Preview
CALGARY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
April 14 to 16
Broken City
DIY anarcho-feminist porn. Classic experimental Canadian horror. Short films from up-and-coming local filmmakers. It’s safe to say that there is only one place you are likely to find such a distinct cinematic lineup – the second annual Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF).
"We hope to push the edges for Calgary, even blur some of the edges," says Kari McQueen, one of the members of CUFF’s organizing collective. "The films are so diverse that we found last year that the audiences we pulled in were from really different communities. It caused a real mix."
It’s no surprise that the fledgling festival offers unparalleled variety – the group of film and video enthusiasts who program CUFF all have a long history in the film community in Calgary. McQueen, program co-ordinator at EMMedia, is joined by Andrew Eyck, former program manager of the Calgary International Film Festival, Brenda Lieberman, festival producer at Fairy Tales, and Julia Ain Burns, conference co-ordinator of Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society. Together this collective features some of Calgary’s veteran film and video programmers whose expertise in that field has evolved into an almost instinctual art.
So instinctual, in fact, that underground becomes a rather difficult term to define. "We try to pick out films that are not mainstream – either they are low budget or they are stretching boundaries at some level," says Lieberman. "There is so much film and video out there slipping through the cracks that won’t otherwise get seen in Calgary."
"Underground is not a film genre in itself," says Eyck. "It means something independent, something provocative, something that defies convention and challenges people – maybe pushes a few buttons. It’s definitely not mainstream."
CUFF’s mission statement is to screen contemporary works that defy convention in form, style and content. With the festival’s only restriction being that, barring retrospectives, films must not have screened or been broadcast in Calgary before, the four film buffs sifted through their contacts to seek out the alternative, the provocative and the refreshing. While the programming is indeed inspired, when pressed, it’s hard for the programmers to put their finger on why some films are chosen and others are not.
"We pick a lot of films based on gut instinct," says Lieberman, "but we have four people programming, coming from really different backgrounds, who all have a lot of experience with media art and who all bring a different esthetic to the final selection process."
Digging through the 2005 program (and getting through the gore), one notices that almost every screening is an Albertan or Canadian première. Of special interest is the Saturday Shorts Program, with a sample of such indie filmmaker heavyweights as Halifax animator Helen Hill, paired up with Calgary’s rising filmmaking stars, Colin Askey, Chris Cinnamon, Jim Thalheimer, Michael Breuer and Chris Kosloski.
All the festival curators believe that it is important for local filmmakers to see their work screened in a festival setting, but more than that, CUFF hopes to try and change the way Calgary’s arts scene is perceived.
"Calgary is not exactly a centre for alternative or underground or subversive arts, and if we can break a few barriers and build awareness of the type of work that is being done not only nationally and internationally, but right here in Calgary, I think that can only further expand the art scene here," says Eyck. "There was an article in the latest Alberta Views about Calgary artists who moved to Quebec and Montreal. That is a sad fact that people think that they have to leave Calgary because they have outgrown it or Calgary has outgrown them.
"I think it’s really important to encourage artists to stay here in Calgary and see that Calgary is a city that is really growing on the arts scene and will meet their needs."
"I guess we are in a position where, through our background and the skills we have developed, we are able to provide that showcase. And it really is a labour of love for sure. All of us have film in our blood and it’s really hard to turn away from it."
That sentiment is echoed in the track record of several of the programmers at CUFF. Lieberman, McQueen and Eyck have all experienced the triumphs and crises of producing film and video events – cobbling together audiences, filmmakers and sponsors is an exciting but nail-biting affair. What makes CUFF exceptional is that they are doing this without a safety net – namely a supporting non-profit organization with a budget and an infrastructure.
"We are personally on the line for financing CUFF," says Lieberman. "When a bill comes in we ask around to see whose credit card has room to take it."
The CUFF gang might be deficit financiers, but they like it that way. "Operating as a collective, we have a lot of freedom with our programming. Plus financial support for the arts from government is so thinly spread already – we don’t want to compete with other festivals," says Lieberman.
This is a legitimate concern. There are now at least five other annual film festivals in Calgary ($100 Film Festival, herland, Fairytales, Picture This… and the Calgary International Film Festival all spring to mind), but CUFF has found its own place to coexist.
"I don’t really think there is competition (between the festivals)," says McQueen. "When we find a film that would work better for another festival, we pass it on."
CUFF is also exploring options outside the traditional movie theatre. The screening of David Cronenberg’s horror classic Shivers may be taking place at the Globe Cinema, while the rest of the program is being held at Broken City, a pub known for its live music reputation, not for film.
"A big part of what we want to do is show film in alternative venues," says Eyck. "It adds one more element of interest to the festival. We are in a smaller location so there is a more intimate atmosphere. It enables us to do music and film in the same space. It’s an experiment, but it’s not something that hasn’t been tried in other centres before."
"People want to have a drink, listen to live music and watch film all at the same place," says McQueen. "You can’t do that at more traditional film festivals."
This creative surge has been felt in Calgary’s indie film- and video-making community as well. "This is the first year that we have had a call for submissions for short films, and we have been overwhelmed with the number of local submissions," says Eyck. "The other festivals do not have a lot of space for short-video artists."
"Especially if you are male and straight," all three of them chime in.
For full festival details, check out www.calgaryundergroundfilm.org.
CELEB TOP FIVE
In a forced ironic twist, the Top Five favourite Hollywood films of Andrew Eyck, member of the programming collective of the Calgary Underground Film Festival:
1. Taxi Driver – the classic Robert De Niro film
2. Seven – one intense film experience
3. Barton Fink – my favorite Cohen brothers production
4. Starship Troopers – a guilty pleasure and I love those bugs
5. Almost Famous – a heartfelt tribute to the rock ’n’ roll life |
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