Dancing zombies highlight film festival

Finding quality, entertaining films is a difficult process. Sure, there are plenty of romance and zombie movies at the video store, but what about a romantically themed zombie film?

Like a little kick in your pornography? Why not a kung fu movie with porn stars? Enter the Montana Independent Film Festival, starting this Friday at the Wilma Theatre.
“Montana’s a cool state and needs somewhere to show edgy films,” said festival co-director Alesha Noice.

The festival showcases 32 national and international films from up-and-coming directors. The movies begin Friday afternoon and run through Sunday evening.
“These are indie films and not rated, so you never know what’s going to happen,” Noice said.

Noice developed the film festival with co-director G.R. Claveria. The two Hollywood, Calif., residents are well-grounded in film: Clavaria has made independent films for many years and has also taught humanities and multimedia classes at the university level; Noice wrote children’s games online and has also co-written some of Clavaria’s movies.

Noice, a Kalispell native, said she had problems finding a venue to show friends and family “A Study in the Orientation of Han Sum (The Erotic Samurai),” the film she created with Clavaria. Since there are few outlets for independent movies, they established their own festival, she said.

Noice knew that “Missoula is the cultural mecca of the state,” Clavaria said. “Having it in Missoula was definitely her idea.”

One festival genre, the mockumentary, is close to Clavaria’s heart. “A Study in the Orientation of Han Sum (The Erotic Samurai)” will make its Montana debut at the festival after winning the Best Mockumentary award at the 2006 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.

The film tells the tale of an Asian male in the adult entertainment business. While not featuring actual pornography, the Spinal Tap-style film does have cameos from several porn stars and offers great laughs, Clavaria said.

Festivalgoers can also look forward to the decidedly more serious mockumentary “Long Pigs.” Director and producer Nathan Hynes’ film was inspired by a murderer from his hometown in Newfoundland.

While in his 20s, Hynes interviewed the killer, experiencing manipulation and terror in the process.

It “blew up in my face,” the now 34-year-old Hynes said, describing the documentary’s eventual failure.

However, the incident led Hynes and co-producer Chris Tower to produce “Long Pigs,” a mockumentary focusing on two filmmakers who follow a cannibal as he finds his meals. The film is very realistic in tone and violent in some parts, Hynes said.

“We really smack you upside the head with the effects,” Hynes said of the film’s gory scenes.

While Hynes views his movie as more of a black comedy than a horror film, its graphic images of cannibalism may scare some.
“It’s cannibalistically accurate,” Hynes said.

The filmmakers actually researched cannibalistic practices online to add more detail to the film, he explained.

Cannibalism isn’t the only course on the festival menu this year. Fans of musicals can feast on Yfke Van Berckelaer’s film “Zombie Love.”

“It’s about a zombie boy who falls in love with a human girl, and wants to be human as well,” said Van Berckelaer, a Hollywood, Calif., resident.

The zombie’s friends have other plans and singing, dancing and brain eating ensue.

While the film is rather tongue-in-cheek and violent, it does have a romantic side, Van Berckelaer said.

“During one showing, I watched a couple in the front row get closer and closer together,” she said.

“Dancing Ground” is the only movie in this year’s lineup filmed in Montana. Most of the festival’s films were submitted through online marketing company Withoutabox and few Montanan films were sent in, Clavaria said.

“We would have loved one-third to one-half of the films to be Montanan,” Noice said. “Hopefully, next year more Montanans will submit.”

The festival starts with “Dancing Ground” at 5:30 p.m. The 15-minute film was shot in Judith Gap, near Big Timber, Mont., film producer and director Tobin Addington said.

It tells the story of a small-town sheriff who must take his rebellious son on a road trip. Addington, who grew up in Missoula but now lives in New York, said he was inspired by childhood hunting trips with his father to Miles City.

“The movie’s about a father reconnecting with his son,” Addington said.

Clavaria said the festival would be divided into theme-based movie blocks such as “Proud to Be…” and “Adults Only.” Each block is roughly 3.5 hours long. Prizes, such as best picture, will be awarded on Sunday.

“I hope it sparks this element of filmmaking in the state,” Clavaria said. “There’s great stories that have to be told from here.”