University News Last updated 23 March 2022
A special event will examine how cult classics and new disruptive visions of cinema can provide an outlet for underrepresented voices and tell stories of marginalised communities.
The Cine-Excess Film Festival, led by Xavier Mendik, Professor of Cult Cinema Studies at Birmingham City University, has announced its programme for a special series of screenings and talks championing diverse filmmakers from across the world.
The three-day event, titled Distinctive Visions: A Cine-Excess Event, will run between Friday March 25 and Sunday 27 and feature a mixture of renowned classic titles alongside innovative new features.
Distinctive Visions will also feature an array of exclusive Q and A sessions with filmmakers from the USA, UK, Mexico and Argentina.
Being held online, the event will provide insight into new ways of storytelling and how the cult cinema provides a unique outlet for under-heard voices.
Among the new features being shown are:
- Wedding 93 (Paul Zagaris, USA, 2021)
Paul Zagaris’ found footage film recounts the bizarre events that unfolded in 1993 during a traditional Cambodian wedding. Here, a future bride suffered the symptoms of demonic possession, as captured on the wedding video tape that forms the film’s unsettling basis. This is the first time the dramatic story has been told to the general public. - The Parker Sessions (Stephen King Simmons, USA, 2021)
Stephen King Simmons’ powerful new film explores the complex and contradictory relationship between analyst and patient. In The Parker Sessions, a troubled young woman with a disturbing past goes to see a counsellor about her night terrors with unexpected results. - Wild Bones (Jack James, UK 2021)
Jack James’ film takes cult cinema to new atmospheric and experimental territories through its use of gendered conflicts and family traumas. Wild Bones focuses on Fay, who reconnects with her stepsister, as she tries to piece together the cause of her father's mysterious disappearance. - The Unsettling (Harry Owens, USA, 2021)
Harry Owens’ debut feature film is a powerful vision of diasporic horror underpinned by a showstopping central performance from actor Zephani Idoko. The Unsettling focuses on an African couple who travel to Los Angeles to recover from a devastating tragedy, only to find themselves terrorised by demons both real and supernatural. The film is due for release on the Cine-Excess Digital Film Channel in April 2022.
- Honeycomb (Avalon Fast, Canada, 2022)
"My name is Avalon, I am 22 years old. We make GIRL HORROR MOVIES." This directorial statement announces a brave new filmmaking talent whose debut feature film receives its UK premiere at Cine-Excess Distinctive Visions having already received rave reviews at the Slamdance Film Festival. In Honeycomb, fivegirls reject the confines of normal conventional living and set up a remote rural community.
Commenting upon his Distinctive Visions festival entry The Unsettling, director Harry Owens stated: “Despite the success of films like Get Out, there is still a dearth of Black or African horror. Although I didn't set out to make the film overtly political, when watching it I could see it was permeated by the unease that I as a Black immigrant feel in residential American neighborhoods; gossiping about anyone walking around that they don't think fits in. This film speaks to this moment in history, when it has become even clearer that diverse stories are so necessary.”
Alongside a range of recent releases, Distinctive Visions also features screenings of well-known classics including Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes (1977) and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser (1987), both courtesy of Arrow Films.
Xavier Mendik, Professor of Cult Cinema Studies at Birmingham City University and Director of Cine-Excess, said: “The Distinctive Visions event is dedicated to profiling diverse new visions of cinema, whilst also celebrating those cult film classics with social significance.
Professor Mendik is also the Director of Birmingham City University’s BCU Film Futuresand leads on the institution’s partnership with the British Film Institute. His expertise spans European, American and Canadian cinema and he is the author, editor and co-editor of ten volumes on cult film traditions.
The Distinctive Visions film festival runs from between Friday 25thand Sunday 27th March 2022. All films are rated over 18s only, and screenings are geo-locked to the UK region unless specified.
Tickets for Distinctive Visions are available for £5.99 on the Cine-Excess website.
For more information visit Cine-Excess.co.uk.