Wholphin

With the Olympics and the DNC dominating the news these past couple weeks I almost missed the latest Bigfoot “discovery.” While hiking through the woods in northern Georgia this past June two men claim to have stumbled upon a dead 7′ 7″ Sasquatch, which they then brought home and put on ice while they made preparations for the proper unveiling. Crazy, right?

Three months ago I would have been rolling my eyes just like you, but that was before I saw David Thayer’s documentary, Bigfoot: A Beast on the Run. Now, I know all about Ray Wallace and his 16-inch wooden feet, I’ve seen the Patterson/Gimlin film at least a dozen times, and I could argue the “mid-tarsel break” theory like a pro. And you know what, it’s a damn convincing theory.

Thayer traveled around the United States meeting with Bigfoot researchers, hunters and enthusiasts, including University professors, cryptozoology experts and Bay Area native, Tom Biscardi, who was the one and only person called in to consult on this recent Bigfoot discovery in Georgia. Biscardi has been called many things, but passionless is certainly not one of them.

So while we all eagerly await the results of the DNA tests to reveal whether this Georgia Bigfoot is human, opossum or other, I highly recommend you whet your appetite with Thayer’s documentary, excerpted on this month’s Wholphin No 6. Camping will never be the same again.

SF360 Film+Club will be presenting Dispatches from Dimension X, a showcase of work by Wholphin favorite, Carson Mell, next Thursday, August 28th at Club Mezzanine in San Francisco.  

Take equal parts country-rock star, science-fiction writer, undersexed adolescent and uncomfortable malcontent and you’ve merely cracked the door into the world of Carson Mell. Carson will be in attendance to present his animated short films and music videos, and to read from his illustrated novel, Saguaro, about the life and times of ex-rock star Bobby Bird, the fictional protagonist of many of Carson’s short films, which can be seen on Wholphin 1, 3, 5 and the upcoming 7. 

After Carson appeared with screenings of Chonto at this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival, the requests came pouring in for more. So here’s your chance, as Elston Gunn of Ain’t It Cool News said, to “hop on the cusp of an American original.”

Tickets are $8 with an RSVP to sf360@sffs.org or $12 at the door. Doors open at 7PM. Screening starts at 7:30PM. Mezzanine is located at 444 Jessie Street in San Francisco. 

Due to tropical storm Fay, the Wholphin will be screening at Sweat Records in Miami will now take place on Monday, August 25th. The lineup for “Music Movie Monday” will still be a selection of shorts including a documentary about a band of Scottish 9-year-olds singing “Satan Rocks” at their county fair; an animated short about an aging rock star and his heroin-addicted carnival monkey; David Byrne covering old country songs in an abandoned storage facility; the effect of Terry Bozzio’s instructional drumming videos on Morrocan youth; and much much more. Stay after for a live crying competition!

Monday, August 25, 8PM
Sweat Records
5505 NE 2nd Ave.
Miami, FL 33137 

San Franciscans: Scott Prendergast’s first feature film, Kabluey, will be opening at the Opera Plaza Cinema on Friday, August 1st. If you’ve seen Wholphin No 1, and therefore The Delicious, you know exactly who I’m talking about and are probably holding up you’re right hand and jubilantly making little “nang nang naang” noises right now. Kabluey, a film that Prendergast calls a “melancho-medy,” is the story of a slacker uncle who moves in with his sister-in-law and two nephews while his brother, their father, is away fighting in Iraq. I haven’t seen it yet, but have my calendar marked and no doubt that it will be just as hilarious, insightful and endearing as all of Scott’s work. 

If you manage to get a spot for opening night you’ll have the added pleasure of being greeted by the director himself. And in the meantime, you can watch the trailer and find out more about the film and other screening locations here.

Of the twelve sites that I have bookmarked at the top of my browser right now, there is only one video destination aside from this very site, and that is Lumen Eclipse. It is a place that I can go where I know I will always find something strange and new and wonderful. Lumen Eclipse presents and promotes great video art in both the virtual and physical realm by hosting 8 new films every month on their website, and then taking the work outside and projecting onto the sides of buildings in their native Harvard Square. And in this, their third year, they have found yet another way of bringing art into the community: the Lumen Eclipse 1-Minute Film Festival, which will be held Saturday, October 4th in the newly designed outdoor space on Palmer St in Harvard Square. For more information on the festival and instructions on how to submit your film visit them at Lumen Eclipse.