Not safe and free of violence, gore or nudity the 2nd Annual Vancouver Badass Film Festival went down with fun and laughs from the nights hosts Tristan Risk & Mister Nickel.
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| Copyright BD MacDonald Photography(Used With Permission 2016) |
To say that the event started off with a small gem of a film that is "The Art of Gesture" kicking off the International short film segment is an understatement. The end result of the film had me shake my head in amazement as the audience had no idea what really was taking place.
No dialogue just great body language and skillful work with the camera and edits this 15 minute film would garner most of the awards later in the evening.
The other films also had their good and different stories:
--Mediation(14 mins) is about a couple seeking divorce and the "troubles" of being a mediator in a divorce.
"Awakenings"(12 mins) has no Robert De Niro but has visions in dreams and the reality of what our dreams may become.
"Postpartum"(5 mins ) is a scary realization what may and sometimes can happen to the brain with postpartum depression in women, she likes to collect things.
"El Mano vs Japanese Zombie"(3 mins) got a huge reaction as being a comic filler for three minutes after the intense few films before it was a welcome friend.
"Innsmouth" is about a death with some weird attachments to the victims body ---continuous life and some erotic scenes as well.
The intermission was welcome to many to refill on drinks and once over we would continue onto the the Canadian short film selections.
Wow another great start to the collection of films and what an amazing performance by Tirra Marie Dent in "Demons in the Dark"(21 mins) her work is one worthy of an award which she did get later in the evening. The film has her play a prostitute but once the word whore is spoken to her she becomes vengeful and not one to mess with. Camera work and the story are a delight in this film
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| Copyright BD MacDonald Photography(Used With Permission 2016) |
I did get to talk her throughout the evening here is a picture with me(back to the camera)was telling her she seemed to have too much fun when reciting the poem the man she was having a stern and much needed talking too.
The others screened as well:
"Grace"(9 mins) tells the survival story of her and her dog --it is a dog eat dog world , she aims to survive this one.
"Dickproof II"(13 mins)makes you want to see the first one and see what you missed -definitely felt it out of place as was 100% comic relief but did get the audiences biggest reaction --when the car was destroyed that almost got a standing ovation. This tells the story of a man , a car and a dick operation that goes terribly wrong
"Rebound" (9 mins)tells the story of a young woman that picks up a hitchhiker and they end up finding a cabin and having some nice times together and falling in love, no dialogue until the end of the film --the majority of the film plays out like a music video for the most part.
"The Indestructible"(15 mins) tells the sad story of a young man that is bullied and the terrible things that happen to him and as a result some anger is thrown back at them, little chilling considering this is such a terrible tragedy that is becoming more commonplace in our children's lives.
Taking another short break for washroom or refills of drinks or popcorn we would then settle down for some Local Short films:
But before we did that Co-Founder & Director of Luchagore Productions Gigi Saul Guerreo introduced the PSA for the annual Blood Drive done for the Women in Horror Month.
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| Copyright BD MacDonald Photography(Used With Permission 2016) |
Keep it here as I will have more about Gigi and her production company sometime soon.
This is one of the only things I can share on here as the others are copyrighted but will share the PSA with you --here are all the offensive and probably will make some of you squirm but you know what? This is something Jen and Sylvia Soska have been doing for years now and if anything regardless of your thoughts on the subject matter or your thoughts on horror in general--this is causing awareness and they are using their power of their popularity to get the message across to all of us.
This does run for 26:10 minutes
Onto the local shorts:
"Madre De Dios"(6 mins) is another first fine entry to start the local selection of films.
A young woman(your host for tonight's show Tristan Risk)is tied to a pole and tortured for her soul......we think.
"In the Bag"(10 mins) is another comedy/horror short -where there is a body, a bag and some pretty funny parts in the entire film.
"What's That Sound?"(4 mins) This short film works much better than the full length mess of a film "Unfriended" --the Skpye film of friends getting murdered off by a lousy killer. This works the camera effectively and some tricks with the audio are done well.
"Bite" (9 mins) I saw this little quiet film last month at the Vancouver Short Film Festival enjoyed it then and enjoyed it again, cute little love story between a young boy in elementary school and falls for a young girl that is a zombie.
"Bloody Mary"( 5 mins) Tells the story of not a drink but an unapologetic story of one woman letting another woman use her tampon and it is not in her purse either-we'll just leave it at that--shall we?
"Hallow"(12 mins) is a very good little film that I also saw at the Vancouver Short Film Festival last month and I really like this film a lot one of the better from last month and this night as well. A young woman lives with her abusive father to the point she can't take it anymore.
"Parallax"(14 mins) is a crime thriller and is a good little film , crooked cop vs loyal cop and the mob that will stop at nothing to find the one that is working against them.
We now have the awards ceremony and the hosts take stage out in the lobby.
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| Copyright BD MacDonald Photography(Used With Permission 2016) |
( Left to right David Aboussafy , Paul Armstrong, Mr Nickel & Tristan Risk)
Paul Armstrong would plug his event and David being the kind man he is allowed him to do so--Paul's event is the Crazy 8s Film Festival that happens this weekend --the event page is here to the right of this article near the top of the page for more info.
As noted in my coverage before the event Samantha Mack also helped with the award, was also at the event with her boyfriend Mike Shreddz Schramek who is currently is a wrestler in ECCW-Elite Championship Wrestling here in the Lower Mainland.
On with the awards --please note this is all copied from the Badass Film Festival's website.
Winners will have ** next to the film's name:
But first David tells everyone that the films awards are actually being held in the USA as they had not cleared customs in time for the evenings event. Temporary sheets were handed to the winners and will get the winners their real awards as soon as he gets them.
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| Copyright BD MacDonald Photography(Used With Permission 2016) |
MOST BADASS SHORT FILM
MADRE DE DIOS (Mother of God)
THE ART OF GESTURE
MEDIATION
**DEMONS IN THE DARK
AWAKENINGS
PARALLAX
Best Canadian Short film
MADRE DE DIOS (Mother of God)
HALLOW
PARALLAX
GRACE
** DEMONS IN THE DARK
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE
Best International Short Film
**THE ART OF GESTURE
AWAKENINGS
MEDIATION
INNSMOUTH
POSTPARTUM
OZONE
Best Cinematography
MADRE DE DIOS (Mother of God)
AWAKENINGS
THE ART OF GESTURE
**OZONE
DEMONS IN THE DARK
PARALLAX
Best Director
Gigi Saul Guerrero MADRE DE DIOS
Bhargav Saikia AWAKENING
**Radkine Ivan THE ART OF GESTURE
Francisco Lorite MEDIATION
Jason William Lee DEMONS IN THE DARK
Izzy LEE INNSMOUTH
Best Actress
Tristan Risk MADRE DE DIOS
Marley Shelton MEDIATION
**Tirra Marie Dent DEMONS IN THE DARK
Fawzia Mirza SUGARHICCUP
Ariel Hansen WHAT'S THAT SOUND?
Diana Porter INNSMOUTH
Best Actor
**Jean Yves Ruf THE ART OF GESTURE
Freddy Rodriguez MEDIATION
Conor Gomez IN THE BAG
Gary Starkell DEMONS IN THE DARK
Petar Bencina OZONE
Andrew Pimento THE INDESTRUCTIBLE
Best Supporting Actor
**Philippe Rigot THE ART OF GESTURE
Gabriel Carter DEMONS IN THE DARK
Sacha M.Romalo
PARALLAX Daniel Arnold GRACE
Martin Cort OZONE
Charlie Lawton THE INDESTRUCTIBLE
Best Supporting Actress
** Tristan Risk INNSMOUTH
Nikki Caster SUGARHICCUP
Alexandria Benoit THE INDESTRUCTIBLE
Vanessa Gibau IN THE BAG
Jena Skodje GRACE
Gigi Saul Guerrero WHAT'S THAT SOUND?
Best Art Direction / Visual Effects
MADRE DE DIOS (Mother of God)
THE ART OF GESTURE
DEMONS IN THE DARK
** OZONE
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE
HALLOW
The night had slipped away on everyone as there was so much mingling and fun had by all the first feature film of the night was delayed by an entire hour.
The rest of the night I had to unfortunately had to miss as it was a long distance back home for me, so on we go on what little I know about the 2 feature films.
While on a fourth of July holiday, six best friends fall victim to the
insidious plan of a terrorist organization when they unknowingly take a
bio-active drug that transforms them into bloodthirsty cannibals.
Here is the trailer:
Atroz/Atrocious is a film that portrays the story of two
serial killers, who after being arrested for causing a traffic accident,
police confiscate some videotapes. These tapes contain brutal murders
and tortures that show human wickedness, their background, paraphilia
and psyche of these murderer.
Here is the trailer :
I would like to thank David & Marc for the great festival and all the fun that was there and on a closing note as well David sent me this info yesterday about next years Festival.
The Third Annual Vancouver Badass Film Festival will feature the best in new extreme cinema from around the world.
Badass films are described as viscerally exciting films, original in content or style (preferably both). The first two Badass film
festivals shocked, delighted, challenged and thrilled raucous sellout audiences with a mix of horror, avant-garde, noir and wild action.
Badass breaks down walls between filmmakers, fans, and funders, sparking interactive collaboration and celebration. The Badass 2015
after-party remains the stuff of legend, and most Badass 2016 screenings were delayed because the audiences were having too much fun to go back into the theatre (both the Badass lobby and theatre are licensed). Past Badass hosts and speakers have included Tristan Risk,Samantha Mack and Gigi Saul Guerrero.
The Badass 2016 juried award winners (from 52 nominees in 12 categories) came from films from France, Serbia, The US, Mexico,
and Canada, with other screenings from Asia, Europe, and South America.
Three new feature films prominent at Badass 2016: The Evil in Us (Canada); House of VHS (France) and Atroz (Mexico)
found distribution, with The Evil in Us and Atroz announcing distribution deals within days of their screenings at Badass 2016.
Badass 2017 will again feature new extreme short and feature films, with expanded interactive speaker and social events
Badass 2017 will take place February 17-19, 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. vbaff.com
Until next year!
Thank you for reading this
Sincerely
Anthony Nadeau
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