Slamdance doesn’t need to have a separate NEXT section like Sundance. The whole festival is focused on the low budget, innovative, cutting edge, non-star driven material that embodies our concept of truly-free indie film. No need for mavericky rebel slogans at Slamdance because the festival is actually curated by a vision that understands that well done, innovative genre films can be as radical or even bolder than straightforward character driven stories. It was Slamdance—not Sundance—that screened Paranormal Activity (in 2008) and consequently this year I heard more chatter than ever about the Slamdance films. It takes a bit of an effort to get up to the top of Main St., especially when you are consumed by trying to get into your next Sundance film, but I highly recommend that people start fitting Slamdance films into your Sundance schedule. Because the festival is smaller, the odds are higher that you will see something unique, be it shorts, docs or features.
The Slamdance experience is also way more fun than Sundance. The people at the screenings are real film fans. Since the films are not star driven you get very few of the ski condo cougars and local lookeeloos that fill most Sundance screenings. There is a free happy hour every evening where all badge holders gather and there are also free sponsored snacks. It really felt like a refuge from the non industry hullabaloo this year.
The films that got the most coverage were the Steven Soderbergh’s centerpiece documentary on Spalding Gray, And Everything Is Going Fine, and William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, which really brought the crowds in. They were both solid and I am sure they will see national distribution. But what stirred my pot were the more offbeat docs. Mind of the Demon is the mondo doc about madman Larry Linkogle, the father of freestyle motor cross. Not only was this film about a gonzo outsider, it is told in that same spirit with narration by mush-mouthed Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead fame. This ain’t no PBS Ken Burns yawn yarn, this is fire on film and is not to be missed.
I was also totally captured by the complex portrait of an African American Viet Nam vet soldier of fortune who fights for Muslims wherever he is needed. American Jihadist tells Clevin Holt’s (Isa Abdullah Ali) angry struggle with rage against white capitalists and explores his curious ability to fly into any war torn country with a mini arsenal of weapons and operate with the apparent silent endorsement of the CIA. The film does a good job exploring the attraction of Islam to African Americans but it falls a bit short in exploring the relationship between Islam and radical fundamentalism. Director Mark Claywell tries to draw a comparison between Isa’s motives to kill (just pure simple rage) and the motives of your typical suicide bomber. American Jihadist goes a bit soft here because there really is no connection. Isa is a very typical soldier of Fortune, he just happens to also be a reasoned non fundamentalist Muslim. Nevertheless, this is an open, honest portrait of a very unique Soldier of Fortune, a breed that is usually very cagey about appearing on camera or talking about their lifestyle.
I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my favorite films of both festivals was Robert Persons’s General Orders No. 9. Less a documentary than a lyrical poetic meditation on the geographical history of Georgia, this film continues to haunt me weeks after I first saw it. Catch it at a festival near you because I think it’s way to oblique for IFC but I am sure it will turn up at Anthology or MOMA at some point.
I was lucky enough to catch a couple of great Slamdance shorts. Horsefingers 2: But I Am The Tiger by Kirsten Kearse is the latest installment from this Slamdance returnee. A lyrical Maya Deren-like mataphorical journey film, it very clearly articulates the subject’s struggle to find her place in the world, all done through imagery. First Day of Peace by Mirko Rucnov takes place in the filmmaker’s remote rural village on the Bosnia border. The film masterfully weaves the beautiful rustic locations, minimal dialogue and actual rural non actors into a Tarkovsky-like tale about the absurdity of war. It won the best short prize.
There were so many features I wanted to see but alas there is only so much time. Audiences raved about the modern Medieval thriller The Wild Hunt. Of the films I did catch, the comedy Drones was my fave narrative feature, which combined Office Space with Mars Attacks!. Written and directed by the team of Adam Busch and Amber Benson, Drones has snappy dialouge and is sharply told. Scenesters starts off promising with a spot on mock trailer of a fake mumblecore film. Unfortunately, the film never rises above its banal who-done-it plot within the ‘making-of’ faux doc structure.
The worst part of my Slamdance experience was the fact that I wasn’t able to see more of the films. This is the festival that really should be taken out on the road. It is so well curated and due in part to its smaller size, as a whole it has a true outsider vibe. With Paranormal Activity being such a massive hit, maybe this road show concept could really work to attract crowds throughout the year. Happy sweet 16 to this essential and ever more important festival. This year, Slamdance was better than ever.
— Mike S. Ryan
