KT 074 : A Long [Trash] Day's Journey into [Trash] Night
Tabacco straddles 'haute' and 'faible' culture with Melbourne's infamous trash duo
Trash Night presents Trash Day
Doors: 1:30pm
Opening DJ Set by Executive Dysfunction: 2pm
Death Bed: The Bed That Eats: 2:30pm
Dogface: A Trap House Horror + Q&A: 4:10pm
War is Menstrual Envy: 6pm
Dinner break: 7:15pm
Secret Film/Variant + Q&A: 7:45pm
See the latest from ‘Trash Day’ here
Words by Andrew Tabacco
It becomes apparent in my chat to Trash Night and Static Vision’s Kai Perrignon and (I think just Static Vision’s) Felix Hubble that I don’t get it.
As many can attest, my role as KinoTopia’s co-editor, my jobs at [redacted] and [redacted], and of course, my general living of the ‘la vida loca’ means that I simply don’t have time or let alone the mental bandwidth to indulge in shows like The Bear, films like Civil War and unfortunately the many films that have been swept into the ‘trash’ genre.
For those who know me, many of the films I watch both here and abroad are glossy arthouse titles that are made, or at least intended for international festival consumption and potential acquisition from desperate arthouse distributors fanging for the next Parasite. In my watching of said films, I often tend to use a few certain markers as to whether it’ll demand my attention; such prerequisites include what I would deem as good lighting, colour grades and acting.
Having read a lot of Interview Magazine in the past month, I wanted to try to approach the interview as a ‘question and answer’ type piece. Where I, the cineaste, chats to Trash Night, the provocateurs about why any of KinoTopia’s sophisticated readership should venture to West Brunswick to watch such seemingly low-brow offerings. This idea was quickly destroyed when my loaded questions (see below) demanded more than a crowd pleasing two line answer (see any Interview Magazine piece).
‘Why would our readers, who are some of the most sophisticated cinephiles in Melbourne, want to watch a film that looks like shit?’ - Andrew Tabacco
I’ve heard of the No Wave movement, I’ve seen John Waters talk at the Arts Centre (not the most trash / independent venue thinking about it now) and for my sins I've seen Jobe’z World, but that is where my knowledge of the trash oeuvre ends. Through my 20-something minute chat, it became very apparent that not only my knowledge but my entire approach to cinema may be lacking.
Having not bothered transcribing and instead just roughly paraphrasing (i’m busy) moments from the discussion, the term that struck me was ‘non-traditional’. Once you (me) replace reductive adverbs that like ‘good, bad and dog-shit’ and instead look at the cinema from a non-tradition basis, there is so much more going on to these films that what, for better or worse, catches the eye.
Starting with a 2pm DJ set up from Executive Dysfunction, Trash Day offers four films that transcend genre and for most people, good taste. Opening the festival will be George Barry’s infamous b-movie Death Bed: The Bed that Eats, which it turns out I've actually seen on Daily Motion in my earlier years. Inspired by a dream, the title says a lot but not all when it comes to this oddly intellectual cult classic. Next up is the feature debut from the impressively credited Atlanta based assistant-director turned full blown director, Felix Jordan’s Dogface: A Trap House Horror. Found in the catacombs that is the Tubi film library, what Dogface lacks in traditional filmmaking techniques it makes up for in its Inland Empire-coded disregard for formality.
Next up is the “unclassifiable pure vibes object” that is Nick Zedd’s War is Menstrual Envy. Starring legendary performance artist Kembra Pfahler, according to a number of articles on the web I believe the film follows a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world who try to communicate with dolphins whilst another group set out to destroy all religions. Although in a quote about the film, Nick Zedd seems to allude that it is the survivors and the dolphins that bring about the destruction of religion. Either way, the title should be enough for most people.
Lastly, closing out the festival is the no-budget shot-on-video gore fest Variant which will be accompanied by a secret film. Shot by VFX artist and director Joe Meredith, Variant is Meredith’s fourth film featuring some sort of alien invasion or virus and his fourth film in general. Judging by the description and images on IMDB, it seems Variant has the potential to outshine War is Menstrual Envy and the opening DJ act as the day’s most vulgar offering.
The films on show at Trash Day, which I can safely assume very few of our KT readers will recognise, may raise alarms for those without a lore degree in independent cinema. There is nothing worse than watching a film, not having a clue why and feeling like you’re the only person in the room who doesn’t get it. This alienating phenomena can be attributed to the notion of the ‘the performative cinephile’, which can be identified at cinemas in Naarm (most often the loud one at any Monday evening screening at Nova, or anyone who either cites Edward Yang’s Yi Yi as their fave film, proudly owns Nick Pinkerton’s zine or god forbid have made it known that have indeed watched Music by Angela Schanelec). From literally minutes into my discussion, I realised that this isn’t that type of event and Felix and Kai ain’t about that life. Instead, it felt like they they just want people to come and appreciate these often derided and ignored films for what they are, films.
Yes there will be some vaguely condescending laughing as nonsensical dialogue fills the room but these four films are steeped in unique film history that perfectly encapsulate the beauty of the genre. When I see a film where a bed eats people, Trash Night sees a film that has been discovered and re-discovered again and again over time, going from a film impossible to watch to a staple of b-movie genre pulp. Or behind the seemingly trashy and poorly made slasher about a guy who metamorphoses into a part man part dog, there is a curious story about how a young filmmaker who has worked on films like Avengers came to make such an oddly original film or how it somehow managed to become a hit in the graveyard for no-budget indies: Tubi.
If anything viewers might stumble onto the important historical can of worms that is the Nick Zedd’s ‘Cinema of Transgression’ underground film movement or Zedd’s subsequent manifesto about the movement. Or after watching Variant, someone might happen to stumble onto Meredith’s IMDB page and notice the curiously titled 2021 horror anthology film Symbolicus Part 1, and in turn be introduced to the creator of the project, whoever the hell the ‘extreme horror maestro Marcus Koch’ is. And to this humble writer, that is the heart and soul of the festival. Transcending the simple consumption of ‘trashy’ films, ‘Trash Night’ is a celebration of experimentation, discovery, and ‘fucked-up shit’, revelling in the untapped brilliance of the weird and the wonderful.
WEEKLY FILM LISTINGS
18 July - 25 July
Film Festivals:
Trash Day @ Static Vision HQ here
Scandinavian Film Festival here
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival here
Focus on Ken Loach
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Ken Loach, 2006
Screening Fri 19 July, 6:30pm
Riff-Raff
Ken Loach, 1991
Screening Sat 20 July, 4pm
Kes
Ken Loach, 1969
Screening Sun 21 July, 2pm
Matinees
Banel & Adama
Ramata-Toulaye Sy, 2023
Screening Fri - Sun
No Screenings this Week
ASTOR CINEMA
Kinds of Kindness (35mm Presentation)
Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024
Screening Daily
Longlegs
Oz Perkins, 2024
Screening Daily
The Riot (Scandinavian Film Festival Opening Night)
Nils Gaup, 2023
Screening Fri 19 July, 6:30pm
BBBC CINEMA (GALLERYGALLERY BRUNSWICK)
Closed for winter
Cléo from 5 to 7
Agnès Varda, 1962,
Screening Wed 24 July, 6:00pm
CHINATOWN CINEMA
Life Hotel
Bo Wen Liu, 2024
Screening Mon 22 July, 2:55pm
Crisis Negotiators
Herman Yau, 2024
Screening Tues 23 July, 1:15pm
Customs Frontline
Herman Yao, 2024
Screening Wed 24 July, 3:30pm
CINÉ-CLUB (Carlton)
Closed for winter
No screening this week
Totem
Lila Avilés, 2024
Screening Fri-Sun
Beat Street
Stan Lathan, 1984
Screening Daily
Anatomy of a Fall
Justine Triet, 2023
Screening Tue 23 July, 11:30am
To Live and Die in L.A.
William Friedkin, 1985
Screening Daily
Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder, 1950
Screening Thurs, Fri, Mon, Tues
The Road to Patagonia
Matty Hannon, 2024
Screening Thurs, Mon, Tues
The Convert
Lee Tamahori, 2024
Screening Daily
Kinds of Kindness
Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024
Screening Daily
Longlegs
Oz Perkins, 2024
Screening Daily
Divertimento
Maire-Castille Mention-Schaar, 2022
Screening Daily
Maxxxine
Ti West, 2024
Screening Daily
The Bikeriders
Jeff Nichols, 2024
Screening Daily
Sidonie in Japan
Élise Girard, 2023
Screening Daily - Exclusive to Nova
North by Northwest
Alfred Hitchcock, 1959
Screening Daily
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Kevin Costner, 2024
Screening Fri and Mon
Sunflower
Gabriel Carrubba, 2023
Screening Daily
The Beast
Bertrand Bonello, 2023
Screening Daily
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller, 2024
Screening Daily
The Way, My Way
Bill Bennett, 2024
Screening Fri, Sat, Tues
Birdeater
Jim Weir, 2024
Screening Daily
Housekeeping for Beginners
Goran Stolevski, 2023
Screening daily
Monster
Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2023
Screening daily
Fremont
Babak Jalali, 2023
Screening Wed 24 July, 12:55pm
VVitch, The + Lighthouse, The
Robert Eggers, 2015 + 2019
Screening Tue 23 July, 7:00pm
The Taste of Things
Tran Anh Hung, 2023
Screening Daily
Challengers
Luca Guadagnino, 2024
Screening Daily
La Chimera
Alice Rohrwacher, 2023
Screening Daily
Fallen Leaves
Aki Kaurismäki, 2022
Screening Fri and Wed
Perfect Days
Wim Wenders, 2023
Screening Daily
DOGMILK DEGUSTATIONS: @ Miscellania
No screening week
No screening week
GAY24 (Bar Flippy’s)
No screening this week
HITLIST (9 Gertrude St, Fitzroy)
Shut for now
LIDO / CLASSIC / CAMEO
Events
Check sites for rep titles
General Release
Longlegs
Oz Perkins, 2024
Screening Daily
Birdeater
Jack Clark & Jim Weir, 2024
Screening Daily
Kinds of Kindness
Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024
Screening Daily
Maxxxine
Ti West, 2024
Screening Daily
The Bikeriders
Jeff Nichols, 2024
Screening Daily
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Kevin Costner, 2024
Screening Daily
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line
Paul Clarke, 2024
Screening Daily
Sunflower
Gabriel Carrubba, 2023
Screening Daily
Divertimento
Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, 2024
Screening Daily
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller, 2024
Screening Daily
Challengers
Luca Guadagnino, 2024
Screening Daily
The Convert
Lee Tamahori, 2024
Screening Daily
Late Night with the Devil
Cairnes Brothers’, 2023
Screening Daily
Sting
Kiah Roache-Turner, 2024
Screening Daily
OVA CLUB
No screening this week
THE MELBOURNE CINÉMATHÈQUE (ACMI)
Santa Claus has Blue Eyes
Jean Eustache, 1966
Screening Wed 24 July 6:30pm
+
Une Sale Historie
Jean Eustache, 1977
Wed 24 July 8:20pm
+
Numéro Zéro
Jean Eustache, 1971
Wed 24 July,
TOP OF THE HEAP (Tramway Hotel)
No screening this week
No screening this week
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY: SCREENING IDEAS
No screening this week
PALACE BALWYN / BRIGHTON / COMO / KINO / PENTRIDGE / MOONEE PONDS / WESTGARTH
Palace’s Saxo-Scandinavian Film Festival. More info here
General Release
The Bikeriders
Jeff Nichols, 2024
Screening Daily
Birdeater
Jim Weir, 2024
Screening Daily
Longlegs
Oz Perkins, 2024
Screening Daily
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Kevin Costner, 2024
Screening Daily
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line
Paul Clarke, 2024
Screening Daily
Sunflower
Gabriel Carrubba, 2023
Screening Daily
A Quiet Place: Day One
Michael Sarnoski, 2024
Screening Daily
The Convert
Lee Tamahori, 2024
Screening Daily
Radical
Christopher Zalla, 2023
Screening Thursday
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller, 2024
Screening Daily
A Great Friend
Eric Besnard, 2023
Screening Daily
The Way, My Way
Bill Bennett, 2024
Screening Daily
The Three Musketeers: D'artagnan
Martin Bourboulon, 2023
Screening Daily
The Taste of Things
Tran Anh Hung, 2023
Screening Daily
Challengers
Luca Guadagnino, 2024
Screening Daily
Read the piece
No listings this week / click link above to see what’s on (their site too hard to navigate)
Don’t Look Now
Nicholas Roeg, 1973
Screening Thurs 25th, 6:10pm
Longlegs
Oz Perkins, 2024
Screening Daily
Kinds of Kindness
Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024
Screening Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun, Tue, Wed
Twisters
Lee Isaac Chung, 2024
Screening Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun, Tue, Wed
The Bikeriders
Jeff Nichols, 2024
Screening Wed
Inside Out 2
Kelsey Mann, 2024
Screening Fri
Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line
Paul Clarke, 2024
Screening Sun
A Quiet Place: Day One
Michael Sarnoski, 2024
Screening Wed
UNKNOWN PLEASURES @ Thornbury Picture House
No screening this week