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Strange But True Film Fest


  • Muse Arts Warehouse 703 Louisville Rd. Savannah, GA 31401 USA (map)

Presented by Psychotronic Film Society and CinemaSavannah

“7 Amazing, Award-Winning Independent Documentary Features About Highly Unusual Subject Matter”

SPONSORED BY: CONNECT SAVANNAH, MARIGOLD BEAUTY CONCEPTS, ANGEL’S BBQ and TKO

SCHEDULE:

SATURDAY, JANUARY 16

2PM

HERE IS ALWAYS SOMEWHERE ELSE: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF BAS JAN ADER (2008, USA/Netherlands)

    *SOUTHEASTERN PREMIERE*

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T5PLNrxl6Y

Directed by celebrated Dutch filmmaker Rene Daalder (Massacre at Central High, The Great Rock and Roll Swindle), Here Is Always Somewhere Else is a haunting portrait of his friend, the late Dutch performance artist Bas Jas Ader who created a small number of extremely unusual and notable pieces of art in the late 1960s before he was mysteriously lost at sea in 1975. This investigative film uncovered never-before-known material that helps to shed light on Bas Jan Ader’s peculiar and doomed decision to try to sail across the Atlantic Ocean in a twelve-foot sailboat. It features rare film and video footage of Jan Ader, as well as exclusive, newly-shot interviews with those who knew the man best. It is an unforgettable non-fiction film which has been called “one of the greatest documentaries about art ever made.” It only played in a handful of arthouse theaters and art museums in the USA several years ago, and is rarely seen in public. We are proud to present the film as part of Strange But True Film Fest through special permission of the director himself.

5PM

EUROCRIME! THE ITALIAN COP AND GANGSTER FILMS THAT RULED THE ’70S(2013, USA)

*** NOTE: DIRECTOR MIKE MALLOY WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR A POST-SCREENING Q&A WITH THE AUDIENCE.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcT9YiEl2gU

This action-packed and highly entertaining doc is the definitive examination of the violent, sexy and hard-boiled Italian “poliziotteschi” films of the 1970s, which were rarely if ever shown in theaters or released on home video outside of Europe. At first glance, these down-and-dirty crime flicks seem to be little more than blatant rip-offs of such American made 1970s crime and gangster blockbusters as Dirty Harry and The Godfather. However, just underneath the surface of these low-budget thrillers lies all manner of political commentary on distinctly Italian societal issues such as the Sicilian Mafia and “Red terrorism.” Perhaps even more interesting than the films themselves were the crazily rushed methods of production (such as stars performing their own dangerous stunts, stealing shots without safety measures or permits, and shooting the films silently, without sound, forcing 100% of the dialog and sound effects to be dubbed in afterward) – not to mention the bleed-over between real-life crime and movie crime. Featuring exclusive, candid interviews with many of the actors and directors who starred in and created these amazing (and at times amazingly sleazy) movies, including: Franco Nero, John Saxon, Henry Silva, Fred Williamson, Richard Harrison, Antonio Sabato and Enzo Castellari.

8PM

MY NAME IS JONAH (2014, USA)

    *SOUTHEASTERN PREMIERE*

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2lHF7E_K4c

How many of us have extremely neurotic siblings? Crappy jobs? Failed relationships? Almost absurdly loyal friends? This doc is the true, unvarnished story of a man named Jonah Washnis who *believes himself to be* a “warrior,” “superhero” and “vigilante,” when in reality, he is merely a middle-aged blues harmonica player from the Rochester, NY area with a VERY vivid imagination and an uncontrollable urge to lie about his background and exploits. Many years ago, through the wonder of MySpace, Jonah’s self-promoted “warrior” alter-ego gained thousands of internet friends around the world, and this only served to fuel his bizarrely macho fantasies. The makers of this jaw-dropping documentary very honestly and delicately present the rather awkward differences between the life Jonah CLAIMS to live with the life he ACTUALLY SEEMS to live, and they also profile his real-life friends and family members (who struggle to reconcile their knowledge of Jonah’s true personal background with the tall tales he relentlessly promotes as facts). Is Jonah delusional? Is he an artist? Is he an attention whore? Is he a man bravely and impressively making his everyday life into something very special? The filmmakers do not provide clear answers to these questions — instead, they merely present the situation with care and allow the viewers to make up their own minds. This is one of the most intriguing and thought-provoking independent documentaries to appear in many years, and we are thrilled to be one of the first festivals in the country to screen it for the public.

11PM

SPECIAL MYSTERY SCREENING?!

***THIS MYSTERY SCREENING WILL BE AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE OF JUST $7, WHICH INCLUDES YOUR CHOICE OF POPCORN OR CANDY)

For our 11PM screening on Saturday, January 16, we’ll screen a little-known -but fantastic- documentary which will remain a secret until showtime. We hope folks will trust us to show them something that will be truly special and memorable, and so we’re asking them to simply buy a ticket, take a chance and be pleasantly surprised! We can say that whatever we show in this slot will be something most folks have never even heard of, and which is rarely if ever seen in a public setting. WE ALSO FEEL IT IS PERHAPS THE QUIRKIEST FILM IN THE ENTIRE FESTIVAL – AND THUS, IS PERFECTLY SUITED TO BE SEEN AT 11PM!

SUNDAY, JANUARY 17

2PM

MICKEY THOMPSON: THE MAN IN THE IRON CAGE (1984, USA)

     *EAST COAST PREMIERE*

No trailer available

The rarest of all the feature films in the Strange But True Film Fest, this detailed profile of the legendary, flamboyant, champion off-road, track and dragster race car driver and technological innovator Mickey Thompson is so insanely obscure that there is not even a listing of any sort for it on IMDB.com, and barely a word about it anywhere online! It is the unbelievable, real-life story of Thompson, who over a 59 year professional career, earned a name for himself as one of the most fast and fearless race car drivers in history. In 1960, Thompson broke the world land speed record, and became the very first man to drive a car at over 400 miles an hour! A man of amazing strength who was obsessed with pushing the envelope of human performance in automobiles, he also had more than his share of high-speed accidents (in both cars and boats) while in pursuit of such goals. “I’ve had more broken bones than (motorcycle daredevil) Evel Knievel,” he once said. For several years, Thompson paid a professional film crew to travel around and shoot all of his major races, as well as exclusive interviews with himself, his family, friends and associates and candid behind-the-scenes footage of he and his crew at work building and modifying the cars they would race in competitions. However, after this wild documentary was finally completed, it essentially vanished without a trace. Legend has it the movie was screened at only one or two theaters in Southern California in the mid-1980s before falling into complete obscurity. It has never been released on home video in any format to this day anywhere in the world. The PFS is proud to have tracked down a full, uncut print of this most elusive motion picture, which will certainly be of great interest to racing fans, but also to anyone who simply loves thrilling, non-fiction movies about performance-driven innovators who’ve led amazing, one-of-a-kind lives.

5PM

I AM THOR (2015, USA/Canada/Finland/Sweden)

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_GLMsHUrOQ

Canadian singer Jon Mikl Thor was a bodybuilding, steel bending, brick smashing lower-level rock star in the 1970s and 1980s. His theatrical metal band THOR shared the stage with such major acts as Metallica and Kiss, but their lyrical content and look were unintentionally closer to the ridiculous, fictional hard rock group Spinal Tap. Jon Mikl Thor never achieved the Gold Record status of his contemporaries, and after a brief but memorable horror film career saw him starring in the cult classics Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare and Zombie Nightmare, he all but disappeared from the entertainment map. But ten years into retirement, and incapable of living like a normal mortal human being, Thor attempts a comeback to achieve the level of success that had eluded him his entire career – a comeback that nearly kills him. Tracing the rise, fall, and rebirth of a determined performer over the course of a career that has seen more than its fair share of highs and lows, this great documentary paints a fascinating and sometimes unbelievable portrait of this larger-than-life icon, and will prove highly entertaining and thought-provoking even to viewers who do not consider themselves fans of hard rock or heavy metal. Says PopOptiq: “This is one of those fascinating documentaries that make you want to laugh and cry at the same time.”

8PM

The Source Family (2012, USA)

    *GEORGIA PREMIERE*

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6xeLuxXMRg

Toward the tail end of California’s psychedelic and hippie scene of the late 1960s, a radical experiment in utopian communal living took place. Known as The Source Family, it was – to the people involved – a glorious, love-filled existence designed to spread peace and enlightenment to the entire world through a combination of a raw, vegetarian diet, intense meditation and religious study and the daily use of marijuana. However, others saw The Source Family as a dangerous cult led by a charismatic and violent ex-Marine who called himself “Father Yod” and became convinced (and convinced his followers) that he was the Son of God. His group of beautiful and idealistic young people were the darlings of the Sunset Strip celebrity world, and actually recorded and released many albums of freaky, semi-improvised psychedelic trance-rock music which have gone on to be some of the most valuable and collectible underground rock albums ever released. Eventually The Source Family’s outsider ideals and their spiritual leader’s multiple, underage “wives” became an issue with local authorities. They fled to Hawaii, which wound up leading to a bizarre and deadly conclusion to their idyllic existence. The filmmakers tracked down many of the surviving members of this infamous “love cult” to learn what became of them after the Family broke up, and the film features tons of rare and never-before-seen vintage photographs, home movies and audio recordings made by The Source Family in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

PRICES:

$10 per film

$9 per film WITH STUDENT ID

(includes your choice of Assorted Candy/Snacks or Organic Popcorn)

$7 for the 11PM Saturday “Mystery Screening”

(includes your choice of Assorted Candy/Snacks or Organic Popcorn)

$50 Gold Discount Pass (includes admission to all 7 films, and is transferable, so you can let friends borrow it) 

PreOrder Tickets From Psychotronic Film Society at

http://strangebuttruefilmfest.bpt.me/

 

Ages: All films are most suitable for Mature Viewers aged 15+

Earlier Event: January 15
Comedy Night in the Courtyard
Later Event: January 16
The Dark Crystal (1982)