Barking in the Dark

Barking in the Dark (formerly known by the working title Behind the Mask) is a documentary short film by filmmaker Marie Losier, which follows The Residents before, during and after their 50th Anniversary tour of Europe in 2023. It premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival on February 1st 2025.
The film began development in 2020, and entered production in late January 2023. The project is co-produced by Barberousse Films and Transpalette, and supported by ZDF and the Centre National du Cinema in partnership with ARTE and Villa Albertine.
== Synopsis ==
Barking in the Dark is a short film "essay" about The Residents, which explores the space "between myth and reality, between anonymity and everyday life", encompassing "storytelling, documentary, installation and creation" through the use of various formats including 16mm film, digital video and archive material. 
The film opens with the death of the group's founding composer and engineer Hardy Fox in 2018, and features a "ceremony" intended to "bring Fox back to life". The film then follows a "fantastic journey" in the lives of the members of The Residents, imagining "scenes from their daily [lives]", with each scene like "a painting, presenting their [lives] and the characters they have been able to embody throughout their career"."Works in Progress" at Marie Losier's official website
== Production ==
French documentary filmmaker Marie Losier was introduced to Homer Flynn ("Captain Doc" of The Residents' management company The Cryptic Corporation) and his wife, artist Leigh Barbier, in Bourges around 2021, over a meal of lemon chicken prepared by the couple.Facebook post by Marie Losier, January 20th 2025 Flynn was "sold" on the idea of Losier directing a film about The Residents when he saw and "loved" her 2018 film Cassandro the Exotico!, which he described as an "amazing documentary"."We were approached about two, three years ago by a... French documentary filmmaker... and her name is Marie Losier and she's very well established. I mean, she has films in the Museum of Modern Art." Homer Flynn, "EP168: Homer Flynn / The Residents", Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware, November 3rd 2023"The film that [Losier] did that I saw that really sold me was... she did one on a gay Mexican wrestler... that I just loved. I mean she went to Mexico and stayed with this guy for like six weeks, and then did this amazing documentary." Homer Flynn, "EP168: Homer Flynn / The Residents", Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware, November 3rd 2023 
The film (initially titled Behind the Mask) was announced on January 27th 2023, through social media posts by @barberousse_films on Instagram and Mathilde Delaunay on Facebook, with filming commencing on the same day. Filming took place throughout 2023 in Bourges, Brussels, Paris, Essen, and San Francisco (all locations visited by The Residents on their Faceless Forever tour, and the last being their home of fifty years). In a March 2023 newsletter, The Residents' label Cherry Red Records mentioned that the group had been "allowing themselves to be filmed for a proposed documentary.""Greetings Eyeball Fans!", Cherry Red Residents newsletter, March 10th 2023 On June 21st, Instagram accounts @barberousse_films and @Fluorescentpool began publishing photos from the production of the film, debuting apparently newly constructed Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, and Mr. Brown eyeball masks (worn by François Yves Octave Marcel, Paula Rodríguez Polanco, and Eléonore Berrubé respectively). The photos also featured the actresses Vimala Pons and Marlène Saldana, and a number of crew members. Between June 22nd and July 1st, further set photos were uploaded to Instagram by @raquel__wesh, @itsleoski, @Fluorescentpool, and @barberousse_films.
The production moved to San Francisco in early September."Marie was just here. She only left about a week or ten days ago, and was here for about six or seven weeks shooting a documentary." Homer Flynn, "EP168: Homer Flynn / The Residents", Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware, November 3rd 2023 On September 8th, a Resident in a second generation Mr. Blue mask was spotted being filmed by Losier at Amoeba Records and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco; Mr. Blue graciously posed for photos with fans during these appearances.Post by James Dillon in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, September 8th 2023Post by Allen White in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, September 8th 2023 The production left San Francisco after around "six or seven weeks".
Comparing Losier's film to Don Hardy's 2015 documentary Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents, Homer Flynn noted that, as opposed to the "journalistic approach" of the earlier film, "what Marie is going to do will be 180 degrees different... so you'll have these two contrasting points of view, which I think is... very cool and, in a way, kind of Residential.""Don really is a journalist... and he took a very journalistic approach. [...] And, I mean... I really like Don Hardy's documentary too. But... what I'm really liking is that what Marie is going to do will be 180 degrees different... so you'll have these two contrasting points of view, which I think... is very cool and, in a way, kind of Residential." Homer Flynn, "EP168: Homer Flynn / The Residents", Electronically Yours with Martyn Ware, November 3rd 2023
== Release ==
In January 2025, it was announced that Barking in the Dark would premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival on February 1st, as part of a programme titled "Eyes & Ears". The premiere was followed by a second screening of the programme on February 3rd.
== See also ==
* Marie Losier
* Faceless Forever
== External links and references ==
* Marie Losier official website
* Barking in the Dark at Rotterdam International Film Festival
Category:Film and video
Category:Documentaries
Category:Barking in the Dark