Part of Winter 1998
BAD BOY, BAD BOY, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you? Cop shows, psychic hotlines, televangelism, phone sex, and infomercials have created a late night TV dreamscape shaping that obscure state of Proustian consciousness on the threshold of sleep. Seduced and sedated by a vortex of road maps, sirens, wet horny ladies and dance music, it is still sometimes remembered that catastrophe is all around us Ñ what is happening to my body? This program addresses syndromes, spectacles and news events which have come to be defined as ‘millennial trends’ reflecting a cultural neurosis shaped by the turning of the year 2000.
Two potent video loop by Canadian artists Laura Baird and Taras Polataiko launch the evening’s line up. Followed by the Canadian premiere of Sam Green’s slick documentary, Rainbow Man which details the rise and ultimate breakdown of one media-darling-religious paranoiac as he bounces through the network sporting a large rainbow-coloured afro-wig spreading the Apocalyptic word of John. From the UK come two brainy dance pieces by Alison Murray, blending dreams of pop music, TV cop culture and nightmarish narratives of violation and panic. Thailand’s own Michael Shaowanasai’s jocular video infomercials instruct us in the aesthetic of Asian exoticism, and finally, emerging LA Super 8 filmmaker Tony Nittoli exposes the thoroughly disgusting exchange between himself and his pet parrot. (More titles TBA)
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Fame Whore by Jon Moritsugu
Friday, March 6, 10 pm
Fame Whore is Moritsugu doing Altman with little money and no taste. This soap-operatic saga explores the paranoid, career-obsessed lives of a homophobic tennis star, a yuppie pothead with misguided plans to take over the art and fashion world, and an Anthony Perkins-inspired animal rights activist who works at the city dog pound. A punk moral comedy for the age of Melrose Place and multi-million dollar corporate sponsorships. What happens when we over-identify with our careers to the point of extreme paranoia and delusion by the director of Der Elvis, Sleazy Rider, Terminal USA and Mod Fuck Explosion.
