Cinedelphia Announces 2014 Film Festival Lineup
Cinedelphia returns for its second go-round on April 10th, with more than two weeks and 35 events worth of weird and wild underground film. Presented by Cinedelphia and PhilaMOCA‘s Eric Bresler and his found-footage outlet, Video Pirates, this year’s festival expands the theme of Philly film to include lost and found celluloid oddities from places far and near. Since last year’s debut, the film festival has gained a following, leading Bresler to enact some changes.
“I programmed last year’s Cinedelphia Film Festival around the theme of ‘Philadelphia,’ all of the 40-some-odd programs had something to do with Philly. I did a couple programs as part of that under my Video Pirates moniker — it’s a live video-based comedy show that I do, funny clips from ’80s/’90s television and VHS tapes that I edit together. Video Pirates has really taken off since last April, so I decided to present this year’s CFF under that name, which has opened up the programming possibilities immensely.”
Not to worry, though, Bresler is keeping it local as much as he’s keeping it weird. Bresler says there are still plenty of Philadelphia picks, including the movie 1983 lost: Video Wars, a just-recovered Philly-shot could-be classic, and then there’s the freaky children’s fare, like 1965’s Fun in Balloonland (trailer below.)
Bresler also highlights some notable additions, including “public access program retrospectives, worthwhile amateur filmmaking endeavors, a bunch of films that challenge the concept of what a film is (such as 256colors, a film made entirely of animated GIFs)” and a Star Wars Tribute comprised entirely of fan-made clips.
For the most part, this is not your standard multiplex marathon. Much of the lineup is rarely shown or previously unseen, and made up of the kind of expertly curated curios only Video Pirates could pull together. Bresler has high hopes for this years festival, the product of a lot of hard work and editing. “I’m really proud and happy to be introducing the Philly public to a lot of these programs that would have otherwise never made their way to our city. It’s gonna be a wild time!”
The festival runs April 10th through April 27th. Tickets are available here. Here’s the lineup of films so far:
Thursday, April 10, 7:30 PM – Opening Night Film
VIDEO WARS (1983) – A virtually lost (it doesn’t even have an IMDb listing) Philly-shot spy spoof from the early 1980s with members of the cast and crew in attendance!
Friday, April 11, 8:00 PM
VIDEO PIRATES: LIFE OF PIA – World Premiere of the latest feature-length Video Pirates presentation, a multimedia celebration of the life of ‘80s icon Pia Zadora! Six months in the making!
Friday, April 11, 10:00 PM
TRIPLE FISHER – Philadelphia Premiere of this metadrama mashup of three early ‘90s Amy Fisher biopics; director Dan Kapelovitz in attendance.
Friday, April 11, Midnight
THE THREEE GENIUSES: A RETROSPECTIVE – A guided history of the legendary L.A.-based public access show plus bonus short work from Genius Dan.
Saturday, April 12, 1:00 PM
7 FACES OF DR. LAO (1964) – 50th Anniversary Screening of the classic family-friendly fantasy film starring Tony Randall in seven roles; FREE ADMISSION!
Saturday, April 12, 3:30 PM
THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER Double Feature – Featuring the Philly Premiere of the documentary PERSISTENCE OF VISION, chronicling the struggle to make THIEF AND THE COBBLER, followed by a special “Recobbled Cut” of the tortured masterpiece.
Saturday, April 12, 7:30 PM
TRIPPY KIDDIE DOUBLE FEATURE – Featuring the ultra rare Philly-shot oddity FUN IN BALLOONLAND (1965) plus the wild THE SECRET OF MAGIC ISLAND (1957) starring an all-animal cast.
Saturday, April 12, Midnight
GETEVEN (1993/2007) – Philly Premiere of L.A.-based trial lawyer John De Hart’s gleefully inept acting/writing/directing debut. For fans of THE ROOM, DEADLY PREY, etc.
Sunday, April 13, 7:30 PM
AXE (1974) + KIDNAPPED COED (1976) Double Feature – A digitally remastered showcase of the regional horror films of North Carolina’s Frederick R. Friedel, presented by Danger After Dark.
Thursday, April 17, 10:00 PM
MR. MIKE’S MONDO VIDEO (1979) – Special 35th Anniversary screening of Michael O’Donoghue’s sketch-filled MONDO CANE parody featuring a host of guest stars from Bill Murray to Klaus Nomi to Sid Vicious.
Sunday, April 27, 3:00 PM
THE WIZARD (1989) with a Nintendo World Championship reenactment – 25th-anniversary screening of THE WIZARD with a live video game tournament! Attendees compete for prizes!
