Dig Deeper: Here’s Our Impact Picks at the 2023 Sydney Underground Film Festival
Now in its 17th year, the Sydney Underground Film Festival is an integral part of Sydney’s film industry, nurturing an alternative film culture with independent and experimental films. Rock on! Here’s our picks for the best of what’s screening at this year’s SUFF from a social impact perspective.
good.film
a year ago
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The 17th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival runs from 7th–10th September 2023
For tickets and more info head to suff.com.au
Ukraine Guernica - Art Not War
George Gittoes, Australia
Social Focus: War & Peace
What’s the story? This uncompromising doco takes us behind the battle lines and into the lives of the artists confronting Russia’s march on Ukraine.
Why we’re keen: A former recipient of the Sydney Peace Prize, Gittoes has established himself as one of Australia’s most uncompromising documentary activists. This candid and subversive anti-war film sees Gittoes and fellow activist Hellen Rose travel to Ukraine in the first weeks of the war, to discover creative works being born amidst the ashes of tragedy and destruction. No stranger to SUFF, Gittoes’ latest documentary marks his fourth visit to the fest with an Opening Night film that finds optimism in the process of creation - one that’s certain to leave a powerful impression.
Welcome To Kittytown
Doug Luciuk, Canada
Social Focus: Earth & Environment
What’s the story? A post-apocalyptic survivor and his unlikely ally journey through a barren, disease-ridden wasteland searching for a safe haven.
Why we’re keen: This Canadian comic sci-fi might sound bleak, but Welcome to Kittytown promises a hilarious (and unforgettable) vision of a post-apocalyptic future. Think The Road meets Shaun of the Dead. After a GMO contamination reverts civilization into a wasteland dominated by a deadly green soil, an ailing farmer teams up with another survivor to find a rumoured safe haven - you guessed it, Kittytown. But getting there means they’ll have to fight the harsh upcoming winter, illness… oh, and the ire of a cannibal psychopath. What a combo.
Enter the Clones of Bruce
David Gregory, USA
Social Focus: Racial Equity
What’s the story? A fascinating and fist-flying documentary that dives into the Bruce Lee exploitation craze - otherwise known as Bruceploitation.
Why we’re keen: Martial arts superstar Bruce Lee was a global icon, breaking down international barriers with his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it combat moves. When he died aged just 32, the world went into mourning - and the chop-socky film industry went into overdrive, searching for the “new Bruce” to fill the void. This action-packed doc tracks down the “clones” of the era who tried to fill Bruce Lee’s kung-fu shoes, sharing their recollections in fascinating interviews along with Bruceploitation scholars. What’s the line between paying respect to an icon and exploiting their legacy? Enter the Clones aims to give us the answer.
Hippo
Mark H. Rapaport, USA
Social Focus: Mental Health
What’s the story? Hippo, a peculiar adolescent, and his Hungarian step-sister Buttercup struggle to come of age in late 1990s America, under the roof of a mother who has been institutionalised at least once.
Why we’re keen: With a protagonist named Hippo, this one had us at hello. This serio-comic black & white oddity drew raves at the Fantasia Film Fest in Montreal, being described as ‘jaw-dropping’ and ‘an amazing, wild ride’. You could think of Hippo as an off-kilter take on the contemporary American family - except most families don’t embrace homeschooling, try to find sperm donors on the internet, or claim to have seen UFOs. Threaded with commentary on Eastern Catholicism, sexual repression, and modern mental health treatment - and with the deadpan dialled WAY up - we’d tag Hippo as an absolute SUFF must see!
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer
Thomas von Stainaecker, Germany/UK
Social Focus: Arts & Culture
What’s the story? A comprehensive portrait of German filmmaker and poet Werner Herzog, an iconic artist of our time.
Why we’re keen: Never heard of Herzog? You’ll never forget him after this. As a filmmaker, he’s shot movies in South American rainforests, the Antarctic wilderness, and the burning oil fields of Kuwait. As a man, he’s even more daring: he jumped into a field of cacti on the daring of dwarves and lost a bet where he ate his own shoe. Here, Herzog discusses both his life and his filmmaking, revealing the mythic icon behind some of the greatest modern films. Truly a man who’s carved a unique place in world cinema (and pop culture), Radical Dreamer is essential viewing for anyone with a love for film, art or adventure.
The Sydney Underground is more than just a film festival - it’s an artistic and community-driven enterprise.
Catch a film at SUFF from 7th–10th September 2023! For tickets and more info head to suff.com.au
