Smart, Clean, Raw

What an Indie Movie Should Be

by Kathleen McInnis | Published March 31, 1998

Where The Elephant Sits

Homo Heights

Any film with a title like this has got to have its day on screen. Debuting Director Sara Moore has fashioned a campy romp out of solid performances and workable narrative. Don't get too far ahead though, this is not an art-house film-it's high art in The Rocky Horror Picture Show style with an element of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert thrown in for good measure. Quentin Crisp tackles his first lead role as the kidnapped, aging diva; the rest of the cast takes delightful turns going to one extreme after another. Distributors who know their market will find mega bucks and devoted fans if they get this film to the masses. Contact: Lehmann-Moore Productions, Inc. tel: 612.822.1240

Pariah

As hard as it is to watch, Director/Writer Randolph Kret's film does exactly what it's supposed to do: it violently forces the audience to encounter the world of skinheads and white racists. Kret bases the film on several personal tragedies that happened to both his family and that of his producer, Vince Rotonda. The film begins with a skinhead's attack on an interracial couple. The attack leads to suicide and guilt; after being raped the woman kills herself, and her boyfriend is overwhelmed by rage and the need for revenge. What follows is an uncompromising foray into the world of racism and hate. Utilizing strong camerawork and acting, Kret is able to offer up straightforward condemnation without editorializing, and everyone (gay, straight, black, white) has a reason to go over the edge. A few problems may get in the way of wide distribution: an annoying disclaimer at the end is useless and demeaning and dilutes the power of the script; some pivotal moments for the lead character are difficult for the actor to execute (and therefore unbelievable), and distrib's will probably have a hard time finding a way to market this style. Still, Kret's camera usage and writing ability prove he is a director to follow. Contact: Shaun Hill, Pro- ducer tel: 213.650.6832

Where the Elephant Sits

Burn

Director/Writer Mark Lowenthal did some- thing no one else has done when his script won the Nicholl Award. Shot on location in L.A., Lowenthal made the film in conjunction with an intensive acting workshop he held for six weeks at a middle school. He involved 370 students and ended up casting the kids in his film about a teacher who finds an elephant has taken up residence in his inner-city school class room. A heartening drama, the film's true stars are the handful of kids who play the students; their striking freshness engages the viewer as much as any film featuring child actors in recent memory. Lowenthal wisely chose to make the ending as honest as it needed to be; his voice-over narration is a bit cloying and is better left out, but distrib's and the festival circuit will find the rest of Where The Elephant Sits an audience pleaser. Contact: Mark Lowenthal, tel: 310.829.0822

Burn

David Hayter says he has "girlie hair and a gimpy eye," but when you see him in the new film, Burn, it's his compelling work with fellow actor Randall Slavin that will stick in your memory. A drama about control and dominance, Burn is the film of the '90s-smart, dark, desocialized and completely addictive. Two writers in a one-room apartment slug it out both literally and figuratively over the course of one week. Executive produced by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects), Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) and Steve Jensen, the film is exactly what indie films should be: smart, clean, uncomfortable and raw. As Director Scott Storm says, "this is something to get lost in." In Singer's words: "This is a scary story; the notion of the creative process turned into something dangerous, vicious and ugly." The film is booked for the Seattle International Film Festival in May. For more information: 818.506.0462

Surrender Dorothy

Six-String Samuri

In the post-apocalyptic nuclear world of Six-String Samurai, all superheroes wear glasses a la Buddy Holly while roving packs of Tom Petty rock 'n roller look-alikes roam the desert just outside the promised land of Lost Vegas. An epic classic, Six-String Samurai is more fun than one film deserves to be and wields a sword just as well (and as often) as a guitar. Screening at Slamdance, the film won numerous awards and very positive audience reaction. For more information: Lance Mungia 310.410.9138

Surrender Dorothy

Surrender Dorothy wants you to think you have a choice, but this twisted Grand Jury Prize winner at Slamdance is really a psycho/sexual black comedy about no choice whatsoever. The concept of the Alpha male was never as striking as in this story about the troubled relationship between two nominally straight men as one of them coerces the other into becoming Dorothy, the ideal girlfriend. Bold, crafted, subversively executed, the film defines the word "edgy." For more information: Richard Goldberg 215.928.0702 MM