By Dov Kornits
Aussie filmmaker Glen Dormand (aka Machine Gun Fellatio’s Chit Chat Von Loopin Stab) has created a wondrous salute to his hometown with the double-short-film Bizarre Newcastle, which will premiere at The New Annual Festival.
Located two hours north of Sydney, Newcastle is one of the coolest cities in Australia…and we won’t hear any differently. It’s got beautiful beaches, fantastic food, great people, a mighty NRL team, a blistering music and arts scene, a fierce backdrop of industry and shipping, and a rich and fascinating history. Many facets of this fascinating history have been captured via a collection of fantastic short films created by Novacastrian Glen Dormand, better known as Chit-Chat Von Loppin Stab, one of the merry musical pranksters from dance-pop provocateurs Machine Gun Fellatio and a one-time regular host on music staple Channel V.
All available for free on both YouTube and the Stories Of Our Town website, these delectable doco bites have covered off everything from the infamous riot at The Star Hotel (made famous by Cold Chisel in their song “Star Hotel”) and the importance of BHP in Newcastle to the city’s fascination with cars and its eventful wartime history. Now Chit-Chat has come up with his most off-the-wall entry yet with the appropriately titled Bizarre Newcastle, which pokes ingeniously at the weird historical underbelly of the city.
Very appropriately, Bizarre Newcastle will have its premiere at The New Annual Festival, which runs in Newy from September 25 through to October 4. On October 1, Bizarre Newcastle will screen at King Street, followed by a star-studded musical performance featuring live cabaret and music from master of funny-sad, Sandman aka Steve Abbott (Castanet Club, Triple J); cabaret genius Christa Hughes (Machine Gun Fellatio, Circus Oz); the absurd DJ Maynard (Castanet Club, Triple J); and the omnipresent Pucko (The Maddest of them all). Chit Chat will be onboard as host and MC. Tell us all about it, Mr. Von Loopin Stab…
Tell us about the short film, Bizarre Newcastle? Can you give us a hint as to what you have uncovered? Why is Newcastle bizarre?
“Firstly, we discovered so many Bizarre Stories it’s now two 15-minute films. These stories range from Frankenstein-esque doctors surgically grafting monkey testicles into humans in the 1920’s to a collection of marooned side show freaks taking over and running the coolest pub this town has ever known, during World War 2. It’s all eras and wild as F#$k!”
What makes something bizarre?
“For us, it’s something that is fascinatingly odd. Especially in Newcastle, which is a city but with a small-town feel, we look for the David Lynch details of the abstract coexisting with the mundane.”
Will this be the only opportunity to see the film, or will there be a life for it beyond this screening?
“This is our 27th film about Newcastle’s history. We have our Stories of Our Town YouTube channel where we give all the films away for free as a gift to the city. We will upload both films to our channel about two weeks after the event.”
Are some of the artists supporting the event through performances featured in the film?
“There is a flash of Maynard in the first film, performing with the Castanets but not the others. I personally have had many bizarre evenings with all the performers and I’m confident the night will be taken to a whole new level when they hit the stage.”
Is Newcastle still bizarre or is it becoming too cool and gentrified?
“Newcastle has a huge working-class background that comes with deep ingrained weirdness…start throwing some Matcha Teas at it and things can only get weirder. We love this town, and New Annual is such a cool festival.”
Bizarre Newcastle will premiere at The New Annual in Newcastle on October 1 at King Street. Click here for all venue and ticketing information.
Check out Chit Chat’s other Newcastle docos at Stories Of Our Town.
