Screen Grabs bonus: Strap yourself in for the Warped Dimension fest
Horror-scifi weekend brings out killer Teddy bears, Estonian dystopia, and Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response techniques
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MAY 4, 2021
The wee societal health crisis we had for the last 14 months or so may have forcibly slowed many arts organizations down, in some unfortunate cases killing them off outright. But SF Indiefest has only sped up, the many film/video showcases under its umbrella not just going forward as usual (albeit in online form), but adding additional events, plus one brand-new festival (the just-finished Livable Planet).
This weekend brings yet more where all that came from in the form of Warped Dimension (Fri/7-Sun/9), a second edition of this adjunct to Another Hole in the Head, Indiefest’s usual place for genre-oriented content.
Last year’s first Warped Dimension was billed as the first-ever film festival presented entirely on the Zoom, meaning it was streamed live (rather than its content being available throughout a longer window of time). This three-day sophomore session offers independent horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action-adventure, thrillers, comedy, animation, experimental, music video and documentary titles, plus Q&A sessions with the filmmakers after each scheduled screening. Adding to the immediacy are polling buttons (counting towards audience awards in assorted categories) and a chatbox for interaction with fellow viewers.
Opening night Fri/7 offers a double dose of futuristic fantasy: Brandon Crowson’s superhero sendup The Diabolical Schemes of Thadeus Jackson at 6 pm, and anthology feature The Cloud, whose found-footage horror anthology about a malignant app (not Zoom) is based on a prior SF-based online series, at 8pm.
Other feature-length selections include Saturday night’s “deadpan Lynchian comedy” 13 Knives, involving the investigation of a UFO cult’s mass suicide; and Sunday pm duo The Black Market: San Francisco, a locally-set experimental narrative incorporating Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response techniques (you’ll want to use headphones for the full effect), plus straight-up horror Companion. But we’ll admit what we’re most excited for is 6 pm Saturday night special Death Wish Revision, Jorge Torres-Torres’ returning mashup of clips from all five original Charles Bronson vigilante shoot-em-ups, plus elements of some 250 other films.
Still, that is just the tip of this Dimension’s iceberg, which encompasses 39 shorts from around the world, including India, Australia, France, Switzerland, the U.K., Japan and Canada. Their number includes local filmmakers and world premieres, plus alluring titles such as Dating in the Zombie Apocalypse, Geneva Jacuzzi’s Casket, Distinct Properties of the Indonesian Spotted Tree Frog, Drug Den, A Machine for Boredom and Vampire Bud. There are sure to be some hits and some misses. But seriously, you cannot lose: Registration for Warped Dimension is a ridiculously low $1 PER DAY. For full schedule and info, go to www.AHITH.com