We revel in the history of underground film instead of just what's happening now. But some of the filmmakers don't know the tradition they're part of. Cassavetes' Shadows was underground when it was first released, and you could trace the whole idea of the American independent feature back to that. If Herschell Gordon Lewis and Stan Brakhage ever collaborated, that would be the perfect CUFF film. An intense, graphic docudrama about the Manson family, the film alternates frenzied re nactments of their crimes with convincing fictional present-day interviews, and performances of unusual authenticity.
Documentaries comprise a good chunk of the programming.
Scott Petersen's fluent, understated Chicago rock-band documentary Out of the Loop took the second documentary prize. Wolens' Weed was an entertaining portrait of the eighth Annual Cannabis Cup and Hemp Expo, held in smoky Amsterdam, a hemptronic, weedarific treat for those so inclined and a cheerful glimpse at another culture's subculture for the rest of us. Krulik also presented the frightening King of Porn, which introduces the buttoned-down Ralph Whittington and his meticulously cataloged collection of pornography of all stripes. And then there's Steve Ballot's The Bride of Frank. Ballot bombarded local critics with press kits, videotapes and plastic eyeballs and wild-posted all over the appropriate neighborhoods.