The Sydney Underground Film Festival is returning from 9-26 September as an online event. So, while Sydney spends its time indoors this September, all of Australia gets to learn that we could be happy underground.
From the weird to the wonderful, and the weirdly wonderful in between, the joy of SUFF has always been discovery. Sometimes you discover a gem from a corner of the cinematic world you’d never considered. Sometimes you discover the limits of your gross-out quotient — and that it’s bigger than you thought.
Still, if you’re feeling overwhelmed with choice, we’ve put together a list of 11 films we reckon you shouldn’t miss out on this year.
You can buy individual sessions from the official SUFF website at $12 a pop or grab a pass for the entire season for $195. (Trust us: it’s totally worth it).
Sweetie You Won’t Believe It
Fresh from Fantasia, Kazakstahn’s Yernar Nurgaliyev delivers a film that starts off with a peaceful day of fishing – and takes a turn. It’s getting some massive praise out of Fantasia and the New York Asian Film Festival, and its mix of horror and comedy is a perfect way to kick off your festival feelings.
Wonderful Paradise
Wonderful and weird go hand-in-hand in this truly bizarre film that just keeps getting stranger – and that’s just one of the things to love about it. It begins with a series of random arrivals at a mansion in the process of being packed up for sale by a quirky series of family members. After the disgruntled daughter puts out a social media invite for a party, the event becomes a festival, complete with food stalls and activities. Yet nothing can really prepare you for the back half of this film. From a child transforming into a stick through to a mutant coffee bean growing out of control, the script is equal parts midsummer sex comedy and pure train of thought. Read our full review.
Alien on Stage
We caught this one back at SXSW this year and film lovers will surely get a kick out of it. Following SUFF 2019‘s Memory: The Origins of Alien, here we go to the other end of the scale at witness two British bus drivers attempt to bring Ridley Scott’s 1979 film to the screen. The results are as delightful as you’d imagine.
Shit and Champagne
If you’re a devotee of RuPaul’s Drag Race — and if not, why not? — you won’t want to pass up this wonderfully titled film. A drag comedy starring D’Arcy Drollinger and Alaska Thunderfuck, it’s adapted from director Drollinger’s stage production. Murder, drugs, sex and drag queens: it really is like an episode of Drag Race!
The Land
If you’ve ever wanted to attend a world premiere, now you can! THE LAND is a new film from Sydney producer Greg Hunt and directed by Ingvar Kenne. A microbudget improvised drama filmed over the course of three years, it’s described as “a cinematic experiment” between academic and filmmaker Gregory Ferris, photographer Keene, and the award-winning actor/writers Steve Rodgers and Cameron Stewart.
Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over
This documentary zones in on the American singer, poet, writer, actress who is best known as the Teenage Jesus and the Jerks bassist. Taking us through the life and career of a person the NY Times called a “punk provocateur,” it includes current footage of Lunch touring with her band Retrovirus.
Shake Hands with Death
Jay Katz and Miss Death host and commentate this special presentation of vintage educational safety films. Whether you never learned about the dangers of strangers, how to safely play with fireworks, or the illegalities of drug use, then you are sure to straighten up and fly right by the end of this fun selection.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne
Part of the SUFF’s retrospective is a special 40th anniversary presentation of Walerian Borowczyk’s 1981 cult hit starring Udo Kier. It was originally released as Docteur Jekyll et les femmes — for one week. It’s a variation of the Robert Louis Stevenson story and it will be terrific to get to see this released widely.
Hotel Poseidon
At Fantasia, Screen Daily described this as “Hallucinatory, hilarious and probably the most toe-curlingly unsavoury film ever made, the debut picture from Stef Lernous is a repulsively compelling one-off.” Which is about as good a recommendation as you’re ever going to get.
Ninja Badass
The official description of this film is “Kill Bad Guys. Save Hot Babes. Eat China Buffet.” This throwback actioner sees the Ninja VIP Super Club dragging across the American Midwest, culminating in female sacrifice. When Rex’s crush is kidnapped for the purpose, he must train to be a ninja to get her back. Why aren’t we watching this right now?
ZERO FUCKS
Because, really: having lived through 2020 and most of 2021, do any of us have any fucks left to give? Described as a subversive political satire, it contains characters like a talking cat named Donald Pump and Ivanka Pump surviving a nuclear holocaust. Yup, that’s where we’re ending this list.
