The Chicago Underground Film Festival is back, and the longest-running fest devoted to the subculture of movies has quite a variety of attractions—from a pandemic stoner musical to a documentary about a singer who had the honor of making what YouTube dubbed the “Worst Music Video Ever.” Here are some of the highlights of this year’s CUFF.
Chicago Underground Film Festival
Wed 9/13–Sun 9/17
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State
Harper Theater, 5238 S. Harper
$150 all-access pass, $12 individual tickets excluding special events
cuff.org
Hello Dankness
Genres don’t get much more defiant than Soda Jerk’s Hello Dankness, a bizarre musical composed entirely of hundreds of media clips—from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to The ’Burbs and The Social Network. It’s carefully constructed, masterfully edited chaos that’s also a rumination of the American reaction to a pandemic in the age of Trump and fake news. It’s also CUFF’s opening night film, so you can kick off the festival with a truly strange odyssey through a darkly humorous American landscape.
For Kicks
Leave it to CUFF to close with a living legacy of the martial arts films of the 80s and 90s. Chicagoan Eugene Thomas is a legend, a talented musician, and a martial artist who worked with the likes of Rudy Ray Moore. As Thomas recounts his life—regarding not just film but his spiritual journey and the history of Black actors and kung fu movies—what emerges in Sean Fahey’s fascinating documentary is a portrait of the various players who brought a genre to life and its lasting impact.
Warm Blood
No doubt many a comparison will be made to 1973’s American Graffiti because of the shared setting of Modesto, California. But the true ancestor of Rick Charnoski’s Warm Blood is likely Winter’s Bone (2010). Much like Jennifer Lawrence’s Ree, the teenage runaway Red (Haley Isaacson) is also navigating a drug-
addled landscape in the hopes of tracking down her wayward father. But Red’s navigation skews even darker and more experimental in a literally toxic 80s environment, where corporate abuse of power ensures even the bodies of straight-edge punks have been ravaged by chemicals. As we join Red on her impromptu tour through her old stomping grounds and personal history, her reality is called into question as she encounters apathy at best and vicious hostility at worst.
Melomaniac
Some legends don’t steal the show; they just have to show up for it to be one. And Aadam Jacobs has been showing up and taping the Chicago music scene for about 30 years. Katlin Schneider’s documentary is an exploration of how Aadam’s obsession got started and how he became both staple and tastemaker, as well as a chronicle of the independent music industry in the Windy City. Talking heads that include local icons and the likes of Fred Armisen weigh in on the city’s past and the next step for Aadam’s now massive collection of Chicago history. It’s essential viewing for anyone remotely interested in the sound of
the city.
Stand By for Failure: A Documentary About Negativland
Looking for a documentary that truly embraces the weirdness of it all? Look no further than Stand By for Failure: A Documentary About Negativland, which explores the life and work of David “The Weatherman” Wills, who will find a devoted following among those who believe Weird Al and Mark Borchardt are too mainstream. That’s not to say Wills doesn’t have a big fandom already, since the Bay Area musician has been making underground, deeply experimental music for decades. The mind-boggling turns of his life and music must be viewed to be believed, with a story made for big-
screen viewing.
back home
One of the most personal and emotionally turbulent films of CUFF, back home is Nisha Platzer’s attempt to understand an event that will always defy her understanding: her brother Josh’s suicide in 1999 when he was 15 and she was 11. It’s less a story about family trauma (which by Platzer’s account there was none of and plenty of support) than an attempt to empathize with the pain her brother was in, despite his intelligence, artistic talent, and winning personality that meant a tight circle of friends who were his found family. As Platzer speaks to her brother’s inner circle and her family, exploring the legacy Josh left behind, the result is a deeply moving and ultimately uplifting story about how to live with grief and loss.
Sweetheart Deal
Brace yourself, because Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller’s documentary is the kind of experience trigger warnings are made for. Shot vérité style over a period of several years, Sweetheart Deal is a real-life horror story unfolding in real time, as four sex workers grapple with addiction and trauma. The one man they think they can trust is the so-called Mayor of Aurora, who offers help, a safe space, and friendship from his RV. As the doc continues, there are signs that he’s not all he appears to be, but a shocking betrayal will change every life onscreen and leave everyone (audiences included) reeling. For those who can stomach the harsh truths of drug use, abuse, and the realities of the (in)justice system, it’ll be one of the most memorable viewing experiences of their lives.
You Can’t Stay Here
The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice is an offbeat choice for a bedtime story, to say the least, and sure enough, Todd Verow goes to some suitably weird places, especially after Rick (Guillermo Díaz), a closeted photographer, accidentally captures a murder while cruising in 90s-era Central Park. As he’s drawn into a deadly game with the killer while attempting to make it in the New York City art world, Rick begins to question everything, including
his sanity.
Satan Wants You
The Satanic Panic of the 80s is now an infamous example of the kind of mass hysteria the United States has been particularly prone to. But few know its origins were Canadian, the result of the lurid 1980 memoir Michelle Remembers, which detailed so-called recovered memories of satanic ritual abuse experienced by Michelle Smith as a child, and cowritten by her psychiatrist and eventual husband Lawrence “Larry” Pazder. Using the recordings themselves, reenactments, and some members of the Pazder family, directors Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor attempt to puzzle out what led Pazder to leave his wife and family to essentially cash in on Michelle’s story. What emerges is fascinating (it could hardly be otherwise), but it ironically reduces Michelle to a hysterical woman driven by her love for Larry, who gets far more leeway and fond memories from family members who speak of him in terms of before and after the book’s publication. The Catholic Church gets its fair share of blame, but outside context is sparse, with the wider political environment and conservative backlash absent—Reagan’s name is never even mentioned. Even Larry’s role in and the origins of Michelle’s lurid tales are insufficiently examined. As it is, the documentary is an attempt to delve into a mostly unexplored history of a modern
witch hunt.
Jan Terri: No Rules
A portrait of the artist as a complex woman, the documentary Jan Terri: No Rules is the story of the artist behind the viral sensation YouTube dubbed “Worst Music Video Ever.” A working-class singer whose day job as a limo driver allowed her to promote her career and fund her work, with her now infamous music videos often shot in a day, Jan Terri is a word-of-mouth-fueled phenomenon. She’s also impossible to classify, with the story of her life including name-drops of Marilyn Manson and Rose McGowan, stories of her family’s involvement with the Mafia, and a sexual assault that sidelined her career for about a decade. Come for the story no one could make up; stay for the feeling of a film made by filmmakers who clearly knew all the inside jokes by the time things wrapped.