Wholphin

Live in Austin?? Lucky.

The bad news first: Cinematexas, the long-running, great underground film festival lost its funding from certain institutions and is over. Annually providing the best, brightest and cutting-edgest short (and occasional feature) films, CNTX was an exciting long weekend of political hotbeds, avant-garde works, underground sludge and music films that traversed all of those worlds. It also programmed for the community – programs and a competition for Univ of Texas student films, and various childrens’ shows.

The good news: The fest is having a going away show this weekend, the Cinematexas Viking Funeral.

On Saturday, December 1st there are three free shows:

RAGNA-ROCK. One of two compilations of new work by esteemed Cinematexas alumni like James Fotopoulos, Ben Coonley, Daniel Cockburn, Stephanie Gray, etc.)

UT HOLLYWOOD SHOWCASE. A local screening of this year’s best UT-produced student films, which screened at the DGA Theater in LA in September.

ASSASSINS: A FILM CONCERNING RIMBAUD. An early experiment by Todd Haynes and an clear precursor to his new Dylan non-biopic I’M NOT THERE. This film is rare!

Then on Sunday, December 2nd:

RAGNA-ROLL: More madness from Cinematexas chums. One of these two programs will have videos from the incomparable, one-man-band Laz Rojas.

INTERKOSMOS. A delightfully tongue-in-cheek homage to a fictional East German space project, Jim Finn’s INTERKOSMOS uses recreated newsreels combined with musical interludes to resurrect the ’70s in all its Brezhnev-era glory.

And two incomparable greats: FROWNLAND, the uber indie film from Ronnie Bronstein, led by the new short by Don Hertzfeldt, EVERYTHING WILL BE OK. This single show is so great its already sold out. But try to catch everything else you can. Criminy, its free and hard-to-find films…. Viva Cinematexas.

http://www.austinfilm.org/film/cinematexas-viking-funeral-frownland

From the stunning eight-minute opening shot of to the remarkable documentation of China’s Three Gorges dam, you are overwhelmed by MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES (2007). Partly by the size and space of the landscapes, but mostly by the incredible beauty of the images, their composition and color, only to be crushed by the content: a luscious world of destruction.

You can enjoy this vibrant doc even if you are not riding the current wave of environmental danger films. See the environment – see all of us run. If Al Gore makes you feel like you need more visual aids, or if you feel you need words with KOYAANISQATSI, then this is the perfect companion film for the trilogy.

Ultimately LANDSCAPES is the portrait of one man’s voyage, following celebrated still photographer Edward Burtynsky on a tour of Asia taking photos. Burtynsky takes large format stills of industrial landscapes – factory workers lined up to infinity, giant ships eviscerated, massive recycling dumps, expansive strip mines. The goal is to portray human’s relationship to nature in our pursuit of progress. His images are striking and picturesque, leaving the viewer on their own to comprehend the negative global ramifications within.

Director Jennifer Baichwal makes impressive choices. The film perfectly balances the images of Burtynsky and talented cinematographer/creative consultant Peter Mettler, an acoomplished filmmaker and imagemaker on his own. Burtynsky presents the expanse and philosophy, and the filmmakers examine the tiny parts. And when Burtynsky speaks, he doesn’t celebrate nor condemn, but explores who we are in relation to our planet. We need things from the environment to survive, and that is damaging the world.

DVD has tons of extras, additional scenes, commentary and interviews with Baichwal, Burtynsky and Mettler, and a great photo gallery with commentary. Released by Zeitgeist Video, available now for $29.99.

Carson Mell has not been stewing yams. His email said “Coming soon” and it contained this teaser:

Well, we are well teased. If there was an emoticon for when your beans sprout flowers and fill the sky with the virile anticipation of the salad days to come we would have used it here. In any event, we are excited to see the latest chapter in the continuing saga of Bobby Bird. “Chonto” is coming!

Part loving art-doc recreation, part comedic musical, INTERKOSMOS may be the best communist propaganda since 1955, a genre that excelled in style and mathematic form. It revels in the Russian avant-garde cinematics that bled into its bombastic government documentaries. Once some human issues come up (birds and bees and astronauts), the film gets realistic and funny. Although you are never quite sure what filmmaker Jim Finn takes seriously, alternating between laughs and existentialist atmosphere, as if it was a predecessor to the new Daft Punk film Electronoma.

Following the space exploits of cosmonauts Seagull and Falcon, East Germans on their way to conquer moons of Jupiter and Saturn, INTERKOSMOS blends the deadpan but beautiful vibes of newreels, NASA static drone cameras – and actual musical sequences with a drill team – to a great new film that’s almost educational. The feature started out as a sequel to one of Finn’s short films about a gerbil, hoping to send the little guy in space. The film kept growing until humans in spacesuits and dance numbers were added. It would win art direction awards if film fests had them. The music is original but drawn from 70s German pop and real communist morale boosting riffs. There’s even exit music. The scenes and dialogue are also new but inspired by real training films.

While its perfect for film fest crowds and art fans who’s temple is the Museum of Jurassic Technology’s oil painting lounge dedicated to the Russian rocket dogs who did not return from space, Interkosmos could also play on PBS. And I seriously, seriously want it to play to Russian audiences over 50 – can anyone make this happen?

DVD available now from Facets Video, 24.95 capitalist-pig dollars.