Nerd alert! This is the inaugural year of Rochester’s first
genre film festival, Anomaly. Anomaly is the brainchild of local festival
organizers, filmmakers, designers, artists, and writers: Matt DeTurck, Adam Lubitow (CITY’s
film critic) Meghan Murphy, Matt Knotts, Erin Murphy,
Kristin Pelc-Pacheco, Vanessa J. Cheeks, Eric Maira, and John “Magnus” Champlin.
The group says they just generally love the strange, maniacal, and what may
very well be the next cult classic.
The
organizers specify that this year, they’re showcasing independent films from
the genres of horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, dark comedy, and some
titles that blend more than one genre (namely supernatural thrillers and, yes,
supernatural rom-coms).
“Our lineup
highlights the breadth of what ‘genre’ movies are,” says co-organizer Adam Lubitow. “We’re not only showing horror films — although
trust me, we’ve absolutely got blood and guts if you want that — but we also
have movies that will make you laugh and cry, and look at the world in a
completely different way.”
The lineup
includes films that have screened this year at some of the most prestigious
festivals in the world: Sundance, Cannes, South by Southwest, Venice, Toronto,
Fantastic Fest, and others. “And most, if not all, of these won’t be screened
in Rochester again,” Lubitow says.
The festival
includes 10 feature films and a program of 20 shorts
from around the world, and it runs from Friday, November 8, to Sunday, November
10, at the Cinema Theater. Individual tickets for each of the screenings is
$10, and festival passes are also available for $70. Tickets can be purchased
directly from the festival website at anomalyfilmfest.com.
When CITY
met with the organizers to get the scoop on the lineup, we also we discussed
the importance of a collective experience — of watching a movie in the theater
rather than streaming privately like we often do today — and what that means in
the digital age, when everyone has access to their own personal, portable
screens. Perhaps horror films in particular are the best example of how shared
(though naturally voyeuristic) emotions such as fear and aversion are
communally cathartic, like how seeing a Stanley Kubrick film in theaters is a
wildly different experience than watching it at home.
Anomaly’s
organizers want to repopularize instances when the
audience jolts in unison during a jump scare, and when viewers’ manners mirror
one another (tightened jaws and straightened postures). In part, this
experience has to do with the lack of control over sound, lighting, and for
reasons pertaining to etiquette (such as not being able to text or talk for the
sake of distraction).
But whatever
vulnerability we feel in the theater, it’s felt as a group — unlike in our
shuttered, private spaces — and genre films embrace the concept of collective
excitement.
Though it’s
the festival’s first year, the creators have organized after-parties at local
nightlife spots, as well as guest appearances, which include Zach Shildwachter, co-writer of the sci-fi action film, “Labrys”; and Rochester filmmaker Jack Beck, writer-director
of the sci-fi fantasy, “Stari Grad (Old Town).” Both
screen as part of the “Shocking! Spooky! Saturday Shorts” program on Saturday, November 9, at 10:15 a.m.
Prior to the
screening of “Extra Ordinary” on Saturday night,
editor Mark Di Stefano will introduce the locally-produced,
horror-comedy-skater short “Night of the Living Shred.”
Actor Tom
Williamson and writer Matthew McArdle will be present
for a Q&A following the 9 p.m. screening of the action flick “VFW” on Saturday night. (That showing is presented in
partnership with nationally-known, Rochester-based horror t-shirt company Fright-Rags.)
And on
Sunday, writer-director Vivienne Vaughn, composer Andrew Scott Bell, and
co-director Zach Shildwachter will participate in a
Q&A following the special US preview screening of the holiday horror
anthology film “Deathcember.” This screening will be the first chance for audiences to see the film anywhere
in North America.
What follows
is a brief peek at a few of this year’s selections.
Director Adam Egypt Mortimer brings us face to face with the
traumas that come with mental illness in “Daniel
Isn’t Real.” The film experiments with literal interpretations of
what are often metaphors for depression, mania, and delirium — inner demons
manifest, personal prisons materialize, and a protagonist jumps into the actual
abyss. After nearly killing his own mother, main character Luke (Miles Robbins)
locks up his childhood imaginary friend Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger).
Several years later, in college, Daniel is freed. The direction in this
psychological thriller is reminiscent of “Drop Dead Fred” and “Fight Club.” A
modern critique of the film could pose questions about the violent, white,
three-dimensional, male protagonist whose violence is impelled by mental
illness. (Friday, November 8, 6:30 p.m.)
A small
village in Brazil is erased from the map, denied access to clean water, and
loses cell phone service, inexplicably. UFOs appear and bikers spy on
civilians. The Brazilian film “Bacurau” is not easily categorized, and it’s likely to be most appreciated by Black
Mirror and Twilight Zone enthusiasts, as it integrates dystopian, futuristic,
thriller, and science fiction themes. Directed by KleberMendonçaFilho and JulianoDornelles, the film was
notably the winner of the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. (Saturday, November 9, 1 p.m.)
Bring your goofiest,
Monty-Python-quoting friend out on Saturday night to see the hilariously
haunted “Extra Ordinary,” an Irish film
directed by Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. The story
centers on gifted medium Rose (Maeve Higgins) as she uses her talents to help
the desperate Martin (Barry Ward) who is being haunted by his recently departed
wife. The script serves jokes so fast you might miss them if you’re not paying
attention — and everything is on the table, including sexual innuendos, jokes
about infanticide, and “ex-wifercisms.” Considered a
paranormal rom-com, nearly every line is quotable.
(Saturday, November 9, 6:30 p.m.)
Rachel
Crawford is a freelance writer for CITY. Feedback on this article can be sent
to Rebecca Rafferty, CITY’s arts & entertainment editor, at becca@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2019.
