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Tuesday, February 20,2001
Eighth annual film festival begins today
Troma’s Kaufman featured at festival
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I By Matt McCormick ________
I The Battalion
The eighth annual Texas Film Festival is set to kick
I off a week of independent films with a bang. Running
I today through Sunday, the festival opens with a night of
animated shorts by
acclaimed director
Don Hertzfeldt, in
cluding his film
Rejected, which is
nominated for an
Academy Award.
Showing a wide
array of indepen
dent films, of fea
ture length and
short films, live-
action and animat
ed, the Texas Film
Festival is the
largest student-
run film festival in
the nation.
The festival re
ceived roughly 350 entries for this year’s competition,
400 less than the Sundance Film Festival in Park City,
Utah, which is the biggest film festival in the United
States.
The festival, which began in 1993, has brought high-
profile filmmakers to
the campus in the past.
Directors like Spike
Lee, Oliver Stone and
Robert Rodriguez are
only a few of the im
pressive filmmakers
who will attend this
year’s festival.
It had been rumored
that Sandra Bullock,
who wanted to attend
last year’s festival but
( could not because ofl
PHOTO FROM THE FILM MIRROR,
COURTESY OF LEE LANIER
SCENE FROM THE FILM STAR LIGHT,
COURTESY OF IN JAE JONG
scheduling difficulties, would attend this year’s festival.
Unfortunately, this will not be the case; she again has
schedule conflicts,
Among this year’s most notable guests, however, is
cult favorite Lloyd Kaufman, the man responsible for
such classics as Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet.
Kaufman’s films will be served up all week in a retro
spective to honor his work.
There will be a special effects workshop featuring
Kaufman and many of his co-workers as they demon
strate how effects can be achieved inexpensively.
This is only one of the five workshops to be held this
year. Of particular interest is the panel discussion
“Hitchcock and Modem Filmmaking” and the popular
“Production War Stories,” which features great stories
from many of the filmmakers in attendance.
A&M is not the type of campus that one would nor
mally associate with an event of this magnitude. Festi
val co-director Logan Youree said MSC Film Society
hosts the festival to bring an alternative to big-budget
studio films to College Station.
“It offers them [students] the chance to observe in
dependent films,” Youree said. “It brings stuff to them
that they could not see without attending a much larger
festival.” ’ £ . •*.
The Texas Film Festival gives attendees the oppor
tunity to interact with filmmakers on a more personal
level, that larger film festivals cannot offer.
Youree said the festival is great for film buffs and
general audiences alike.
“I think [the festival] is important,
and we at Film Society have a love for
it and we want to share that with every
one else,” Youree said. .
Passes for the festival are available at
the MSC Box Office, and cost $20 for
the week or $2 per individual film. The
weeklong passes also allow passholders
to attend a luncheon with the filmmak
ers on Saturday. For more information
about the festival or a detailed schedule
of films and workshops, call 847-8478
or log onto the festival’s homepage at
By Mikel Parent
http://films.tamu.edu/festival.
The Battalion
Toxic mutation, sub-humanoids, exploding heads
and scantily clad actors: just another day in Tromaville.
Texas A&M beware! The president and co-founder of
Troma pictures will be invading this year’s Texas Film
Festival, and he is bringing Tro- ^ -mmmf
maville with him.
Troma is one of the few produc
tion companies that remains truly
independent and has not succumbed
to pressure from larger studios and
corporate conglomerates. The rest
of the independent studios have been absorbed by the
major studio affiliates such as Miramax, New Line and
Fox Searchlight. But Troma, headed by Lloyd Kaufman,
has managed to keep its independent edge since 1975.
Troma’s staying power as a production company
comes from the staunchly independent co-founder
Kaufman. Kaufman started Troma with his friend and
partner Michael Herz when they attended Yale in 1974.
During the ’70s the team created films like Squeeze Play
(1979), but it wasn’t until The Toxic Avenger was re
leased in 1984 that Troma received wide recognition and
developed a cult following.
The Toxic Avenger is among Troma’s best known films.
It tells the story of a mistreated nerd who mutates into a
toxic superhero after encountering vile toxic waste. The
film set the tone for many of tHe Troma pictures that fol
lowed. The elements are all there: blood, guts, sex and mu
tants. The 2001 Texas Film Festival will feature several
Troma films, including the original Toxic Avenger, which
will show at midnight Wednesday. On Thursday, Shake
speare aficionados and horror fans alike will be able to en
joy an 11 p.m. showing of Tromeo and Juliet. On Friday,
a blood-lust double feature will show Terror Firmer and
Cannibal! The Musical, showing at 10 p.m. and midnight,
Despite their extreme nature, Troma films typically re
gard themselves in a self-critical and ironic fashion. The
self-conscious comedy that Troma’s films revel in stems
from their ability to not take themselves too seriously.
There are plenty of laughs despite the shock resulting
from the occasional on-screen decapitation.
While there is an evident comedic element, Troma does
take on serious issues. Troma films commonly approach
issues of political and cultural importance. For example,
The Toxic Avenger explores long-term environmental pol
lution in an ironic and satirical tone. A newer Troma film
that examines the clash between Japanese and Amerlcaii
culture and the struggle for econom
ic supremacy is Sgt. Kabukima'u,
NYPD (1976). This film has beep
one of the recent Troma films, akjag
with the Shakespeare parody
Tromeo and Juliet, to gain wide
spread recognition and critical acf
t claim.
In the spirit of Roger Corman, premier B-movie mak r
er of the ’70s, Kaufman’s company features low-budget
films with lots of creativity and innovation. For instance,
it has been alleged that the appearance of the green Satan
in one of the Toxic Avenger sequels was because of the re
fusal by Troma to buy red paint. Another aspect of Troma
that recalls Gorman’s company is the attention it gives to
young and daring filmmakers and actors. Gorman’s com
pany featured the early work of talented artists such as Jack
Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsestf
Likewise, Troma featured Oliver Stone in The Battle of
Loves Return (1971), Kevin Costner in Sizzle Beacli,
US.A., and the work of “South Park” creator Trey Parker
in Cannibal! The Musical.
Kaufman will attend the eighth annual Texas Film Fes
tival. Some of the events that will feature Kaufman include
autograph sessions at local bookstores and a special ef
fects workshop at Rudder Fountain. The workshop is ti
tled “Live! Toxic Variety Show: Make-up and SpecialjBf-
fects.” The workshop will show filmgoers and filmmakers
the key concepts to creating cheap and effective special
effects. Kaufman will also speak at 9 p.m. on Friday’.in
Rudder Theater. Following his presentation will he a
showing of Terror Firmer and Cannibal! The Musical.On
Saturday, he and many other filmmakers will participate
in the “Production War Stories” panel. The panel will fea
ture directors, producers, actors and writers telling their
favorite hilarious, terrifying and outrageous stories about
situations they encountered while making films. If Kauf
man’s production stories are half as zany as the films ]je
produces, festival-goers are in for a real treat.
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TUESDAY
H-E-B Grocery Company
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
American National
Bridgestone/Firestone
AIM Funds
The St. Paul Companies
Ernst & Young
Mutuals, com
Bed Bath & Beyond
EDS
The Expo Group
J.D. Edwards & Company
Skilled Services Corp.
e2i
Enron Corp.
Hope Lumber & Supply Company
Kurt Salmon Associates
ABB, Inc.
Guaranty Bank
Ford Motor Company
Smith & Associates
Deloitte & Touche
Walgreens
Sewell Automotive Companies Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Sam’s Club
Wal-mart Stores Inc.
Donovan and Watkins
KPMG, LLP
Mervyrfs California
Valero Energy
Dell Computer Corp.
Zale Coiporation
Sysco Corporation
Luby's, Inc.
Ryan & Company
Maxim Healthcare Services
Allegiance Healthcare
PricewateriouseCoopers
Adjoined Technologies
Sherwin-Williams
Neiman Marcus
IBM Corporation
Halliburton Company
H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc.
Randalls/Tom Thumb Food Markets
El Paso Energy
National Instruments
Office Depot
United States Gypsum Co.
Reliant Energy
UCS
JC Penny
Equiva Services
TEK Systems
Foley’s
Sears, Roebuck and Company
H.D. Vest Financial Services
Cintas
Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.
WEDNESDAY
Grainger
MeLane Company, Inc.
Grant Thornton LLP
NASA Johnson Space Center
Toys R Us
Houston Chronicle
JP Morgan Chase-Texas
Kohl’s Department Stores
, Walgreens
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Sam’s Club
Hal 1 i burton Company
H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc.
THURSDAY
Sai Software Consultant Inc.
Royce Homes LP
Crate and Barrel
Pepsi Bottling Group
SBC Communications Inc.
United States Marine Corps
Ford Motor Credit Company
Wells Fargo Financial
E & J Gallo Winery
First Avantus Securities
Accenture
Aramark
General Mills
Harold's Stores, Inc.
Gap Inc.
i*
ift
A
f
Randalls/Tom Thumb Food Markets WebTPA
El Paso Energy Hastings Entertainment, Inc.
National Instruments
Office Depot
CMS Energy Panhandle Pipe Line Companies United States Gypsum Co.
Army
www.wehner.tamu.edu/bsc
Harte-Hanks
Harley-Davidson, Inc.
Salomon Smith Barney
& Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES)
Arthur Andersen
DHL Worldwide Express
Southwest Bank of Texas
VarTec Telecom
Concert
Pay! ess ShoeSource
Blockbuster, Inc.
Hewitt Associates
Compaq Computer Corporation
Consolidated Graphics
Conoco Inc.
Bear, Steams & Co. Inc.
Guaranty Bank
Ford Motor Company
Smith & Associates
Deloitte & Touche
Reliant Energy
UCS
JC Penny
Equiva Services
TEK Systems
Foley's
Sears, Roebuck and Company
H.D. Vest Financial Services
Cintas
Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.
Onsite Companies
Unocal Corporation
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
TXU
USAA
Duke Energy
Baker Botts, LLP
Dynegy Inc.
Pannelt Kerr Forster of Texas, P.C.
Peace Corp
Vista Analytics, EEC
Fidelity Investments
PSS/World Medical
Federal Reserve Bank - Houston
Merck & Co., Inc.
Onsite Companies
Unocal Corporation
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
TXU
USAA
Target Corporation
Exxon Mobil Corporation
KPMG Consulting
zi
if:
Target Corporation
American Express Financial Advisors, Ipcj
Exxon Mobil Corporation
KPMG Consulting
American Express Financial Advisors, Inc.
Frito-Lay, Irving Operations
Frito-Lay, Irving Operations