We can never get enough SUFF. A red-letter day in every committed film fan’s diary,
the Sydney Underground Film Festival has been blowing the minds of innocent
cinema-goers for ages now. In 2024, the festival is finally all grown up, hitting its 18th
birthday this year. This year’s festival once again takes place at Dendy Cinemas
Newtown, having moved there from its traditional home at Marrickville’s Factory
Theatre last year.
So, what can we expect from the Sydney Underground Film Festival this year?
Madness. Weirdness. The provocative, outré, and transgressive. SUFF specialises
in bringing us the stuff you won’t see at your local multiplex – microbudget indies,
experimental epics, genuinely shocking genre offerings, and obscure underground
classics. And while not every offering is NSFW, this is, by and large, not a festival to
drag the kids to. So, divest yourself of your offspring for the weekend and check out
some of these subversive cinematic treats.
Opening Night Film: Female Trouble
Celebrating its 50 th anniversary, this seminal midnight movie by "Pope of trash" John
Waters is as hilarious and shocking as ever. Featuring what film critic Rex Reed
described as "sex offenses that would shock the Marquis de Sade”, Female Trouble
follows the legendary Divine as murderess Divine Davenport on an epic odyssey of
depraved sex, violence, and excess. Presented in glorious Smell-O-Rama!
Can't Stop the Music
Terrific or terrible, classic or camp, or all of the above, this vehicle for iconic queer
(more or less) combo the Village People is a singular experience. Starring Caitlyn
Jenner, Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine, and the fun and fabulous Village People,
this loose musical biopic was slated on release and picked up a slew of Golden
Raspberry Awards, it’s gone on to become a genuine cult classic – especially in
Australia. This special screening features an intro by homegrown cult figure DJ
Maynard, who’ll also be spinning discs at the after party.
The Visitor
It’s not SUFF without a movie by iconoclastic queer provocateur Bruce LaBruce –
and this one hasn’t even been banned yet! Gird your loins and see the tale of a
mysterious man (Bishop Black) who inveigles his way into an upper-class British
family’s mansion and proceeds to systematically seduce each and every household
member into a world of unbridled sexual depravity. This reworking of Pier Paolo
Pasolini’s 1968 film Teorema is not for the faint of heart.
The Lost Sex Films of King’s Cross: the films of George and Charis Schwarz
Swiss-born artist George Schwarz and his wife Charis chronicled the wild nightlife of
Sydney’s Kings Cross in the early ‘70s, in the process making the first hardcore film to pass the censors. These four films, including the never-released Well, My Dear! (the censors giveth and the censors taketh away) comprise a rare look at the Cross at the height of its grimy glory. Charis Schwarz and film historian Leon O’Regan will be on hand for an exclusive conversation hosted by Jamie Leonarder.
Michel Gondry, Do It Yourself
An in-depth look at the life and career of – who else? – Michel Gondry, the wildly
inventive French filmmaker who gave as a wealth of striking music videos before
going on to direct the likes of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and 'Be Kind,
Rewind'. Featuring appearances by collaborators such as Jack Black, Jim Carrey,
Björk, Spike Jonze, and our own Kylie Minogue, this is an essential deep dive into
the imagination of one of cinema’s premiere visual stylists.
The Hyperboreans
Inspired by the works of pioneering film fantasist Georges Méliès and inspired by the
work of Chilean diplomat and neo-Nazi occultist Miguel Serrano (bear with me
here…), this genuinely bizarre offering from Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña (The
Wolf House) starts as a mystery about a stolen film negative before canting into a
troubling and fascinating journey into the heart of fascist myth, examining how some
of the worst human behaviours are embedded deeply in our cultural practises.
The Lies We Tell Ourselves
Written, directed and produced by Saara Lamberg, The Lies We Tell Ourselves
premiered at Cannes, but the film itself is a mockumentary about making the film that
premiered at Cannes? The confusion is the point, with Lamberg playing a version of
herself in this metatextual mockumentary ouroboros that lays bare the harsh realities
of life in the arthouse bubble, where artistic ambition, glamour, and ruthless self-
interest collide.
Saint Clare
Mitzi Perone, the director of Braid, adapts the novel Clare at Sixteen by Don Roff,
with Bella Thorne starring as the titular Clare, a high schooler with a secret - she’s a
serial killer, guided by a possibly supernatural, possibly hallucinatory mailman (Frank
Whalley). Much like TV vigilante Dexter, she confines her predations to her town’s
criminal element, but when her latest victim has ties to a horrific series of crimes, our
pubescent predator has to think fast to avoid becoming prey.
Off Ramp
It’s a Juggalo road movie! Trey and Silas (Jon Oswald and Scott Turner Schofield)
are two amiable dirtbags who embark on a cross-country odyssey to the Gathering
of the Juggalos, the annual convocation of Insane Clown Posse fans. Which sounds
like fun until they run afoul of a corrupt sheriff. Directed by Nathan Tape, making his feature debut, it’s an anarchic tear through the dark underbelly of America – but also a celebration of individuality, compassion, and tolerance.
Closing Night Film: Scala!!!
Former Time Out critic Mark Kermode has been raving about this documentary, and for good reason. Now Sydney audiences get to see what all the fuss is. The film is a loving but unblinking look at London’s legendary Scala cinema, which from 1978 to 1993 notorious arthouse/grindhouse/general pit of debauchery that John Waters called “…a country club for criminals and lunatics.” Featuring interviews with Peter Strickland, Ben Wheatley, Mary Harron, and more, this is a must for cineastes.
The Sydney Underground Film Festival 2024 runs from September 12-15 at Dendy Newtown. You can learn more and book tickets over here.