AZ Underground Film Fest Marks Milestone
by Herb Startford
The Arizona Underground Film Festival will start its fifth year with a roar. Growing by leaps and bounds, this home-grown fest is chock full of diverse and interesting films that you won’t see elsewhere; actually, one of the reasons is that many of them are Arizona premieres. In fact, many of the films from last year’s festival are now landing national distribution deals, and we have bragging rights since we saw them here first. This year, according to festival director and founder David Pike, there will be even more events and activities outside of the screenings. A special block party event will kick off the festival two weeks prior to film screenings and will feature as the official announcement of this year’s lineup. Set to take place at Lovesmack Studios at 19 East Toole Avenue on September 8, it will occur during Second Saturdays Downtown. The event will feature food, adult libations, dancing, art, a photo booth and projected “No Wave” art films on the walls.
What makes this film festival different from many of the others that line the calendar is a unique blend of films that are truly outside of the norm. Not studio films, not ‘indie’ films per se, but high-quality films that deserve an audience but may not yet have one. Often, Pike and his team will program specific elements or actively search out specific genres to highlight, but the quality of submissions is always excellent and the range of international submissions astonishing.
Some highlights of this year’s festival include “I Want My Name Back”, a documentary about legendary rap pioneers the Sugar Hill Gang and their quest to stop an imposter from profiting from their legacy, and “Seven Years Underground” about the legendary 1960’s New York coffee house Café Au GoGo, which hosted acts such as Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, BB King and others on their tiny stage. Another film of note includes “L,” an experimental film from Greek director Babis Makridis, about a man who lives in his car. Makridis, who caused a stir with his previous film “Dogtooth,” is an international film festival favorite due to his unique vision and storytelling. “Bones Brigade,” which chronicles the early days of competitive skateboard culture and its innovators, such as Tony Hawk, is on tap, as is “The Legend of Kaspar Hauser,” starring Vincent Gallo, and a special screening of the near cult-classic Charlie Sheen futuristic horror film “The Wraith”, which was filmed in Tucson in 1986 and will have its director in person.
Arizona Underground Film Festival, September 21-29. Films will be screened at the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress Street with select films being shown at Tower Cinemas at Crossroads Festival, 4811 E. Grant Road. See page 9 or visit AzUndergroundFilmFest.com for film schedules and ticket information.
PHOTO: “L” screens Saturday, September 29th, at The Screening Room.
Category: Entertainment, Film
