Looking through the highlights of this year’s Sydney Underground Film Festival (or SUFF), our first thought was that it gets weirder every year. “Funnily enough, even we thought that,” laughs Festival Director Stefan Popescu, preparing for the 11th SUFF to screen on the weekend of 14-17 September.
So how does one go about programming an underground film festival? “If you want to boil it down,” remarks Stefan, “is this film doing something different?” It’s an apt descriptor for a festival that contains a found footage stream with a host from The Onion, a documentary on transgressive musician GG Allin’s mum, and a film that at least one site dubbed “the grossest movie ever made.”
Being happy underground
Popescu says that the SUFF ethos is a simple one. “Whether it’s a film or an event – is it trying to push the boundaries? We see it more as an avant garde film festival.”
READ MORE: 11 things to see at the Sydney Underground Film Festival 2017
“Slowly people’s tastes are shifting and wanting a unique experience when they go to a festival. There’s definitely an audience for this. I think when you’re getting such an over-saturation of mainstream stuff and easily accessible films, there’s a desire to go see quirky, unearthed films that are out there.”
“Different parts of the world have their own interpretations of underground as well,” continues Stefan. “Sydney had a history with underground cinema, but it was on the more experimental route. If you go to Berlin, for example, it’s almost non-existent because it almost just is.” The same could be said of Japan, the source of Yoshihiro Nishimura’s MEATBALL MACHINE KODOKU, the best film about alien Necrobugs turning humans into hyper-violent killing machines that you’ll see at SUFF this year.
Part of that world of weird, in the form of the FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL, is coming to Australia for the first time ever, as hosts Joe Pickett (The Onion) and Nick Prueher (Late Show with David Letterman) make their local debut. The collection of VHS gems found in thrift stores across America already has us hooked with the inclusion of The Law Enforcement Guide to Satanic Cults. “I can’t believe no one’s ever brought them out to Australia,” says Popescu.
Strange but true
[pullquote class=”right”]”This is other level stuff here.”[/pullquote]
In addition to the feature films, there’s a new stack of documentaries that explore the strange but true side of this weird global village we live in. From GG Allin to The Orb, the music scene is usually a great source for underground gems, but this year goes even deeper down the rabbit hole. “They’ve always been pushing the boundaries,” says the SUFF director, “but this is other level stuff here.”
“We definitely have some weird music ones. We do have a strange sort of theme that runs through….the hyper-real. You’ve got WHERE IS ROCKY II? which is about Ed Ruscha. The guy who wrote, and won the Academy Award for, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [Pierre Bismuth] did this documentary about Ed Ruscha’s work, trying to hunt it down, but then it becomes its own film…He’s got these writers to write a fictional version of what he’s doing right now. It really folds in on itself. ”
Walkouts and gross outs
It wouldn’t be film festival without a little bit of controversy, or without alternatively queasy and outraged audience members walking out in a befuddled mess. From 2010’s Serbian Film to 2013’s Wetlands, SUFF has had its share of them. Is this something that SUFF hopes for?
[pullquote class=”right”]”You’re grossed out from the first second. It’s just gross on gross.”[/pullquote]
“When there’s walkouts for the right reasons, you’re pleased. If people walk out because they’re so disturbed, that’s great. But if they walk out because they’re bored, that’s not so great. I think our audience will actually laugh through it,” adds Popescu, recalling his own hysterical reactions while watching the film in the very public surrounds of the gym. “I think people who come to our festival already know the deal.”
One film that might push those boundaries is KUSO, directed by “musical visionary” Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison). “It’s so gross that it pushes it into another realm. It transforms it, it becomes something else. You’re grossed out from the first second. It’s just gross on gross.”
Which begs the question of whether it is possible to push an audience too far in the wrong direction? “I think yes. I don’t think that answer is yes en masse. There was a film I watched and we programmed, PLAYGROUND. I couldn’t watch the end. I loved it until the last scene, and then I didn’t want to program it. I was so affected by it. I guess that’s what made me take a step back…It’s definitely the most challenging film, and I’m expecting walkouts in that respect.”
“Hopefully no one will pass out this year,” adds Popescu.
Be sure to check out our full 2017 SUFF coverage, including news, reviews, interviews and the chance to swipe through more listicles! A full list and tickets are through suff.com.au.
