Hello there! Andrew Todd, Christchurch filmmaker and critic, reporting for duty. Last year I spent two weeks and way too much money to go to Austin, Texas to attend Fantastic Fest – one of the best genre festivals in the world. I saw dozens of great movies, attended riotous parties and ate delicious food, coming home with a hell of a flu-ridden hangover. And it was so much fun, I had to return. Now I’m booked in and will be there to experience the madness again.
If anything, this year’s programme looks even more insane and wonderful than last year’s. I’ll be blogging as often as I can amid the craziness (people who claim to be exhausted by the NZIFF have no idea), but in preparation, here are ten things (narrowed down from a very lengthy list indeed) I’m pumped about for this year’s Fantastic Fest.
THE ZERO THEOREM
It’s been a while since Terry Gilliam has delivered a film on the level of Brazil or Twelve Monkeys, but this – a return to the dystopian science fiction of those films, seemingly featuring direct connections to Brazil – might be it. Christoph Waltz stars as a mathematician tasked with finding the solution to an impossible theorem, and possibly to love and life itself. It looks colourful, weirdly erotic, idiosyncratic and thought-provoking – all things Gilliam does well. It’s also the closing night film, which means the final night party will be themed around it. After last year’s “North Korean prison camp” theme, the sky’s the limit what these people will put together.
Here’s a leak of the trailer (quality isn’t amazing):
DANGER GODS!: THE TRUE DAREDEVILS OF HOLLYWOOD LEGEND
Fantastic Fest is noteworthy as much for its events as its film programming, and this centrepiece show looks to be a stunner. Half a dozen stunt legends will host a screening of highlights of stunt history, answer audience questions on their trade, and then head out to the carpark to perform fights, stunt falls, car and monster truck stunts, body burns and more. Should be a night to remember with hopefully minimal injuries.
ERROL MORRIS PRESENTS: THE UNKNOWN KNOWN
Though Fantastic Fest is primarily a genre festival, its organisers occasionally throw in delightful, slightly off-brand surprises. This year, one of the very brightest highlights of the programme is a screening of documentary legend Errol Morris’ The Unknown Known, a documentary about former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told in the manner of Morris’ The Fog of War. Morris will be present for a Q&A on the film and a retrospective discussion on his career. Absolutely not to be missed.
ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW
One of the more unusual and attention-grabbing films to emerge from Sundance this year, Escape from Tomorrow‘s chief hook is that it was shot guerilla-style in Disney’s theme parks without permission, somehow without the Mouse House discovering what was going on. But word is that the film itself is worthy beyond its production process, offering a complex look at Disneyification, capitalism and the erosion of family.
NERD RAP THROWDOWN
Last year I competed in one of the festival’s signature events, the Nerd Rap Throwdown, winning the tournament with a rap about the incredible Babe: Pig in the City. That got me free entry to this year’s festival, so that I might defend my title against all comers. Last year the competitors included Hollywood screenwriters, and God only knows who I’ll be up against this year. I’m packing my pants with nerves – but it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun regardless of what happens.
HENTAI KAMEN: FORBIDDEN SUPER HERO
Director Yuichi Fukuda (whose Kids Police is also screening and also looks terrific) directs an adaptation of the cult manga series about a superhero whose costume consists of fishnets, a mankini and panties – over his face. His power comes from the scent of used panties and he fights crime using “outlandishly sexualised wrestling moves”. Should satisfy my thirst for depraved, batshit insane Japanese action.
SECRET SCREENINGS
The announced programming’s great at Fantastic Fest but there are always a couple slots on the timetable marked “Secret Screening,” which often end up being remarkable and surprising advance looks at significant genre films. Previous secret screenings have included There Will Be Blood, Troll Hunter, The Fountain and my favourite film of 2012, Cloud Atlas. Often directors and stars get smuggled in without anyone knowing, and the atmosphere is electric. I’ve got my fingers crossed for Gravity or Eli Roth’s cannibal shocker The Green Inferno, but I’ll just have to see what happens.
JODOROWSKY’S DUNE
Little-known except to hardened film buffs, who obsess over it, there was at one point going to be a film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune directed by midnight movie specialist Alejandro Jodorowsky, production designed by the father of the Alien alien, H.R. Giger, and starring among others Orson Welles, Salvador Dali, and Gloria Swanson. Only whispers have been heard about this aborted project, but now this documentary – fresh from the Cannes Director’s Fortnight – tells the full story.
NIGHTBREED: THE CABAL CUT
Another interesting bit of film history is the editing process of Clive Barker’s Nightbreed. The director had wanted to create the Star Wars of horror films, but the movie got hacked down to a ninety-minute version by its producers. This two-and-a-half-hour version has been the stuff of rumour for years, but has now finally emerged. Given that the released cut feels truncated, this cut should give the story some breathing room and clarity and flesh out characters we only glimpsed before.
THE FOOD
Texas is renowned for its food, and the Alamo Drafthouse, the cinema which hosts Fantastic Fest, equally so. It’s a different kind of cinema experience, where you can order anything from snacks to meals right from your seat. I was skeptical that this would disrupt the movies prior to attending last year, but they’ve thought of everything, making New Zealand cinema experiences feel lacking by comparison. The food’s great, the service is great, and the menu usually has specials based around the opening night film. Given that this year’s opener is Machete Kills, that would suggest some terrific Tex-Mex cuisine is coming our way. Nom.
Look for capsule reviews and event write-ups over the course of the festival, which takes place from September 19th to 26th in Austin, Texas.
