Known throughout the 1980s as a cult figure on the New Wave scene, Klaus Nomi managed to perfectly marry disparate worlds such as rock, pop, opera, and performance art. Nomi lit-up the underground throughout the '80s with his bizarre and freakish appearance, and had a penchant for twisting his counter tenor vocals around a hook-laden pop song. His fan base grew, and it looked as if Nomi's star was on a collision course with the mainstream. But the fun came to a desperately tragic end when Nomi succumbed to the dark specter of AIDS. The disease which ended the lives of so many artists in this turbulent decade callously claimed another victim, and the dream came to an abrupt, hurtful end. Director Andrew Horn draws on a mixture of vintage footage and celebrity testimonials to flesh out Nomi's tale in this documentary, offering a moving portrait of an artist who strived for originality, and was cruelly plucked from the world just as his dreams of bursting into the mainstream looked set to be fulfilled. Ultimately, THE NOMI SONG is an inspiring depiction of an artist who enlivened those around him with his infectious enthusiasm and lust for life. Far from being a forlorn tale of what might have been, Horn's film is a joyous celebration of an unsurpassable, idiosyncratic figure who poured everything into his art during a brief, yet productive tenure on the planet.
Delinquents!!
From tagging to educational films about delinquents to Coincide withOperation Art and Haro, 26 April - 29 June 2008. Graffiti and tagging is it art or delinquency? A filmic history of the controversy surrounding urbane art expressions. Augmented with a selection of archival - now comedic- educational films about delinquency and its collision with the authorities, including Why Vandalism? (1955), McGruff's Gang Alert (1990) and Boy with a Knife just to name a few.
Werewolf of Washington (1973)
While on assignment in Hungary, a young reporter (Quantum Leap's Dean Stockwell) is attacked by a mysterious animal. When he returns to the United States as the Presidents press assistant, authorities begin to find political socialites ripped apart by a similar creature. No one is safe while the Werewolf of Washington is roaming the nation's capitol. A Nixon-era allegory about the political climate at the time.
Para(noid) Politics in the Archives
Remote Viewing & Esp. From The Inside Out Parapsychologist and founder of the remote viewing method Ingo Swann explains the history, principles, and applications of ESP and other psychic abilities in this rare television special. Considered a preeminent psychic research subject parapsychologist and the acknowledged father of the ESP method known as Remote Viewing. Referred to by many as "the scientific psychic" Swann has participated only in controlled laboratory experiments and has never demonstrated his psychic abilities in public. Most books and articles written about parapsychology and psychic matters today refer to Swann's work. Analysts of science and parapsychology generally concede that his work and the high levels of official sponsorship he obtained provide positive proof of the validity of ESP and psychic abilities in all human beings.
Documents of the forgotten World
(Films by Ben Rivers and Ben Russell + Brigid McCaffrey. The two Bens USA & UK will be live in the archives to present their films directly after screenings at the Melbourne International Film Festival)
Time is relative - that much is made clear through this set of ethnographic kino-portraits that pair the Darwinian musings of a 75-year old Scottish hermit with recordings of a Surinamese Maroon tribe at work. From the verdant jungles of South America to the remotest parts of Scotland, these two experimental documentaries offer an image of Time in the Present - an existence that stands in stark contrast to the increasingly maddening pace of an over-industrialized, extra-accessorized, hyper-connected, and (presumably) global everyday.
ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES by Ben Rivers A film begun as a portrait of S, a 75 year old man living in a remote part of Inverness-shire, who has been obsessed with Darwin's works for much of his life. Since a child he has wondered at life on Earth and, though he never became an academic, found in Darwin many answers to his questions. The images concentrate on his way of life now; the immediate world around him - from the microcosmic to the grand; the contraptions and inventions he's made; his isolated patch of land where he has built his house after a life of traveling and working around the world. The soundtrack has S heard discussing his take on Evolution, and the problems with humans; coupled with sounds and music which emphasise the mysterious geography of his world.
TJÚBA TÉN / THE WET SEASON by Brigid McCaffrey and Ben Russell An experimental ethnography recorded in the jungle village of Bendekondre, Suriname at the start of 2007. Composed of community-generated performances, re-enactments and extemporaneous recordings, this film functions doubly as an examination of a rapidly changing material culture in the present and as a historical document for the future. Whether the resultant record is directed towards its subjects, its temporary residents (filmmakers), or its Western viewers is a question proposed via the combination of long takes, materialist approaches, selective subtitling, and a focus on various forms of cultural labor.
Trog (1970)
A troglodyte, or primitive man, is found in a cave and brought to the lab of Dr. Brockton, Brockton believing that the creature could be the "missing link," studies and attempts to communicate with it. Meanwhile, the townspeople are angry with Brockton, for they feel that the trog is nothing more than a dangerous monster. Unfortunately, the residents are proven correct when the caveman is freed from his cage -- and embarks on a murderous rampage..."Trog" was Joan Crawford's last feature film, she probably died of shame.
Para(noid) Politics in the Archives 1932, A True History of the United States Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche, Jr. is an American economist, philosopher, political activist and founder of several political organizations in the United States and elsewhere, jointly referred to as the LaRouche movement. There are sharply contrasting views of LaRouche. His supporters regard him as a brilliant and original thinker, whereas critics have variously seen him as a conspiracy theorist, an anti-Semite, or the leader of a political cult.To Govern a Republic, One Must Know the Minds That Created It. "...while a nation goes speculation crazy the people neglect to think of fundamental principles. "These were the words of Franklin Roosevelt in the months leading into the Democratic National Convention of 1932. Roosevelt knew that the fight for the United States Presidency was not simply a game of political machines and punditry, but that this coming fight demanded a leader who understood the historic enemy of the United States and the founding principles of the nation.
...for the Bible tells me so
Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without feeling obliged to kill anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp.
Through the experience of five very normal, very Christian, very American families - including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson - we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. With commentary by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, For The Bible Tells Me So offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.
Miss Deaths Knitting Group
Do you want to learn how to knit, crochet and any other craft? Or you just want to come along for a social? For the new ladies who are coming for the first time bring a friend. Boys are welcome as long as they do a craft or something useful.
Way Out (1967)
From Irvin S. Yeaworth, the director of The Blob, 4D Man and Dinosaurus, comes Way Out, an intense and surprisingly affecting story of Puerto Rican drug addicts in the Bronx. Frankie and Jim are best buddies who enjoy getting high until their addiction to heroin forces them to burrow through a harrowing underworld of fellow junkies, crime, and violence where their only goal is "to get that fix, get that fix...." With a cast comprised entirely of real-life former addicts -- who break character at the end to provide a startling and hopeful coda -- "this is a crazy Way Out world which squares just won't believe...."
Para(noid) Politics in the Archives
Beyond the Rabbit Hole
An investigation into the world of the synchronistic. Have you ever thought that there were just too many coincidences for it to be a coincidence? Synchronicity in the 21st century is revealing a labyrinth of symbolism that ushers in an era of the technologically enhanced mystic. Looking directly at the modern Hollywood blockbuster and revealing the truth behind its subtext we may be able to see that the revolution will not only televised but designed through popular culture to condition us to the end of the world as we know it by 2012. Warning this will be an avalanche of imagery unlike anything ever seen before. Where Sinister Forces meets Alice in Wonderland.
Long treasured as a masterpiece of camp, starring Gary Cooper as architect Howard Roark. A paragon of integrity, he refuses to create buildings that violate his sense of aesthetic value, choosing instead to work as laborer until he can find funding for his own projects. He becomes involved with wealthy Dominique (Patricia Neal), a woman who combines sexual aggressiveness with an abiding belief that a woman must be subdued in order to love. Roark accepts a commission to build a public-housing project provided that no changes be made to his radical design. When a team of architects is employed to humanize his work, the enraged architect blows up the entire complex. He's placed on trial and is forced to defend the extremity of his action. One of the most unusual artifacts ever to emerge from Hollywood, Ayn Rand's adaptation of her novel is a contradictory hodgepodge of sub-Nietzschean musing, so laden with wooden rhetoric and hysterical ranting that it could never be mistaken for any speech ever uttered on this planet. The bizarre miscasting of Cooper as an arrogant Ubermann and Patricia Neal as a mildly sadomasochistic intellectual only add to the fun. In the legendary scene in which Dominique watches Roark pound his pneumatic drill into the quarry rock face, there's no mistaking the beatific look on her face for intellectual excitement.
Can emerged in late 1960s Germany and proceeded to form a singular path through the rock world, performing a mixture of haunting melodies, repetitive rhythms, and motorik drum patterns. Loosely seen as part of the "Krautrock" genre which spawned other influential acts such as Neu! and Kraftwerk, Can left an indelible impression on the music world. It is testament to their abilities that their innovative brand of rock still holds a powerful influence over the contemporary music scene. This package features documentary footage, TV performances, tour films, and a concert from Cologne in 1972. A selection of solo material from the post-Can projects that each band member pursued is also included. For Can fans this is an essential purchase, for any newcomers this is a jaw-dropping introduction to an incredible band.
This movie follows two women who work for a charter plane/cargo service in Hawaii. They become targets, or somebody they know becomes targets, or something (who cares) of some Evil Bad Men. Their boyfriends show up, after flexing and acting like fools on their boat for a while. Within a few minutes they encounter a Random Killer doing handstands on a skateboard. The Random Killer makes a second pass and manages to wing one of the Boyfriends, but the other shoots the Random Killer with a rocket launcher. Very cool! Another nice subplot is the Infected Snake who shows up in a sort of surprise ending that left the entire audience stunned. Recent Bond movies with their adrenaline overkill and obligatory explosions owe more to 'Hard Ticket to Hawaii' than it owes to them. Starring the one and only Ron "Ridge" Moss from the Bold and the beautiful.
Para(noid) Politics in the Archives
Hacking Democracy Hacking Democracy tells the tale of a modern-day David and Goliath. On one side stand three corporations in the voting machine business, led by Diebold. On the other stands Bev Harris, a concerned citizen from Seattle. When touch-screen voting machines are installed in her community, she decides to do some research. Harris discovers that black boxes aren't exactly fool-proof--far from it. As technology experts attest, the code is vulnerable to manipulation. Worse yet, after-the-fact changes are undetectable. So, Harris forms a grass-roots organization and proceeds to dig deeper. If that means dumpster-diving, so be it. Starting in 2004, Simon Ardizzone and Russell Michaels accompany Harris around the country to document her mission. Over the course of three years, they find several troubling instances of corporate malfeasance and computer malfunction. Foremost among consequences, her findings lead the State of California to file criminal charges against Diebold. Since most American votes are counted by computer, this isn't a trivial matter. Like This Film is Not Yet Rated, which reveals the inner workings of the MPAA, Hacking Democracy sheds light on a secretive process that affects all Americans--even those unfortunates who can't be bothered to vote. After all, they still have to live with the results, accurate or otherwise. --Kathleen C. Fennessy.
Well the formula has finally surfaced to the mainstream and made it on to commercial TV. All new footage as the archives go for the Guinness book of records ultimate slam dunk title of the short attention span collage. You will laugh cry and scream at some of the weirdest commercials, music clips, television moments, trailers and educational films ever made.
Sounds of Seduction goes Fetish
Get out your whips corsets
and extra high heels and get down to Hermann's
Bar dress to impress, less is best for a sexy sensual seductive Sounds. Prise
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You will be able to dance to
the rarest grooves with the original crew Jay Katz, Mistress Death, Diabolik, guest DJ's and of course
Go-Go action. Put on your dancing stilettos and get on down for a Go-Go frenzy.Hermann's Bar Wentworth Building Cr
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Now streaming on the net for the world to enjoy “The Naked City” – every Saturday between 10am and midday on FBI (94.5) with Jay Katz, Miss Death and Coffin Ed and guests that have included JJ (from Good Times), Jack Sargeant, Neil Hamburger, Diamanda Galas, Jim Rose, and many more. An adrenalin charged look at the sad arsed city of Sydney!
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ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES by Ben Rivers A film begun as a portrait of S, a 75 year old man living in a remote part of Inverness-shire, who has been obsessed with Darwin's works for much of his life. Since a child he has wondered at life on Earth and, though he never became an academic, found in Darwin many answers to his questions. The images concentrate on his way of life now; the immediate world around him - from the microcosmic to the grand; the contraptions and inventions he's made; his isolated patch of land where he has built his house after a life of traveling and working around the world. The soundtrack has S heard discussing his take on Evolution, and the problems with humans; coupled with sounds and music which emphasise the mysterious geography of his world.
An experimental ethnography recorded in the jungle village of Bendekondre, Suriname at the start of 2007. Composed of community-generated performances, re-enactments and extemporaneous recordings, this film functions doubly as an examination of a rapidly changing material culture in the present and as a historical document for the future. Whether the resultant record is directed towards its subjects, its temporary residents (filmmakers), or its Western viewers is a question proposed via the combination of long takes, materialist approaches, selective subtitling, and a focus on various forms of cultural labor.
