by FilmInk Staff
Every year, I try to approach programming with a blank sheet, with no expectation and no final form in mind. To me, it’s important that the film program, the special events, the industry events, all form organically.
This year, we started out feeling that there was less out there, some films were already streaming so we couldn’t consider those, others had been picked up for distribution, releasing before Revelation, etc. But over the last six months, a lot of really good films became available, strong titles that we were very excited by.
We also program from our call for entries, 99% of the shorts and maybe 15-20% of our feature and feature documentaries come this way. I think that gives us an edge, as we find new works and new filmmakers.
The six films here are almost a random selection; there are so many strong films in the program.
I’m excited to see Rosebush Pruning on the big screen. When I watched it, I knew immediately it would be in the program. Although not quite as extreme as a work like Dogtooth (or maybe even Godard’s Weekend), it has a similar feel of upper middle class life unwinding into something else. Lady, another film in the program this year, also touches on this ground.
I love Ben Wheatley, and I’m pleased to say that we’ve screened pretty much all of his films. I’m a fan of A Field in England and Kill List. Bulk is a wonderfully unique quasi-science fiction film; it’s an exercise in pure imagination.
Indie cinema informs a lot of our program, and the film BRB, which is a road movie/coming of age film about two sisters, is something that I really enjoyed. I still love the road movie mythologies, and of course, many years ago I co-edited a book on the genre.
Mineshaft – The Cruising Murders
Jeffrey Schwarz documentaries are always fascinating; this is no exception, taking in seventies gay NY, murder, and the film Cruising. I knew that we had to have Mineshaft as soon as I heard about it. This year’s LGBTQI+ program feels really strong; we also have On the Road, Barbara Forever, The Big Johnson and others, including Dean Francis’s Body Blow.
Nova ‘78 is absolutely essential, a kind of I-was-there witness account, let’s call it evidence, of the William Burroughs’ Nova event in NYC in 1978. Alongside the infamous writer of Naked Lunch, there are performances from Patti Smith, composer and artist Laurie Anderson, poet and performer John Giorno and many, many others, as well as behind the scenes sequences of the preparations.
Finally, Hex, a documentary about an all-women black metal band. This film actually came from my colleague Richard Sowada, who suggested it, and of course I jumped at it. I’m a big fan of music documentaries, there’s always so many to choose from, this year we have films on Sun Ra, on Jeffrey Lewis, on Eddie Cochran and The Best Summer, which features the likes of Sonic Youth and the Beastie Boys. I’m happy with the range of bands and musicians covered by these films.
Of course, I could choose a different six, but to me, today, these are my recommendations.
