Film-director Fabrizio Federico's debut feature film 'Black Biscuit' has created a generation gap in cinema's guard, springing the old against the young, in an industry that has already started to seen signs of deterioration similar to what
the music industry has experienced.
The 'Gutter Cinema movement', as it's being called, is sweeping the world inspiring inexperienced filmmakers to pick up their cell phones and to create feature films on micro budgets.
'Black Biscuit' was made for $800, and shot on mobile phones and childrens cameras, featuring a cast of homeless people, prostitutes, pimps, handicapped, and an ex child ping pong champion.
In an era when film stars make up to $50 Million per picture, this can be seen as a revelation to the death of the old fashioned movie star, and birth of the street superstar.
Federico's new Pink8 manifesto has set the template for the future of cinema.
Film-director Fabrizio Federico's debut feature film 'Black Biscuit' has created a generation gap in cinema's guard, springing the old against the young, in an industry that has already started to seen signs of deterioration similar to what
the music industry has experienced.
The 'Gutter Cinema movement', as it's being called, is sweeping the world inspiring inexperienced filmmakers to pick up their cell phones and to create feature films on micro budgets.
'Black Biscuit' was made for $800, and shot on mobile phones and childrens cameras, featuring a cast of homeless people, prostitutes, pimps, handicapped, and an ex child pingpong champion.
In an era when film stars make up to $50 Million per picture, this can be seen as a revelation to the death of the old fashioned movie star, and birth of the street superstar.
Federico's new Pink8 manifesto has set the template for the future of cinema.
I hope that Black Biscuit gets into peoples skins. It’s an
important film because this is rebel talent
unlike any other.
I feel like Im the best director in the world even though I
don’t know how to use a HD camera. Cinema’s attitude is basic so I’ve decided to liberate it and take it to the next level.
I cant be tied down to one ideal, my style is screen poetry stirred up with documentary, satire on
‘’real-acting’’, comedy, horror, and experimental fiction mixed with the
unknown.
It makes me laugh and
shrug when critics get it wrong; which is more than half the time, that is the
reason why I believe critics should stop writing about films and start making
them. Don’t be a critic become a
creator.
They should stop being lazy. All they do is sit around and
watch movies all day, I mean that isn’t going to get you laid. Put your so
called ‘’expertise’’ to good use, because they are missing out on the ultimate experience.
Art is the greatest purity because you're asking the viewer to choose their personal nirvana.
It’s one of the best highs I’ve ever felt, and I’ve relished lots of special experiences
such as love/sex, out running the cops, being on stage, instant togetherness and
the occasional out of body experience.
We have to stop creative prejudice in the arts, the other
big culprit of this crime other than the critics are the cinema owners. They
don’t take enough chances. If a film doesn’t look safe enough they will refuse
to promote the work, and eventually just bury it.
But now thanks to the internet we no longer need these
middlemen. They are going to become an extinct species, but for the moment all they have going for them is that artists
are a bit lazy when it comes to promoting and dealing with $$ figures. But that
is changing very dramatically ,we’re learning.
That goes for the high and low’s, and Im saying it because nobody else seems to
give a shit about hitting a creative edge and spreading the idea to future generations.
In the early 70’s for a short period of
time creative film directors were treated with respect and independence. Just
give us the fucking money and we will create an alternative experience for
audiences swim in.
That’s why I have so much respect for Dennis Hopper’s ‘’The
Last Movie’’ because that film treated the audience as equals, and his unhinged
genius scared the suits.
Im not at home, but that doesn’t make me and my generation
mad, we’re just mavericks.
The Weinsteins & October Films in the early 90’s created
cinema heaven for young directors. That’s when the money men in the film industry were at their bravest.
But I think they got scared when they
tip toed across, and looked over the
edge of their empire state building decision to make experimental cinema
mainstream.
A creative open minded tsunami wave takes time to settle, and
the greedy money men can never manage to
retain the balls to understand that they
should be promoting originality, and versatility to audiences. If you promote they will come.
People will learn and feel more from watching reality over
fiction.
The experimental
ideal that Im talking about reached it’s
pinnacle with the release of ‘’Kids’’ in 1995. That was a perfect moment.
Creative freedom mixed with the big money of advertising.
I don’t think it’s extreme. I have a young attitude so I
expect people to be artistically braver.
The feature film 'Black Biscuit' directed by Fabrizio Federico is the first film in a long time to create a generation gap in the film industry. Love it or hate it but one thing is for sure you can't possibly ignore it, this is definitely the beginning of a new wave of filmmakers.
The lost feature film by Fabrizio Federico called 'The Milk Man' will not be released to the public because it's maker considers it 'evil'. The film has been shelved for indefinite.
His latest film 'Black Biscuit' will be screened across the UK in September.
That’s whatsbeing
said about the director of Black Biscuit; Fabrizio Federico aka Mr Bugalloo. His first feature
film is a uniquely draining, frighteningly human, intense experience - Black
Biscuit is giving cinema directions to the next century. It’s a pill that
offers a 12 course meal in one dose.
The price is right
– the cost of admission is your mind.
Here is a list of
the subjects it covers: child death from trip and fall, careering,
prostitution, religion, immigration, exorcism, voyeurism, cults, sexism,
concert violence, the death of Michael Jackson, benefit fraud, media, drug
abuse, mental illness, humiliation, homosexuality, self harm, celebrity &
pop culture, S&M, homelessness, and money.
So is this film
too dangerous?
What makes it
rebellious is that it’s not guided by commercial intent. Surreal and
hauntingly dreamlike, it’s approach is like a cinematic meat grinder. Anti-film
at it’s most dissident; and the audio samples that echo through out
the film of
cult leaders like Charles Manson and Jim Jones ring chillingly appealing.
Black Biscuit's
genius & madness, walking hand in hand approach; added with it’s total
commitment to unlearning the rules of cinema; forges a lost and desolate beauty
out of the pig iron professionalism that mainstream cinema has become.
It’s like an 8
year old on glue unleashed into the schools film lab.
A 2 hour trip to
Nutsville courtesy of Mr Federico; each scene is a universe within it’s own
infinity of laws. With rapid fire film collages, quasi stoned conversations,
non-actors, mistakist footage, spontaneity, and a multiplex of different visual
looks and styles. Black Biscuit
set’s it’s own standards.
This is the work
of ragged majesty; Federico has dismantled Jonas Mekas & co
and put them
back together upside down.
The film is all
about the spirit of freedom, what happens, happens.
Black Biscuit
revolves around the idea of society’s modern drifter. These characters live way
outside conformist societies straightjacket. They barely know what day it is. If the idea that
‘youth is wasted on the young’ this film also brings into perspective that you
better follow your dreams before your soul gets corrupted.
Social reportage
given to you by Syd Barrett with pupils the size of dinner plates. It’s
unhinged. The chaos
periodically fades away into pastoral interludes, before lurching back into
elated ill structure; both spectral, sorrowful and enlightening.
Despite
encompassing bummer elements – it is wholly optimistic and radiant.
It remains
unsurpassed in it’s ability to inspire, challenge and baffle.
It’s completely
self indulgent – but that is an artists right. A right to create what they
feel, and this is what critics and money men have always failed to grasp – the
freedom and magic that an artist has at the tip of their fingers is atomic.
But is it jealousy
on their part ?
Being an artist
means being free to do what ever the hell you want. God forbid an artist
creates something vague and you have to ponder it’s meaning longer than 15
minutes. It’s almost considered a criminal offence to be daring and different,
but at the same time the public crave diversity – but can they still take it ?
Maybe artists are
overestimating the viewer. The publics cries of ‘We want new movies’ ring like
hollow lies; what they really want are 1940’s opiate kind of movies, where they
don’t have to do a whole lot of thinking – there’s a reason Spielberg, Lucas,
and Jackson make billions.
So have today’s
modern viewers become lazy and docile, or is the counter culture miles away
reality ?
I think today’s
biggest problem is that the commercial industries rationalization is ‘If
doesn’t sell it’s shit’.
