Interview with filmmaker Fletch Fletcher

*Who 1st influenced you to start making films?
Jonas Mekas was a great influence. I saw his exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in 2012 (I think). I was there by accident, hiding from work, trying to do nothing and not get the sack. It's a tightrope walk and I often fall

*Tell me about your film series Where In Walthamstow?
After Mekas I started making a lot of experimental films and using found footage. I'd buy it online, car boot sales, or just download it from YouTube. I have some opinions regarding copyright that are extremely liberal. As an artist, I believe, the world is our palette and we have permission to use whatever we want to fill the canvas. After all, we are creators before consumers, and who the hell is going to make money from experimental film any way?

*Who are your fav film directors?
The 'Where in Walthamstow' series was a film a day for the whole of April. It came from my NOWT - experimental advertising agency, and was a campaign aimed at highlighting the local area, giving the viewers a chance to interact, and promoting the Walthamstow International Film Festival (10 year anniversary). This project followed on from the 'Is This The Best Pub in Walthamstow' campaign (January 2020) and the 'Don't Vote' campaign (run up to General Election - Nov/Dec 2019). So far, the campaigns have had very limited appeal, but feel free to view them on Official Website

*How would you describe your film style?
At the moment I am concentrating on abstract expressionist adverts (Independent Walthamstow) for local businesses (un-commissioned and most probably unwanted, but I feel the urge to create, and that drives me on. On towards the cliff edge. The ABYSS).

*What upcoming film projects do you have coming up?
My favourite directors are: Wassily Kandinsky (not sure he made any films, TBH), Dóra Maurer, and that one from Scotland - Norman McLaren - yeah him. Amazing.

*Do you have any funny stories from your film shoots?
I founded the London Experimental Film Festival in 2017 and recently started a group/workshop/exhibition called XPRMNTL. Dedicated to the promotion, education and screening of experimental film. If I tried to articulate the focus I guess it would sound something like this: With experimental film we need to ignore narrative and look for a spiritual inner meaning / feeling, rather than the outer reflection of narrative, reality and associations. The spiritual is expressed in: • Form i.e. shape / line / borders • Colour and tones • Overlay of form and colour • Space • Movement • Repetition • Speed • Time • Sound
And if I were to be questioned on these principles the best I could do is show a film, shrug my slouching shoulders, and say 'nowt works'.

Morrissey's Favorite Movies of All Time

   
   Cult filmmaker Fabrizio Federico shares Morrissey's all time favorite cinematic influences.
   Official Website

• Yield To The Night (1956)
• The Member Of The Wedding (1953)
• The Old Dark House (1932)
• The Barretts Of Wimpole Street (1934)
• The Leather Boys (1963)
• The Family Way (1966)
• Jane Eyre (1943)
• The Naked Truth (1957)
• Hobson's Choice (1953)
• Victim (1961)
• The Servant (1963)
• The Happiest Days Of Our Lives (1950)
• A Night To Remember (1953)
• Spring & Port Wine (1970)
• To Sire, With Love (1967)
• Woman In A Dressing Gown (1957)
• Turn The Key Softly (1953)
• Billy Liar (1963)
• Charlie Bubbles (1968)
• Dancehall (1950)
• Flame In The Streets (1963)
• An Inspector Calls (1954)
• The Man Who Came To Dinner (1941)
• A Taste Of Honey (1961)
• Christmas In Connecticut (1945)
• The Killing Of Sister George (1969)
• A Kind Of Loving (1962)
• Mr Skeffington (1944)
• The Entertainer (1960)
• Bringing Up Baby (1938)
• The Member Of The Wedding (1953)
• The World, The Flesh & The Devil (1959)
• Saturday Night & Sunday Morning (1960)
• The 400 Blows
• Accattone (1961)
• Alf's Button Afloat (1938)
• Alice Adams (1935)
• Angel, Angel, Down We Go (1969)
• Bande à part (1964)
• Billy Budd (1962)
• Blue (1993)
• The Blue Lamp (1950)
• Breaking the Waves (1996)
• Brighton Rock (1948)
• Bronco Bullfrog (1969)
• Out of the Past (1947)
• Capote (2006)
• Career Girls (1997)
• The Caretaker (1963)
• Carry on Abroad (1972)
• Carry On Cleo (1964)
• Carry On Jack (1963)
• Carry on Teacher (1959)
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
• The Cockleshell Heroes (1955)
• The Collector (1965)
• Dance Hall (1950)
• Dunkirk (1958)
• East of Eden (1955)
• Eight O'Clock Walk (1954)
• The Elephant Man (1980)
• Flesh (1970)
• Georgy Girl (1966)
• The Good Die Young (1954)
• Halloween (1978)
• The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
• Late Marriage (2001)
• Fanny Hawthorne (1927)
• Humoresque (1947)
• In Love and War (1958)
• The Unvanquished (1964)
• An Inspector Calls (1954)
• In the Year of the Pig (1968) 
• In Which We Serve (1942)
• It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)
• I Want to Live! (1958) 
• Jack the Ripper (1959)
• The Killers (1946)
• A Kind of Loving (1962)
• Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
• The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965)
• The Krays (1990)
• The L-Shaped Room (1962)
• The Ladykillers (1956)
• The Last Picture Show (1971)
• Little Man, What Now? (1934)
• The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
• Long Day's Journey Into Night (1963)
• Look Back in Anger (1959)
• Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
• Mamma Roma (1962)
• Midnight Cowboy (1969)
• Mr. Skeffington (1944)
• Naked (1993)
• Nil by Mouth (1997)
• Old Acquaintance (1943)
• Oliver Twist (1948)
• Orpheus (1950)
• Passport to Pimlico (1949)
• Pépé le Moko (1937)
• A Place in the Sun (1951)
• Poor Cow (1967)
• Porcile (1969)
• The Railway Children (1970)
• Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
• Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
• Romper Stomper (1992)
• Room at the Top (1959)
• Rumble Fish (1983)
• Sleuth (1972)
• Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947)
• The Subject Was Roses (1968)
• Term of Trial (1962)
• This Sporting Life (1963)
• Tiger Bay (1959)
• The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960)
• A Song of Love (1972)
• The Uncle (1965)
• Walk on Water (2004)
• Who's That Knocking at My Door? (1968)
• Withnail & I (1987)
• Women in Revolt (1971)
• Wuthering Heights (1939)
• Blonde Sinner (1956)
• Having a Wild Weekend (1965)

WEEKLY Album SPOTLIGHT SERIES: MAO - Atrocity Exhibition (2020)

MAO - Atrocity Exhibition

MAO - Atrocity Exhibition (2020) Producer: Fabrizio Federico Official Website: http://fabriziofederico.co.uk/ 01 - Atrocity Exhibition (intro) 0:00 02 - Donovan's Brain 2:00 03 - Sky Eyes 6:10 04 - Go Ask Alice 10:56 05 - The Assassination Of Amanda Knox 18:50 06 - Crushed 21:29 07 - REDRUM 25:28 08 - Crayon Pictures of UFOs 28:09 09 - Xmas In China 32:40 10 - U Aint Getting No Love 34:59 11 - Wrong's (Anthem to Rock Stardom) 37:39

Roky Erickson's Favourite Cult Horror Films

Underground filmmaker Fabrizio Federico shares cult hero Roky Erickson's (from The 13th Floor Elevators) favourite horror movies.

*Curse Of The Demon (1957)
*I Walked With A Zombie (1943)
*Creature With The Atom Brain (1955)
*Donovan's Brain (1953)
*Frankenstein (1931)
*Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
*Psycho (1960)
*Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
*Jack The Ripper (1959)
*Blood On Satan's Claw (1971)
*Halloween (1978)
*The Wolf Man (1941)
*The Munsters (1966)
*Rodan (1956)
*Dracula (1931)
*Day The World Ended (1955)
*Columbo (TV Show)

Fabrizio Federico

Interview with FACE THE STRANGE

Face The Strange

When did you start sharing Face The Strange posters? 
My first posters went up in the wee small hours, one morning in August 2014 - although I had spread smaller stickers around for about a year before that. 

How did you come up with the name? 
Originally my work was going to have a bunch of different taglines, with "Face The Strange" being just one of them, but that just summed the work up the best. It's as much a message as an identity. 

People call you the ''The North's Banksy'' how do you feel about that? 
Perplexed.  I live in The Midlands and spend as much time in London, so I don't see how I could be The North's anything!  Besides, we work in completely different ways.  You hear Banksy comparisons all the time in the media and its just used as an easy way for people to pigeon-hole you. 

Where does your inspiration come from? 
The inspiration really varies. Often it's from something retro, such as a classic film or TV show - The Evil Dead, A Clockwork Orange and Monty Python have all been recent subject matter.  I also did a whole series of pieces based around the board game Cluedo, just because. Sometimes I'll get an idea from a phrase, a tune, or an image that I see. Other times it's a bit more random, and is just a case of throwing a bunch of things into the mix and seeing what comes out. 

What do you use to put your posters on the walls? 
An old mate put me onto traditional wheatpaste - just water, flour and sugar - and that's what I've always used. Do occasionally think about switching up the recipe for something a bit more durable, but never have. 

What are some of the themes that your art work has tackled? 
The main theme behind a lot of my work is inclusivity of diversity - acceptance of the unusual.  I've also done pieces that are city-specific, and highlighting environmental and ethical concerns such as climate change and artist rights. 

At the moment you are anonymous, will the public ever see what you look like? 
The anonymity ties into the faceless identity of my characters, so I doubt that will ever change! 

Do you have any funny stories from being an artist? 
I think the funniest stories come from the larger pieces that I've put up. I remember having an ace spot lined-up up in Derby, a large electrical box which would've been seen on foot, by car and from passing trains.  I pasted it up one night with my largest ever work, comprised of two A0 sheets (which made something approx 2x1metres).  Went back the following day, and it'd already been removed by the council. I had to laugh at their dedication. I also have terrible memories of standing on a Bristol street that felt like a wind tunnel, desperately clutching a large glued-up poster which was feeling more like a very flimsy, soggy kite. If I ever become an actual artist then I do hope to have some more entertaining stories. 

What are your plans for 2020? 
I'm currently working on a series of pieces on the subject of gentrification and, after some small involvement with Derby's branch of Extinction Rebellion at the end of 2019, that may well turn into something more this year. 

Would you ever like to star in a movie? 
That could be fun. Cinema is definitely lacking in pigeon-faced characters!

INSTAGRAM @face_the_strange_

Filmmaker Matt Rivera's TOP 100 Films

1. In a Lonely Place 2. On Dangerous Ground 3. Bigger Than Life 4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 5. Citizen Kane 6. The Lady from Shanghai 7. Touch of Evil (long version) 8. Army of Shadows 9. The Gold Rush 10. City Lights 11. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 12. The Man who Shot Liberty Valance 13. Fort Apache 14. The Searchers 15. Psycho 16. Rear Window 17. Vertigo 18. Strangers on a Train 19. Marnie 20. Crime Wave 21. Double Indemnity 22. Ace in the Hole 23. Sunset Boulevard 24. He Ran All the Way 25. Night at the Crossroads 26. A Day in the Country 27. Trouble in Paradise 28. Ninotchka 29. Gun Crazy 30. Scarlet Street 31. The Big Heat 32. Roadhouse (1948) 33. Casablanca 34. Yankee Doodle Dandy 35. I Walk the Line (1970) 36. Breathless (1959) 37. Alphaville 38. Act of Violence 39. Night and the City 40. Rififi 41. The Window 42. The Narrow Margin 43. Annie Hall 44. Manhattan Murder Mystery 45. Anything Else 46. Kiss Me Deadly 47. The Leopard Man 48. Cabin in the Sky 49. The Bandwagon 50. Father of the Bride (1950) 51. Stolen Kisses 52. Laura 53. Whirlpool 54. The Conversation 55. Not Wanted 56. The Wages of Fear 57. It’s a Gift 58. Scandal Sheet 59. 99 River Street 60. The Killing if a Chinese Bookie (long version) 61. Sherlock Jr. 62. Seven Chances 63. American Graffiti 64. La Collectioneuse 65. The Green Ray 66. Full Moon in Paris 67. The Blob 68. Twentieth Century 69. Bringing Up Baby 70. Il Sorpasso 71. Taxi Driver 72. Goodfellas 73. The Aviator 74. The Heartbreak Kid (1972) 75. Terminal Station 76. Yoyo 77. L’Atalante 78. Late Spring 79. Dumbo 80. The Girl Can’t Help It 81. Female Trouble 82. Scorpio Rising 83. Mirror 84. Nights of Cabiria 85. 8 1/2 86. Wild Strawberries 87. The Magician 88. Winter Light 89. Persona 90. The Nutty Professor (1963) 91. Duck Soup 92. Be Gone Dull Care 93. The Black Panthers 94. Daybreak Express 95. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 96. Journey to Italy 97. Brief Encounter 98. The Third Man 99. A nous la liberté 100. Crumb

Dont Play Cards With Satan - Music Inspired by the Occult

Underground filmmaker Fabrizio Federico has compiled an album called 'Dont Play Cards With Satan' of music inspired by mysticism, shamanism and esoterica. Starting with the blues and trailblazing through decades of experimental music.

Official Website
Listen here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIp7ho3kHPwfyJDS5isysYExfrvwHL2Qd  

1)    The Orkustra – Flash Gordon

2)    The Doors – Not To Touch The Earth

3)    Robert Johnson – Hell Hound On My Trail

4)    Marc Bolan – The Wizard

5)    Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

6)    Ry Cooder – The Hashishin

7)    Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil

8)    Jimmy Page – Lucifer Rising

9)    Charles Manson – Mechanical Man

10)  Brian Jones & The Pipes Of Pan – Take Me With You

11)  Daniel Johnston – Don’t Play Cards With Satan  

12)  Mayhem – Freezing Moon

13)  Mao – Graveyard Music

14)  Psychic TV – Magik Defends Itself

15)  Skip Spence – Land Of The Sun

16)  Marilyn Manson – Great Big White World

17)  Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam

18)  Peetie Whitestraw – The Devils Son Inlaw

19)  Skip James – Devil Got My Woman

20)  Bobby Beausoleil – Ghost Highway

21)  Peter Green – End Of The Game

22)  Black Widow – Come To The Sabbath

23)  Blue Oyster Cult – Don’t Fear The Reaper

24)  Burzum – Dunkelheit

25)  Father Yod – Im Gonna Take You Home

26)  Rocky Erikson – Two Headed Dog

27)  Led Zeppelin – Kashmir

28)  Tommy Johnson – Big Road Blues

29)  Electric Wizard – Funeralopolis
30) David Bowie - Quicksand                                                                                                                                                                

SUB

The Best Marilyn Monroe Documentaries

Marilyn Monroe: Masterpiece Movie Moments

Filmmaker Fabrizio Federico chooses an obscure magical movie moment.

For a cinema icon as big a Marilyn Monroe there's an enormous plethora of movie moments to choose from, but one of the most perfectly realised moments that strangely never gets any attention is this quick scene in a powder room between the three leading ladies of the movie How To Marry A Millionaire. This scene with Marilyn captures all of her personality perfectly in one fell swoop. Marilyn plays Pola who is blind as a bat, but refuses to wear her glasses because she fears men dont like girls who wear them.

Screen sirens Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable and Marilyn are talking shop about the rich guys that they are on a date with in the powder room, suddenly realising that they need to get back to their dates, after quickly checking themselves out in a tall elegant quadruple full-length mirror Lauren and Betty leave the room leaving Marilyn alone who takes her time put on some perfume and struts over for her turn to check herself out in front of the mirror. What we get is an Andy Warhol style matrix multiple-image feast of Marilyn as she poses and turns in a beautiful violet dress in front of the mirror, her beauty is spellbinding and she's without a doubt the star of this movie after watching her in this scene, her magic is palpable and it hits the viewer like Cupid's arrow. Realising that she looks great she removes her glasses and goes for the front door, only she misses it and walks straight into the wall instead!!
Classic Marilyn at her starsailing best, this scene is both comedy gold and breathtakingly beautiful.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE

BRITISH CINEMA TODAY - A NEW DECADE OF INDIE FILM