B.U.F.F. FIVE

By Byron Alex

Now in its fifth year, the Boston Underground Film Festival, B.U.F.F., is set to kick off the fall season with a blast of fresh film celebrating alternative vision. From September 25 to October 10 filmgoers will be able to appreciate a range in content from independent to underground to experimental art-house fare.

There are several changes from previous years. The festival is bigger, longer, and starts the film season instead of arriving in midwinter. Also new this year is the inclusion of international films, especially the World Premiere of 100 DAYS at the MFA, a searing docudrama about the Rwandan genocide.

Five years ago when David Kleiler, film veteran of Coolidge Corner fame, first began B.U.F.F., there was no question that Boston needed an underground festival. With the huge volume of film and video coming out of the Boston area, it was very clear that the smaller independent features and shorts deserved recognition. Indeed, forty percent of the films at B.U.F.F. are from New England. But would the idea of an underground festival catch on?

This year, the festival has proved any initial doubters mistaken as it has expanded to twice the size of last years. However, the emphasis, as always, is on quality not quantity. Says Kleiler, “With more than 300 films submitted for this year’s B.U.F.F., we are forced to narrow down to a precious few films which will eventually be seen.” The venues have expanded as well for this year, filling out to ten separate locations. Among them are the MFA, the Allston Cinema, MIT, and the Brattle Square Cinema. Each has a separate film program that will be playing B.U.F.F. material during the 16 day long festival. As Kleiler puts it, the extended length and range of venues is “Not to cram in more films, but to allow us to show the very best films that are out there in multiple venues and at a more relaxed pace.”

There are several highly anticipated features in this year’s festival. Among them are THE POLITICS OF FUR made by MassArt graduate Laura Nix, which is a remake of Fassbinder’s BITTER TEARS FO PETRA VON KANT updated to the modern LA pop music scene. ZERO DAY, by Connecticut filmmaker Ben Coccio, deals with the issues of Columbine in a uniquely engaging way. It marks the first premier of an Underground film that has already attained commercial distribution and a commercial run. It will also open at the New York Film Forum on September 3. LITTLE ERIN MERRIWEATHER is a locally shot horror film based on the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. MAESTRO is a documentary of the gay New York underground scene.

Among other offerings, is the tribute to animator Bill Plympton, called BILL PLYMPTON AND FRIENDS, featuring some of his work and his protégés. Labid Aziz’ MONEY SHOT, a 72 minute film written, shot and edited in 72 hours, some American premieres of Canadian films, and the ominously titled BLOOD OF THE BEAST.

For those who have never ventured into the world of underground film, don’t be afraid, it’s not an ‘8 mm’ snuff-film scenario. Although some stalwart undergroundies would like you to think otherwise, the festival has a wide range of content, from the mainstream to the cherished bizarre and obscure. In addition to the much anticipated feature films, you will also find creative shorts that explore the fringes of film content, from the enlightening to the stupefying.

Kleiler is up to more than B.U.F.F. this season. His latest idea will be unveiled in conjunction with the festival. This fall he will launch the Indie Circuit, a new distribution arm for independent films that will be active throughout New England. “’Indie Circuit’ has been a long-time dream of mine,” says Kleiler. “Now, with the number and quality of films coming out of Boston, I can make it happen.”

Working in collaboration with Boston producer Laura Bernieri, Indie Circuit is patterned after the Film Circuit of the Toronto International Film Festival Group and aims to distribute a program of regional, national and international features and short films. The Indie Circuit will take advantage of the glut of quality, undistributed, films by providing a distribution network for films that have proved themselves in festivals or in limited release.

The Indie Circuit will circulate thirty of these films to thirty different venues around New England. The films will vary in content, genre and length, but they are all films that demand to be seen, regardless of tradition. As Kleiler says, “We expect to have a range of venues from cinemas to bars and even church basements. These are films that need to be seen, and no one festival showing of them does them enough justice.”

More information on B.U.F.F. is available at www.bostonundergroundfilmdfestival.com. Details on the Indie Circuit will be available at www.indiecircuit.com.

Byron Alex is a longtime Boston resident who is finishing his senior year at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

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