Sydney Underground Film Festival 2010

First published on 28 Jul 2010. Updated on 5 Apr 2011.

If you like your cinema a little bit alternative, a little bit challenging and a little bit outré, then the Sydney Underground Film Festival is for you. Established to promote the more fringe-dwelling elements in the film industry, the SUFF showcases both shorts and feature-length films from around the world. The 2010 program is packed with big names and big ideas, with something for everyone.

Opening the festival is South of the Border, a documentary by Oliver Stone. Never averse to stirring the pot, Stone examine American involvement in Latin America over the decades and highlights the positive achievements of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who is much demonised in the US. Harmony Korine, notorious for Kids and Gummo, returns with his latest work, the divisive and indescribable Trash Humpers. Fans of horror will want to check out the homegrown gore-fest El Monstro Del Mar, while American: The Bill Hicks Story examines the life of one of the most outspoken comedians ever to tread the stage.

If a feature-length flick is testing your attention span, you can lose yourself in the long list of short films on offer. Ranging in length from just under a minute to just under an hour, there are over 70 shorts on offer, screening in thematic groups.  ‘Love/Sick' involves stories about romance and sex gone wrong or right; ‘Mother's Milk' gathers together the efforts of female filmmakers; ‘Mondo Bizarro' is a journey into the strange and unexpected; and there are blocks dedicated to animation, documentaries, video art and archival footage.

There's also Q&A sessions with directors, the Fight the Power! party for rebellious festival-goers, and the Time Out opening night party, featuring music by DJ Niknak, a selection of short films, and free food and drinks.

Features screening in SUFF 2010 are:

 

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South of the Border

Oliver Stone, USA, 78 mins
Thur 9 Sep, 7.30–9:15pm
Read our review

 

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Enter the Void
Gaspar Noe, France,154 mins
Fri 10 Sep, 11pm–1.30am
Read our review

 

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Red, White and Blue
Simon Rumley, USA, 102 mins
Sat 11 Sep, 10–11:30pm
Official site

 

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Meat
Victor Nieuwenhuijs & Maartje Seyferth, Netherlands, 90 mins
Fri 10 Sep, 11pm–12.30am
Official site

 

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The Taint
Drew Buldoc and Dan Nelson, USA 75 mins
Fri 10 Sep, 9.30–10.45pm
Official site

 

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American: The Bill Hicks Story
Matt Harlock, Paul Thomas, USA, 102 mins
Sat 11 Sep 6pm–7:30pm
Read our review

 

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Life and Death of a Porno Gang
Mladen Djordjevic, Serbia, 90 mins
Sat 11 Sep, 8–9.30pm
Official site

 

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Biker Fox
Jeremy Lamberton, USA, 90 mins
Sat 11 Sep, 8–9.30pm
Official site

 

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El Monstro Del Mar!
Stuart Simpson, Australia, 75 mins
Sat 11 Sep 2–3.30pm
Official site

 

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Trash Humpers
Harmony Korine, USA/UK, 78 mins
Sat 11 Sep 4–5.30pm
Read our review

 

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