One of the most eccentric film events in the world, the Shockproof Film Festival from Prague, received carte blanche from the organizers of the 17th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival and the result is a section that promises to be deliciously interactive, slightly uncomfortable and doubtless, a must-see. Carte Blanche Shockproof Film Festival includes hilarious performances and screenings of underground horror films or productions of dubious taste
which would probably horrify the more puritanical film-goers. Irreverent live interventions by the Czech festival team add a fourth dimension to the program. Without giving away too many of surprises in this special TIFF program, we can just promise that the show will be not only on screen, but also in the screening room.
Nexus (1994), the crazy story directed by José María Forqué, tells the story of an extraterrestrial dictator who receives orders from a talking crystal, will surely appeal to the sci-fi fans. William Castle`s
The Tingler (1959) rekindles our nostalgia for the horror films of the 1950s and features the legendary actor Vincent Price as a pathologist who discovers that fear stimulates the growth of a parasite in the human body – a parasite that can be neutralized only by screams.
Trash Humpers (2009), Harmony Korine`s bizarre and cynical experiment is an extreme challenge even for the most courageous of cinephiles. All we can say by way of warning is that four trash containers will have much to suffer during this vintage VHS screening. But the most exquisite entry in this section is provided by Maia Morgenstern`s turn in Anthony Hickox`s
Exodus to Shanghai, an unorthodox combo of
Schindler`s List and
Inglorious Basterds, partly filmed in Romania.
A selection of Czech shorts from the same cinematic register (as exemplified by one of the titles,
Vaginator: Dawn of the Bitches) completes this program in which the shocks on screen compete with the shocks in the screening hall. Specially designed sets in a former industrial space now turned into the H33 hub in Cluj will encourage audiences to enter at their own risk and freely express themselves.
Details:
www.tiff.ro
