A bit MIFFed then go get MUFFed

As the dust settles on another MIFF you know that MUFF is just around the corner.
2013 is the year of the 14th Melbourne Underground Film Festival, born out of Richard Wolstencroft's frustration at Melbourne's showcase festival he has nurtured and grown a festival that aims to truly support the independent filmmakers of his home town and further afield too.

Surely, Poster of the year?

The program has gone live and is available on the web site and contains some pretty wild stuff including a doco by the Director himself 'The Last Days of Joe Blow' which at the very least will be worth a listen with the soundtrack coming from David Thrussell (remember SNOG?)

I want to just highlight a few films that I know and recommend.
For me the most exciting is MADE IN AUSTRALIA, Matt Pastor's latest feature. I aint going to go into it fully in this post but the chance to see it on the big screen is one not to be missed.
Teetering on the thin line of doco and drama, this is a self reflective journey of identity, love, sex, booze and abuse. Love to fuck and fuck to love, loath to love and love to loath.
Be it in Hong Kong or Melbourne Matt wears his influence on his sleeve be it a tad Sion Sono or stuck in a Hong Sang-soo loop. As the program says "a fascinating and raw film"

The bonus is that it is screening with his Hong Kong short 鬼佬 (Ghost Man)

Another cracker to catch is Maria Tran's Hit Girls which I covered in a previous post.
Some of the best girl on girl kung fu action to come out of West Sydney in a long time...or ever?
and there is another Hong Kong connection, JuJu Chan bangs it out alongside Maria.

JuJu Chan & Maria Tran star in Hit Girls

 Lastly I want to mention the twins, Chris & Rob Smellin, two of the most earnest and diligent filmmakers I've had the pleasure to know. Oh and they make pretty good films too.
The laugh is that they have two films in the festival this year....get it, they're twins!!!!!!
oh and the films are both pretty fucked up pieces. Creepy, bloody and kinda confronting.
She's Having a Baby is totally about damaged goods and
Last Night has the damaged goods looking for vengence.
These guys just get better and better with every film they make and the great thing is that they get seen all around the world too. You could call them festival favourites but it sounds a bit tossy, don't it? But their list of festival credits, for every film they have made, is the longest that I know.

These last three are all showing in what is called Mini MUFF and I'm sure they are surrounded by other great shorts but I'll let you discover that.

MUFF XIV September 6th to 14th at Revolt Cinemas 1 & 2 Check it!