Cinespot : 6th Another Hole in the Head Film Festival

6th Another Hole in the Head Film Festival

The 6th annual Another Hole in the Head Film Festival, presented by SF IndieFest, will be running from June 5th to 18th 2009 at Roxie Film Center in San Francisco. It is an independent film festival that specializes in contemporary horror, horror-comedy, sci-fi and dark fantasy. What makes this festival worthwhile for fans of Asian cinema is its strong focus on Asian cinema.

Having a tradition of screening fine quality Japanese and Thai films in previous editions, this year the festival is having another very solid lineup of Japanese films. With about 20 films from seven countries, having six from Japan (that almost equals to 1/3 of the films), with another American film made by a Japanese filmmaker, clearly shows that Japanese cinema is playing a big part in this festival.

Opening Night and Miike

The film that kicks off the festival is Takashi Miike's Crow Zero, a high school gangster film based on Takahashi Hiroshi's best-selling manga Crows. This film takes Miike to his familiar territory - gang and violence, in which he cuts through the subject matter at high-octane speed for a stylized, action-packed and entertaining schoolyard brawl of a movie. The story centers on the character Genji Takaya (Shun Oguri), a newcomer to Suzuran High School who aims to conquer it. Genji makes a deal with his father, Hideo Takitani (Goro Kishitani), if he can conquer the school, he will be allowed to succeed his father as the head of his yakuza syndicate.

If Miike's fans are not satisfied with just one film, they will certainly be pleased with another standout feature by the master - Detective Story. Made in 2007, this is an expert blend of horror and mystery, with Miike's signature oddball humor alongside a rollicking gusher of blood, gore and wriggling maggots. An ordinary salaryman named Raita Takashima (Kuroudo Maki) moves into an apartment next door to a detective with the same first name, Raita Kazama (Kazuya Nakayama). After a woman vists Kazama for help, she is later found dead with her liver removed. Two more women's corpses turn up after that, one without her kidneys and the other without her lungs. The two Raitas track down a mysterious painter (Yuya Uchida) who is rumored to be using human blood and organs in his artwork.

Other Attractions

Those who enjoy Crow Zero should probably check out Be A Man! Samurai School, another manga based high school gangster film. Adapted from a very popular manga in the late 80s and early 90s, this also marks the directorial debut of action star Tak Sakaguchi. Inheriting the Samurai Spirit, Otokojuku is a private boys school to nurture true men. As usual, 1st-year students enroll this year. What awaits them is grilling training by Drill Master Onihige. Momotaro is professed in both academics and martial arts. Hidemaro is a puny coward. 300 push-ups, Oil Bath punishment, Disciplinary Twin Cells are just examples of what the newcomers experience. With blood and sweat, Momotaro and Hidemaro live through the Otokojuku days, but during that time, they become true friends as well as pitch friendship with their other classmates. Meanwhile, Omito Date, a former Otokojuku 1st-year student leader, carrying a grudge on this school, now leads the evil army of Kanto Gogakuren school, is ready for a pay back. With comedy element of the original comic book in mind, Sakaguchi adds his own aesthetics to construct a narrative of extremely cool men, who dance beautifully in life and death battles.

The one American film directed by a Japanese filmmaker mentioned above is Kurando Mitsutake's Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf. Mitsutake, originally from Japan, studied cinema in the US and Samurai Avenger is his second feature film to date. Inspired by the classic spaghetti Westerns, it is not a standard samurai film. While camping in the desert, a family gets attacked by a notorious psychopath. The wife and daughter are slaughtered, and the man is forced to remove his own eyes. Eight years after the massacre, the man has returned to the desert town as a samurai swordsman.

Pink Cinema and Shorts

Pink Eiga (softcore erotic cinema) is an interesting realm of cinema in Japan. It has a long history and is the nurturing ground for many prominent filmmakers, including the Academy Award winner Yojiro Takita (Director of 2009 Best Foreign Film Departures) and Masayuki Suo (Director of Shall We Dance). This year, the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival introduces several of these films to the audience, including Mototsugu Watanabe's Silence of the Sushi Rolls (2002) and Hiroyuki Kawasaki's Ninja Pussy Cat (2003), a detective thriller and a period drama, the two films should provide local audience with a brief insight of this genre.

One short film that captures Asian cinema moviegoers is Machine Girl Lite, directed by Noboru Iguchi, who also made the namesake feature which became a big hit in the video market. A 22 minutes short, this is not exactly a sequel to The Machine Girl, but rather a spin off that revolves around the Machine girl's friend Noriko.

Beyond Japanese cinema

Ok, so this film festival is not only about Japanese films only, there are still a lot more for fans who prefer a broader choice of cinema. The only Thai cinema to be screened is Sopon Sukdapisit's Coming Soon, a Thai ghost story that takes an incredible psychological turn by weaving classic folklore into the modern world of digital technology and film piracy within the steamy city of Bangkok.

Other interesting films include Audie and the Wolf, Black Devil Doll, Blood River, The Dead Outside, Frat House Massacre, The Horseman, Monsters from the ID, Morgue Story, Pig Hunt, Reel Zombies, Run Bitch Run, Sex Galaxy and Someone's Knocking at the Door

Information

Another Hole in the Head Film Festival runs June 15-18 2009 at the Roxie Film Center, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco. Advance tickets are $10.00 for films. The Hole Head Pass is $100. Tickets are available at here. Same day tickets are $11.00 and only available at the theater. For more information, please call (415) 820-3907 or check sfindie.com.

written by: staff (05/2009)
source: Larsen Associates / SF IndieFest