At screenings, I sometimes mention our disastrous first attempt at making “The Crying Competition” film. We called it “The Crying Game” and you can see every painful moment of it now in the Wholphin screening room, with commentary by our insightful-if-emotionally-constipated participants. My favorite part is the surprise humiliating ending for all mankind compliments of Wholphin’s own Emily Doe.

We’ve just learned that DVD distribution mimics the same alphabetically-discriminating practices employed by my first grade teacher, Miss Cobb. She would always send the A-through-F’s to lunch first, which meant they’d finish their soggy burgers first and get out to recess before the rest of us. This enabled them to claim the few primo, unrusted swings for themselves. Every day Matt Walsh and Tammy Ziegler would be left with, what, those broken spring-mounted horses? The disgusting sand box? Unfair, man. So, Wholphin #4 has shipped, and subscribers with last names beginning with the letter “A” living on the East coast should have their copies in a day or two. All Zimmermans living on the West coast will be getting theirs sometime in the next week or so.

To avoid reliving childhood memories of Miss Cobb and others like her, I recommend driving out into the desert and listening to the Scene Unseen podcast beneath the stars. Those guys have some astoundingly great interviews with the likes of David Lynch and Crispin Glover. URL: www.sceneunseenpodast.com

Eight questions for Chris Waitt, director of the documentary short, Heavy Metal Jr., which follows a band of Scottish pre-teens as they try to rebel against their overly-supportive parents and a world that thinks they’re cute. Watch a clip from the film above.

1. How did you find out about Hatred? Were you a Satanic metal head? Are you now?

Chris Waitt: I am a metal fan, yes, but that’s not how I came across the band. I met the lead singer when I was making another film, a fictional one, and happened to be casting at his school. He was perfect for one of the roles but his hair was pretty long, which was wrong for the part as the film was set in the 1930s. I asked him if he would cut his hair for the role. He said never. I asked him why not and he explained that he was in a metal band. When he told me the band’s name I was blown away and knew I had to make a film about them.

2. What drew you to them as a filmmaker? Were you ever in a band as a child? (Did your parents allow you to rebel, or did they also attempt to co-opt your own efforts at rebellion in order to vicariously salvage their own failed-dreams?)

CW: I was in a number of useless bands when I was young, and am still in a semi-useless band now. The main thing about being in a band when you’re young is to play loud. My parents have always been very encouraging, and my Dad taught me to play guitar - so actually I didn’t have to do much rebelling in that area.

3. How long did you film?

CW: We shot for 10 days, spread over the course of about 3 months.

4. Did you ever get involved in the band drama? Like, did you weigh in on whether it should it be Satan Rock or Satan Rocks?

CW: I tried not to, but they asked my opinion a lot, and got me to help out with riffs and chords. My vote went for Satan Rocks, for sure.

5. We found this comment online, posted by Hatred’s lead singer, Paul McArthur on 4/3/2007: “Hey Everyone, looking back on hatred it seems so funny now lol, im now persuing my solo career, but dont worrie, i am much better than 2 years ago, watching the documentary now makes me cringe , and to think that its STILL going round the globe ha!. well add me if you want people and thanks for being so loyal to hatred/ heavy metal jr.”
Is this true? Did the band break up? What caused the break up in your opinion?

CW: I’m not totally sure they actually broke up - I think they just went to different schools. But, yes, essentially, it is with great sadness that I confirm that Hatred no longer exist. By the time the documentary was finished it was clear that some of the musical differences between the band members were reaching breaking point. As far as I know, at that time, two members of the band were sacked and Hatred renamed themselves Fusion and went down a more soft rock / eighties Power Ballad path. I also received a disturbing and, for me, sad phonecall from Paul’s mum to say that he had finally had his hair cut short.

6. Where can we buy a Hatred cd?

CW: I’m not sure you can. Hatred were an unsigned band and so never had any official releases. However, I can burn CDs of their music at a very reasonable cost to those interested.

7. I’ve heard you are a bit of a recluse, true? Care to talk about it?

CW: I’d like to know who said that. It’s not entirely true. In fact, I often go out - generally at night, walking the streets alone in a long cloak.

8. Americans these days always talk about “British humor,” what is Scottish humor?

CW: I’m probably not qualified to answer that one, as I am an Englishman who happened to live in Scotland for a few years. Scotland is cool but I’m not sure that the film is a great example of Scottish humor. I’d like to think that the eternal struggle to rock like satan is a universal theme.

Great lost films are not from 1919, but from the last 10 years.

If you hear about a great, unique independent film that premiered at Sundance, you assume it got to theaters, is out on DVD, is in the indie film world consciousness. Nope. There are hundreds of great films that premiere at the big fest that still disappear a year or two later. Theatrical and home video distribution is not guaranteed for anyone outside of celebrities it seems. Even films with style, distinctive settings and hot topic plots may not find a superhero to get them out to the public.

one of five posters made for the film

Around seven years ago, Shemie Reut was a cinematographer on music videos in New York when he decided he needed a break. Heading upstate, he ended up in a job as a camp counselor at Paradox Lake, specifically for autistic children. Blown away by the kids and environment, he wrote a script about a 20-something guy looking to get out of the city and taking the same job at the camp, and returned a year later to shoot it the film.

In the opening of the film, lead actor Matt Wolf encounters an autistic man on the subway that opens his eyes to that world.

The resulting film is PARADOX LAKE, a beautifully subtle drama, following Wolf as his life changes within the camp. Looking for a new world to escape to, he struggles with a tough counselor and tries to date another one, all while taking care of the autistic teens.

Some of the kids seem to have luck predicting events. This gets intense as Wolf befriends an autistic girl who is playing a hide-and-seek game of sorts. The new world Wolf is searching for finally shows up.

Reut does a wonderful job of mixing the narrative and the real world, balancing an interesting story with the deep, unique atmosphere of the camp. While the start of the film and overall plot is scripted, the film changed with the kids’ reactions and scenes and story elements were then improvised. Handheld cameras follow everyone, but the film is not messy. It actually flows quite smoothly in image and plot. Reut talks about how the style was affected by the situation.

The camp kids knew a film was shooting, and their families gave permission, but it didn’t really change the kids’ daily routines. Reut knew this was better than bringing in all actors. Using the real camp environment and kids lends an undeniable authenticity to the film.

The lead autistic girl who Wolf becomes intertwined with is a real camp kid, not an actor. After capturing some footage of her, Reut felt she could lend something special to the film and worked with her family on the scenes. This takes the film from a simple drama to a level of magical realism.

After a long editing process with all the raw footage, PARADOX LAKE premiered in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and later won Best Film at the Los Angeles Film Festival. LAKE then enjoyed a long festival life around the world and played on the Sundance Channel. Unfortunately, no distributors took a chance on the small film with no stars, and still has not played the art house circuit or come out on DVD.