstocks’ films are open, honest and frank portrayals of homosexuality and with the true atrocities on our news every night it seems absurd to want to ban two women or men going down on each other and talking frankly about it later. Fight censorship for real at MUFF 8!
10:15pm Sat 29 Sept Glitch.
The Hidden
Dir: Jessie Kirby
[Dur: 65 mins]
Movern Caller meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre set in Ireland and you have this great late entry from Jessie Kirby. The Hidden is a classic tale of Irish horror with killer and missing teachers, not to mention plenty of spooky atmosphere to rely on…
10:15pm Thurs 27 Sept Glitch.
Streetsweeper
Dir: Neil Mansfield
A lonely poet rambles across the city he once loved in this poignant and well made exploration of homelessness and the disenchanted. Mansfield delivers a clever film filled with insight. Well shot and edited.
10:15pm Thurs 27 Sept Glitch.
(Double w/ The Hidden)
Rhythm and Poetry
Dir: Brendan Hay
A cool little doco about the burgeoning Aussie rap scene. Its about how hip hop came to Australia. From expressing local identity to confrontation with culture, local rap artists cover the origins of the local sound through to its rising commercial popularity. Rhythm and Poetry is an inside view of the Aussie rap Underground.
5pm Tues 25 Sept LOOP.
The Truth About Weapons of Mass Destruction
Dir: Paul Haines
Saddam didn’t have them but they still hung him like a dog to be played all over You Tube. This Aussie doco explores the question of WMD’s and raises some very timely and important questions. One for controversy and conspiracy buffs. 4 lads set off to get answers and find chemical weapons on the side of roads and get inside one of Europe’s biggest chemical weapons facilities. Spooky stuff …
5pm Sun 23 Sept TOFF.
Roaring Whispers
Dir: David Phillips
Have we got a treat for you! MUFF filmmaker David Phillips (Dusk) is back. A powerful and ruthless corporation with total control over the world’s rapidly dwindling natural resources ... A kid with the courage and knowledge to stand up to them ... His only ally? A hit man with a death wish and a “dead” girl. Can they save the world?
5pm Thurs 27 Sept LOOP.
The following is written by Michael Helms:
Black Water
(2007) Australia
Dir: David Nerlich & Andrew Traucki [Dur: 86 mins]
The trio of Grace, Lee and Adam deliberately remove themselves from suburbia for a short fishing trip and some much-needed physical renewal when things start to go pear-shaped. Without directions or supplies they find themselves stranded in a swamp and up a tree being stalked by a crocodile. As the day wears on, fear rises and the tension begins to seep off the screen. A tense thriller with an identical synopsis to the forthcoming ROGUE, BLACK WATER was made on 1/25 of the budget but 100% of the talent. Stripped down BLACK WATER is a horror thriller that’s been heavily influenced by OPEN WATER but manages to completely transcend it’s limitations by continually subverting expectations to emerge as an extremely intense experience that’s not afraid to take the downbeat route. The acting of Maeve Dermody, Dianna Glenn and Andy Rodoreda is high calibre and entirely credible while the special effects (which are the specialty of co-writer/producer/director Nerlich) are used with great efficiency to enhance this great human drama of a horror film. Filmed entirely in Sydney (except for Croc shots), BLACK WATER will give you full tropical fever and is a superb feature debut. BLACK WATER is easily the best Australian film we’ve eyeballed this year and definitely not to be overlooked. You will kick yourself if you don’t catch it at the MUFF premiere screening.
9pm Sat 29 Sept ERWIN RADO.
70K
(2006) Australia
Dir: Jamie Howarth [Dur: 46 mins]
The work of 70K can be regularly seen sprayed on trains and other parts of public transport systems across the country. I had to walk underneath a 70K adorned bridge to get here. But besides aerosol cans, 70K have also been aiming cameras at their walls and the result is essentially a clip collection culled from more than a few years of regularly going on and off the rails. While the quality of a lot of the footage is understandably rough at best, there’s not a lot to learn about the artists at work in 70K other than their ability to digitally mask any recognizable presence and their choice in music that includes Thin Lizzy, Dolly Parton and the obvious Ozzy Osbourne track, “Crazy Train”. At 26 minutes there’s 30 seconds of narration but other than an even shorter snatch of a train worker reporting graffiti over a radio, the only brief footage towards the end demonstrates that, “there is more to life than just vandalism”, like vomiting, staggering and falling down. Recommended for gunzels, potential gunzels and those who just can’t get enough graffiti. tullski@gmail.com
www.thekingdomofsadmachines.com
6pm Sun 23 Sept LOOP.
The Subject
(2006) Australia
Dir: Chris Scott
W&P: Matthew & Chris Scott [Dur: 67 mins]
A woman is abducted on her way back from the local shops only to be taken to a backyard surgery where messy experiments in corpse re-animation are being conducted. The woman in the titular role unexpectedly comes back to life and overpowers her captors before she ventures onto the mean streets of Lithgow to create her own brand of havoc. Meanwhile a shoddy police investigation conducted by an eager to please female forensics officer who doubles as a detective and a portly male (played by co-writer/producer Matthew Scott) detective who is obsessed with the film PREDATOR and seems to be auditioning for the title role in a feature length version of the old comedy skit BARGEARSE, clunks into gear. Suffice to say it
all ends in trauma and tears for all involved.
The Brothers Scott out of Lithgow have hatched
a chunk of no-budget shlock that’s as dumb as it’s cheap but manages to keep a cinematic sense of humor about itself as the amateur cast do their best with such lines as, “some re-incarnation bullshit”, when required to explain why the body snatching has been occurring. THE SUBJECT is dumb fun. zartbot@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/thesubjectmovie
6pm Mon 24 Sept LOOP.
Taber Corn
(2007) Australia
Dir: Linden Reko
W&P: Blake Ryan [Dur: 85 mins]
Not to be confused with a mockumentary Taber Corn is a pisstakeumentary. You will piss yourself laughing as you witness a 7 minute short become a feature when in the Spring of 2006 film student J.D Sebastian sets out to document the life of someone who influences culture at a grass roots level. And that someone is the misanthropic but likeable Buddha Wilson who runs the website Fulci Metal Jacket. A (hopeless) laborer for a landscaper by day Buddha is an around the clock enthusiast for Italian shlock of which he has more than a passing preference for quarry pit epics like Warriors Of The Wasteland and The New Barbarians, which he gets to screen down his local. Sebastian describes The New Barbarians as the perfect analogy for Buddha’s personality, “unbearable”. Buddha’s greatest problem seems to be remembering what discs he’s ordered over the net after a heavy drinking session. Sebastian also interviews Alex Del Rio, a kebab maker turned auteur, whose filmography includes Cannibal Kebab Shop, which received a favourable review on Fulci Metal Jacket. Del Rio seems to be returning the favour here. To strike a balance Sebastian also talks with Buddha’s rival Leon Brown. Things soon get ugly when Sebastian finds Buddha drinking and feeding coins into pokie machines at 10.00am and Buddha retaliates by hanging shit on Sebastian. Buddha soon gets onto his dream project though the sublime The Clones Of Bruce Lee Vs Ilsa In The Devil’s Triangle which mainly features stolen footagethat incorporates a smattering of original material (including shots of Buddha as Ilsa). A series of events (like Buddha selling his film through his website) sees him convicted of copyright offences and sent to Bradstow Minimum Security Prison with only his knowledge of Women In Prison Films to protect him. Buddha is soon wondering why the warden would tell him that jail sex isn’t gay and what venues he can take his dinner show of Bloodsucking Freaks 2 to when he finally gets paroled. Ex-chair of the MUFF judging panel Chopper Read steps into rap things up. Highly recommended. ezra-cobb@yahoo.com lindenreko@gmail.com www.myspace.com/tabercorn
5pm Sun 23 Sept Glitch.
Watch Me
(2006) Australia
Dir: Melanie Ansley
Producer: Sam Voutas [Dur: 78 mins]
A guy comes home to his flat to find a bathroom sink filled with bloody hair and an e-mail with an attachment labeled WATCH ME. Responding to
the electronic communication causes a red-haired
ghost girl to appear who promptly sticks her blood red painted nails and fist and arm down his throat.
A girl Jill, who’s doing research into a thesis on the power of the voyeur rents some discs from a guy she’s learnt about at uni. Taking the discs home she settles in but decides to open WATCH ME as her flat-mate makes popcorn. Ghost girl reappears and is soon claiming her next victim and applying her signature move of stitching the eyelids. A police investigation ensues as Jill’s flat-mate and the sleaze film expert become drawn into discovering the secret behind the sudden rash of bizarre deaths. J-horror is a rich cinematic vein that’s been readily co-opted by mainstream US horror films so why not a no budget version shot in Australia and China by Australian filmmakers? That WATCH ME can take the best of J-horror and do it cheaply but entirely convincingly attests to the latent talent of all involved. A truly striking feature debut from director Ansley. film@scopofile.com
www.watchmemovie.com
7pm Tues 25 Sept Glitch.
Love runs faster than blood
(2007) Japan
Dir: Hideki Kitagawa [Dur: 77 mins]
Obtuse, obscure and not afraid to proceed at a contemplative pace LOVE RUNS FASTER THAN BLOOD seeks to examine the relationship between a couple who rise naked from a box in a large dimly lit room in the first scene. Via shards of the woman’s narration and flashbacks we learn of her history of abuse at the hands of her uncle after the death of her father who she is yet to bury. She picks the maggots off her father’s face and has forced sex with uncle on the hard wooden floor beneath the bed upon which her father still lays. The relationship with her photographer boyfriend gets serious living up to his philosophy that, “Our passions take everything beyond comfort”. Ultimately, they share Arterial spray as they drink each others blood. Not a horror film but an art film with an aggressively experimental approach to narrative LOVE RUNS FASTER THAN BLOOD is exquisitely shot imbuing every scene with a magnetic beauty. This is the debut feature from Hideki Kitagawa. With music by Aphex Twin and from Jacques Demy’s LA BALE DES ANGES. Hidekikitigawanyc@mac.com
5pm Wed 26 Sept LOOP.
Flesh
(2007) Australia
Dir: Stuart Stanton [Dur: 90 mins]
On their way to an outback gig a musical threesome, Trav, Gray and Alex, stop by the side of the road in a dense bush area so that Trav can take a toilet break. While the other two sleep Trav has an encounter with a bearded living dead guy who bites him before he can fend him off and stab him. Keeping things to himself they arrive at their destination only for things to get ugly and highly hallucinatory during the night as the craving for the titular material takes hold. Shot with little budget, FLESH still manages to provide some original ideas and most importantly moments of fright. The opening sequence on a beach takes place during broad daylight but remains creepy and effective. So to does Trav’s initial encounter with the bearded ghoul. A modest production that delivers and shouldn’t be lost in the ongoing shuffle of zombie cinema. shedguest@yahoo.com.au
7pm Tues 23 Sept Glitch.
Lords of The Underworld
Dir Dale Reeves
Shot on a budget of over million dollars this
spiritual/gangster/sports genre mix is one to watch at MUFF Neu! Starring and directed by Melbourne club identity Dale Reeves (Nightclubber) with a host of baddies seen from American B movies. Imagine Rollerball (Basketball/Murderbal style) mixed with Carlito’s Way or The Funeral mixed with bizarre spiritual visions of demons and angels and you have the cinema of Dale Reeves in this film. An important cross genre exploration that is violent and intense. Daring for its genre Lords of the Underworld shows a breadth of ideas on the filmmaker’s part that bodes well for his future work. Dale’s performance in the lead is menacing.
MUFF Neu Out of Competition:
Text by Richard Wolstencroft
Demonsamoungus
Dir: Stuart Simpson
Stuart Simpson’s zombie epic returns to MUFF following its hit late edition screening in 2006. Not in our catalogue last year (as it was a late edition) demonsamoungus is a gritty, gutsy and gory low budget zombie flick with heart and balls. Distinctive direction and effects combine to present a classic Aussie living dead flick that you are certain to love. Soon to come out on the first wave of Accent Underground DVD’s (the MUFF dvd platform). Be part of the classic screening at MUFF 8 if you missed it last year. Or want to see it again. Stuart Simpson to introduce and world premiere his two new shorts Sickie and Greedy Guts!!
9pm Wed 26 Sept TOFF.
Welcome Stranger
Dir: Jason Turley
The Closing Night film for 2006 (that experienced technical difficulties) makes its first screening at MUFF in 2007. Jason Turley’s social realist first feature about a young ethnic boy sleeping with his mates mum updates The Graduate to Melbourne in the 2000’s. Great performances all round with excellent cameos by John Brumpton and Peter Lesley make this one of the best MUFF films ever and future release for our DVD label. Jason Turley to Intro and Q&A.
7pm Wed 26 Sept TOFF.
Rolling
Dir: Billy Saleeby
Drawing upon a variety of documentary filmmaking techniques, Rolling breaks new ground by creating a unique faux documentary. Utilizing the form of a docudrama, cinema verite style footage entwines with personal testimonials rendering a fictional chronicle, which captures the appeal of the drug Ecstasy. The film follows a diverse group of users as they cross paths in Los Angeles. At its core, Rolling is an investigation into a generation’s drug of choice. It is a dramatized expose of the current state of a cultural phenomenon that has grown tremendously over the past two decades. Rolling simultaneously authenticates a specifically twisted consciousness while relating to a broad audience with an eye for detail and human behavior. The film uses a variety of formats (35mm, super 16mm and DV) giving it an unusual texture while maintaining an overall gritty and realistic tone. In doing so, the filmmakers have carefully constructed a new style that hopes to stimulate discussion while regaling the senses. It provides the viewer direct access to the roller coaster of incidents that often occur to an Ecstasy user. Rolling is an engrossing, provocative, and poignant cinematic manifestation of the journey one has while on the drug
9pm Sun 23 Sept LOOP.
