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At the End of the Evening I thought it was pretty clear. There was one piece that was head and shoulders above the rest and the obvious candidate for The Haverhast.
But, upon a day of reflection, conversation, and looking over the viewer scorecards I realized that it wasn’t so clear.
My film by film analysis:
I stated earlier that some of us seemed to observe a connecting theme throughout the Programme. Somehow, essentially spiritually, all the films were telling a larger story.
Extensions XI
The First of the Extensions catalogue to be a contender for The Haverhast. What was a lost treasure in the vaults, being an inaccessible audio-only recording, has now seen the light of day. Instead of a 45 minute listening party we were delighted to a 15 minute audio/visual meditation. DJS provided us with a 2013 remix of the audio and DJM created the gazing video to accompany. I suggest all enthusiasts of the Extensions ouevre petition to get a copy of the original audio … it’s extraordinary. But not quite the thing for a night like this.
This film, oddly enough, received the highest and lowest grades simultaneously. It was a clear challenge to the viewer (always a bench mark), and it is an un-tried medium of “entertainment”.
“This is my room and these are my things, and that is that.” …. hmm the start of a cinematic theme for the evening?
It must be noted, some of us were fighting off “illness” and therefore my speeches and technical skills were not at their height.
Up next came The RoundTable
This was another high-ranking number. In fact, using the scorecard alone would deem this the winner. Although one person called it a “throw away”, there was a tremendous amount of work put into the over-dubbing process. I hope to return to this medium again, because it does make for great story telling. As, for the theme of “the devil”, there is nothing more frightening. But who was the villain???
Next up was “The Bishop Universe” by Persephone Haverhast. This is Info-tainment. It was nice to get a taste of the forthcoming Bishop film, but the real gem was seeing John Wallace as the interviewer. Performance of the Night by far!
We then took a break before the second set.
The Second set opened with “Bliss” by Frank Squared (F2).
We may all recall the “meat-a-mation” from last years film “La morte du Frank carre”, this work had lots of meat (pig intestine) and lots more of animation. Lots of well placed animation in a disturbing tale of striving, bliss, and really: damnation. It was a love story of sorts too, a flirtation with damnation. A realization of a sad new-permenance. F2 has never been afraid of shock tactics before, but the subject matter conduit (temporary bliss via phone sex) was brave new territory for this crowd. And, like last year, a really great original score. Including a “hit single” …
… anyway … what could follow “Bliss”?
Herr O bunted with a trailer of a film to come. “Sea Virus”. Not available on the internet. This short work had a fantastic graphic. O claims it’s a forgone conclusion as Haverhast the Fifth. But we shall see …
“Into the Void” by Visitor Blim was a personal favourite of mine. Yes, we’ve seen images of me and others jumping into the water in all sorts of conditions, but this truly was a last of sorts. Moreover, he captured several of the larger paint strokes of the massive beach-reclaimation project taking place. The last of the old terrain, the demolishment of the altar, the eerie green fence (as we hear “The Mistress of the Night Terrors) … This was his greatest work to date as far as I’m concerned.
More Good Times and Mingling
The last segment of the Programme began with the horror-art “Introduction”. Here we see some prophetic images of “Frank and the Mistress of the Night Terrors”, tying together some of the Bliss theme and some similiar footage Blim used. Moreover the soundtrack was a recording of mine from 1992, an early version of “The Mistress of the Night Terrors” called “The Bells.” The percussion was me striking the old donut cake-mixer paddle.
Introduction? Introduction to What?
The Mission to See the Mission IV:NY3 (Extensions Saturday EDIT). One person commented that this should be a drinking game!
This lively piece traces a journey and transformation for all involved. I was hesitant to present, but the strength of the work was evident. This scored higher than anticipated as well!
In days ahead I may share more analysis, but I do hope others will chime in in the comments section.
Truly a fantastic Night!
… and now the title of Haverhast the Fourth goes to:
Frank Squared (F2) for “Bliss”
After 36 hours of deliberations, ponderings, and re-views, my first impulse remains correct.
Congratulations Winthrop Frank and his team! The animation, score, story, medium, challenges, etc were and are the Only Choice for The Haverhast The Fourth.
May we all strive to at least match this years achievement!
I recommend start work now to win Haverhast the Fifth. Herr O has …
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… and then this happened:
Hope to see some of you during Now Today Week/fortnight
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May 14th 
I am honored TRULY honored, there was a sort of consistency the whole night that kept me thrilled excited, and truthfully wanting more needing more. I recieve this Haverhast with much delight but mostly respect, and with this respect I can say I will use this as a bench mark for frank squared films to come, I won’t be slacking next year and have some big visions already begining let’s make next years extensions the most it can be, let’s enjoy the highs of the night but at the end of the day remember extensions Saturday will be soon tomorrow and the only way to prepare is to begin now…now today
Absolutely spot on analysis of all the offerings. “Bliss” was certainly my favorite film of the evening. Therefore, I fully concur with the awarding of the 2013 Haverhast to F2. I enjoyed every film offering this year for different reasons, so picking one favorite was quite difficult to do. However, in the end I recognized “Bliss” as the clear winner. Congratulations!
Is the Analysis up for an Haverhast? Very thorough presentation…
EXI – the reverse tide effect was quite hypnotic and served as the ideal visual for the audioscaping. the video alone could be packaged for the “video log” crowd and make a killing.
The RoundTable – not being familiar with the complex legalese covered in this film, I couldn’t get into the finer points of the plotline but that didn’t take away from the drama and eventual (what appeared to be) damnation. the disorienting lip(non)sync and special guest performance by the gecko (apologies for not knowing the actor’s name…or exact species?) were also quite nice.
Bishop Universe – informative behind-the-scenes glimpse with the performance of the evening by John Wallace (sorry gecko)
Bliss – a surrealist’s delight; the sounds, the animation, the camerawork, lovely and imaginative stuff.
Sea Virus trailer – nautical horror is a personal favorite genre of mine. one wonders how a concept this high will translate to a feature.
Into The Void – a fitting tribute to Poseidon’s Altar, some great shots of what once was.
Introduction – the underwater vegetation opening was my favorite image of the night.
The Mission to See the Mission IV:NY3 (Extensions Saturday EDIT) – sketches of Days Of WIne And Roses, a seasick adventure that was surprisingly coherent and enjoyable.
Again, a great night for cinema all around. I particularly enjoyed the pithiness of all the works, in terms of running times. Succinct and to the point entertainment.
Hearty congratulations to WF for taking home The Haverhast, the animation in that film alone deserves high praise.
An administrative inquiry:
Not questioning The Host’s decision or taking anything away from WF’s victory, but just for clarification – this was a “veto” against the people’s vote, yes?
A hearty thank you for the Damn Good Time as virtual as it was…
And congratulations to F2 for their latest achievement and decisive WIN! Another hard act to follow… I particularly liked much of the camera work in the piece.
I agree that Frank’s film was best in class this year and deserves the Haverhast. I actually enjoyed the suspense in TMTSTM IV the most, and would love to see the raw footage.
Herr O, MD
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One of the amazing things about TMtsTMIV: NY3, was, and is, in fact, very little was cut. DJM was “with it” to the degree of “filming the essential” was evident. The E-Saturday EDIT was a reduction of the concert footage.
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