Furrious Film Festival 2007

[miokalia]

[[[Last year at exactly this time, I started a film festival thread. So here is a new one for this year. Yay.



Here's how it works:
(from last year's instructions)

You can post films as replies. You can post as many as you want, (as long as it's within reason) but make sure that you only have one film per reply. In the reply be sure to put the name of the film, the nation from where it came (where the film would have been distributed first), the genre or format (be as technical as you like), and most importantly, a description or synopsis of the film. If you feel particularly creative, you can even write an extensive visual description of the major scenes, or whatever. This is very open-ended. Go ahead and have fun!]]]

[miokalia]

[[[To get things started]]]

Staorch
Director, Screenwritter: Tamihoy Mikagu-Tilje
Producer: Satie Dufong
Nation of Origin: Miokalia
Genre: Art, Personable Drama
Release Date: 3/5/2007 (2199 M.AC)
Length: 95 minutes
Language: Kohtohkhan, (English Subtitles and Dub version availible)
Format: Mostly Color 16mm, parts include PXL2K (B/W, early analog video), Color Multi-R 1:1 science stock.


Synopsis:
Staorch follows the doomed love affair between a grey fox from Atrias and an RM10 R-class Malych military unit.
The film takes place in 1979, just north of the NCR.
When the 'M10 is dispatched to one of the many local guerilla conflicts at the time, the two are ripped apart. Eventually the RM10 is severely damaged. Using it's last amount of evergy, the two lovers travel great distances to meet eachother. Then they both die.

Soundtrack[/b]:
Downtempo with heavy 70's documentary melody refferencing, ambient analog synth music and piano by
'Boards of Cal'

Stylistic description[/b]
Staorch uses a great deal of stylization at every single chance. There isn't a single normal scene in the whole movie. Everything is very heavy, under constantly changing contrast and filled with a glowing fog and a kind of softness that shows substantial effort was put into every frame for maximum visual impact.
This is not unlike the surrealist and maximalist cinema which is typical for Miokalia.
The movie spends about 10% of it's time in a small, very fuzzy and low-resolution PXL2K B&W format, the combination of very precisely flawed footage fits the very deliberately shifting detune of the soundtrack. Director Mikagu-Tilje (not related to the senator of similar name) is a master of crafting a visceral, unspoken tension in this film.

[The Union of Tinis]

Mragad Didrogjak'sta Inxapi (The Ominous Bell)
Director:[/u] Azzur Ist Vandom
Screenwritter: Movi Inxtral
Nation of Origin: Tinis
Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction
Release Date: 2/28/2007
Length: 86 minutes
Language: Prefecturian
Format: Color, 16mm

Synopsis:
Mragad Didrogjak'sta Inxapi takes place in the ending days of the nation of Venerable Prefectures. In a pre-federation city of Altzan, Dolski Montrada, a well off business hedgehog is doing his best to preserve his assets as he sees his country coming apart after the immigration of many of the other upper class to the Neralli cities. Dolski comes home one day to find his wife murdered. He garners the help of Officer Ulric Ton, one of the last officers of the local police force who hasn't thrown in the towel after the department's funding ceased coming in. As the rule of law breaks down, Ton makes it his duty to find Dolski's wife's killer. But the killer they find is someone they both know very well.

Soundtrack:
Tinisian flavored Jaz for most of the film, but various metal and grunge rock performed by indi bands from the Altzan area.

Recreating Pre-Federation Atlzan:
Azzur Vandom, the film's director, went to great lengths to recreate the Altzan of six years ago. Large parts of the city were destroyed or heavily damaged when an invasion force struck the city, attempting to seize legitimate control of Prefectures, and thus the most high profile recognized fur based UN delegateship, with further damage coming from the assaults by Tinisian, Shikeishi, and Shmandi troops whom liberated the city. The entire film is set before the attacks so Vandom had to be careful not to include landmarks and scenes that exist now in the currently revitalizing Altzan.

For several scenes, especially the long sequence where in Dolski finds himself atop a car racing down the downtown loop, extra care had to be taken in editing the film, and as well, the use of special effects. For the shots where in Dolski would today be in front of the current rising sky line of Altzan, the film makers have carefully edited out the forms of the newer buildings, and in a few cases added buildings which had been destroyed. This is made easier of course by the skyline being out of focus. The only hickup was the presence of a monorail track that wasn't there before. It was eventually decided editing out the shadow was to difficult thus to maintain the integrity that particular shot was cut short by a few seconds and replaced with a top down view of the car.

There is another scene however that isn't so easy. In it, Dolski is hassled by protesters outside the capital building. The capital building was blown up in the fall of Altzan. To recreate this scene the film makers carefully recreated a facade of the old capital in the near by town of Tirzah, along with some of the near by buildings that were present at the time, some of which still stand today. The director believed this scene vitally important as it provides the audience's first glimpse of the antagonist as well as a foreshadowing of why they did it.

Finally, the final scene of the movie has the remaining characters leaving Altzan by boat. The director put the actors on a boat in the sea in reality but hung a blue screen behind them. Then later the skyline of old Altzan was edited in.

[miokalia]

illegal Movie
Directors:[/u] Khith Sccishav, Roy Poynor, Jemi Lo'qari
Producers:[/u] Tamarisk Dotze, Fae Salo (G.R.L.), Hoggle Bent
Nation of Origin:[/u] Miokalia
Genre:[/u] Counterculture
Language:[/u] Kohtohkhan, Kuho, English, various (subtitles provided)
Length: [/u]145 minutes
Format: [/u]Color 72mm. (sections in Super-8 and 16mm)

Synopsis:
Illegal Movie is exactly what it says it is. Effectively banned from being ditributed in many countries due to the fact that the film almost purposefully infringes on well-known and obvious copyrights, while doing so with the permissions and even in some cases, blessings of the artists the material is attributed to.
The film does not appear to have a clearly recognizable storyline, but rather it seems like a 2-hour long string of seemlessly, and cleverly transitioned music videos. These are made of edited footage which has been quite skillfully modified into something else. In particular, much of it is historical footage edited to feature elements from different time periods, but coexisting in a harmonious and polished re-imagining.
Animation by Fae Salo and Graffitti Research Laboratory
Editing by Hoggle Bent
Historical and 'Illegal' Footage provided by C.A. Media Pool
Director of Cinematography: Hoggle Bent
Post-Process Direction by Roy Poynor
Visual Effects Direction by Khith Sccishav
Art Direction by Jemi Lo'qari

Soundtrack Features:
Music from: DJ Iconograph's The Beige Album
Cohara and the Pornometers
Dumpster Mattress Project

Reactions:

"It would seem that Hoggle Bent has jumped on board the hippie van and has helped administer to us, the Electric Kool-Aide Acid test of postmodern, remix cinema. And Tom Wolfe would indeed agree: this one is for the Cats, not for the Kittens."
-The Daily Rox

"Pretty and Shiney"
-Kolminaisus Nonpareil

[Erenmor]

1963/11/09-1981/01/17 (1963-81 for short)
Director, producer: SYD #1178/4419/23-6671
Nation of origin: Erenmor, Ferrin Moon off-world colony
Genre: Nature documentary
Release date: 2007/03/12
Language: Not applicable
Length: 2 hours, 41 minutes
Format: Digital recording of sensory equipment logs

Synopsis:
Courtesy of the Ferrin Moon colony, this movie is a recording of a Sky-Eye drone's observations on the growth of a unique form of crystalline life-form found on the planet. The better part of 20 years is shown here, considerably sped up to make for better viewing and to better capture the nature of the subject. Most of the movie covers the development of a colony and its expansion, topping off with a display of the crystalline life's unique strategy for dealing with other life-forms intruding on its colony.

Soundtrack:
Crystalsong music specially composed for the picture, courtesy of #319/27.

[The Union of Tinis]

Ilagaifer (Tops)[/u]
Director: Dalistrap Metufot
Screenwritter: Omulkimo
Nation of Origin: Tinis
Genre: Action Adventure, Thriller
Release Date: 11/30/06
Length: 115 minutes
Language: Tinisian
Format: Color, Super Mego 2 (similar to standard 35 mm)

Synopsis: The Island of Forr is overrun by what most cultures would describe as zombies. This particular variant is based off the story of Inxakin whom legend has it murdered a thousand people in a few short weeks, as a favor for the forces of darkness, but failed to finish the task by killing himself, and thus the forces of darkness caused his victims to rise and seek him out for the slaughter. These 'fast' zombies based off this legend march ashore after spending years walking the ocean floor in search for Inxakin.

The heros of the story, four raccoons whom are hinted to have a group relationship (but never explictily shown or described as such) see the hord of a thousand zombies coming ashore under their ocean view home. Protected from the hoard by the steep clifs of the western side of the island they race to warn civilization, encountering several potential disasters to their endeavors along the way. The clentcher is of course what they find when they reach civilization...

Soundtrack: Beyond the in house produced spooky music, most of the music featured was created by the band Excellence For Fools, whom's style is often described as 'alternative rock'.

The Inxakin Story: The legend of Inxakin's nights of bloody murder and the rising of his victims from the dead dates back to roughly the yar 900 (Tinisian calender). It was for the most part a combination of several different real world stories and major events that occured in the period, including the reign of terror of the Hard 73, a band of mercenaries from the south (some believe to of hailed from Shikeishuu). The Hard 73 are believed to have raised several cities before being slane by King Jakaj of Pargalo. The zombie component of the legend fits well with the apperance of the Hard 73 whom would dress in the bloody skins of their victims, thus giving some the apperance of being walking dead. The sight of one's loved one being worn by a fur with murder on the brain is a logical start to the legend.

[Killer Zoids]

The Darkness Effect
Director: Zeitgram Offenbach
Producer: Mica Franz
Nation of Origin: Killer Zoids
Genre: Drama, Documentary
Release Date: April 3, 2007
Length: 138 minutes
Spoken Languages: English, Omotroni True3D(R) Audio
Subtitled: no
Format: True3D(R) Digital Holographic. (A standard color, non-anamorphic version was also released)

Synopsis: The Darkness Effect is based off a theoretical physicists hypothesis about the death of a nation. Dr. Rei Cixtran investigated ages-old stories when the entire nation went dark one day and ceased to exist.

The story follows one Vulpine family of 5 and the horrors associated with the time. Shock troops forced them into their homes while absolutely no action from government occurred, no lights, no hope. Just Darkness for years-- (spoiler) But the sun rises one day.

Stylistic Features: Shot in its native format of True3D Holography, this film throws its viewers into a breath taking experience. Rolling camera angles and a fully orchestrated score leave you with a 'floating' feeling. It has tragedy which is over come by family bonds and love.

Score: A chilling rendition of the KZ National Anthem headlines Alfonz Hyun's score for The Darkness Effect, performed by the Two Moons Orchestra of native Zi.