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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 