On the shores of Lake Geneva in beautiful Switzerland, you can watch some of the freakiest films in the world at the Lausanne Underground Film Festival. Just on the basis of location alone, this sounds like one of the coolest underground festivals listed on the Underground Film Journal. And yet, they go and have a completely jammin’ lineup of oddball films, including Crispin Hellion Glover‘s What Is It?, which gets barely screened anywhere. For anyone who gets to attend this fest: Color me jealous!

When I do my festival lineups, I usually just present everything in chronological order. However, since LUFF is organized more by program than by date/time, I’m going to keep that form of organization in my list below. But there’s some really exciting stuff being screened:

1) A Jonas Mekas Retrospective: Jonas is of course the founder of the fabulous Anthology Film Archives where the New York Underground Film Festival is held every year. But he’s spent a lifetime documenting his life, creating an abstract cinematic portrait of himself. They will be showing four of Mekas’s films:

Thursday, Oct. 12, 8:30 p.m.:
Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania
1950-1971/ edited in 1972

Friday, Oct. 13, 6:15 p.m.:
Birth of a Nation
1955-1996/ edited in 1997

Friday, Oct. 13, 8:30 p.m.:
Paradise Not Yet Lost
1977/ edited in 1979

Saturday, Oct. 14, 4:15 p.m.:
Lost Lost Lost
1949-1963/ edited en 1976

2) Fluxus Retrospective: 16 short films from the Fluxus movement, a community of multi-field artists founded by George Maciunas in 1961. Featuring the work of Maciunas himself and George Brecht, Eric Andersen, Chieko Shiomi, Robert Watts, Albert Fine, Paul Sharits, Yoko Ono, John Cale, Joe Jones, Charlotte Moorman and Nam June Paik.

Thursday, Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m.:
Fluxus

3) Vienna Action Cinema: A retrospective of the Action Group, an Austrian artist collective founded in the ’60s that was obsessed with promoting the human body over all other social and natural structures. Screening will be short films made of the collective’s actions:

Thursday, Oct. 12., 8:30 p.m.:
The Work of Kurt Kren & Ernst Schmidt Jr.

Friday, Oct. 13, 10:30 p.m.:
Sodoma & Zerreichprobe

Saturday, Oct. 14, 10:45 p.m.:
Der Geile Wotan

4) Valie Export Retrospective: “Valie Export” was the persona adopted by filmmaker Waltraud Höllinger, who combined cinema with performance art that celebrated femininity and the female form.

Saturday, Oct. 14, 8:30 p.m.:
The Films of Valie Export

5) Films about the artist Robert Smithson: Smithson creates art through manipulating geography with films being the only surviving record of his pieces. Films are directed by the artist himself, Jane Crawford, Robert Fiore and Nancy Holt.

Sunday, Oct. 15, 8:45 p.m.:
Films about the artist Robert Smithson

6) sXprmntl: Experimental pornography from Belgium

Thursday, Oct. 12, 6:15 p.m.:
La Tête froide (1969), dir. Patrick Hella, 13 mins. A meditation on sex and death.
La Nuit du 6 au 7 (2003), dir. Patrice Bauduinet, 7 mins. Does the ultimate orgasm come from God?
Caca Baudouin (2003), dir. Philippe Caufriez, 6:30 mins. The Congo’s independence in 1960.
Vase de Noces (1974), dir. Thierry Zéno, 80 mins. A farmer falls in love with his pig.

Saturday, Oct. 14, 6:15 p.m.:
Repeat of Thursday’s lineup

7) Peaches Christ Retrospective: Four short campy horror films from the transvestite filmmaker and founder of the San Francisco Underground Short Film Festival.

Friday, Oct. 13, 8:30 p.m.:
Season Of The Troll (2002), 16 mins.
A Nightmare On Castro Street (2003), 17 mins.
Whatever Happened to Peaches Christ? (2004), 19 mins.
Grindhouse (2003), 15 mins.

Saturday, Oct. 14, 4:15 p.m.:
Repeat of Friday’s lineup.

8) Jean-Jacques Rousseau Retrospective: The self-made filmmaker has been making cult movies for over 35 years now.

Every day, 6:15 p.m.:
Irkutz 88 (2003), 25 mins.
Le Chasseur De Succubes (2005), 26 mins.
L’Invasion Des Succubes (2006), World Premiere!

Every day, 8:30 p.m.:
Wallonie 2084 (2002), 84 mins.

Every day, 10:30 p.m.:
Furor Teutonicus (1999), 30 mins.
La Revanche Du Sacristain Cannibale (2004), 45 mins.

9) Feature Films in Competition:

Wednesday, Oct. 11, 8:30 p.m.:
Saturday, Oct. 14: 2:15 p.m.:
Neighborhood Watch, dir. Graeme Whifler. A young couple move into a quiet suburban town, only to become terrorized by their malevolent next-door neighbor. Whifler has directed videos for The Residents, DEVO and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Thursday, Oct. 12, 6:15 p.m.:
Sunday, Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m.:
Hardcore: A Poke Into The Adult Film Orifice, dir. Mark Withers. A female documentary filmmaker follows a young director attempting to make a quick buck in the porn business.

Thursday, Oct. 12, 8:30 p.m.:
Saturday, Oct. 14, 8:30 p.m.:
Pervert!, dir. Jonathan Yudis. In this homage to the films of Russ Meyer, a college student hopes to solve a bizarre murder. Starring former CA gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey. Recently played at the Coney Island Film Festival.

Friday, Oct. 13, 8:30 p.m.:
Sunday, Oct. 15, 8:45 p.m.:
The Evolved: Part One, dirs. Andrew Senior & Juohn Turner. Two detectives try to solve a series of crimes involving the butchering of dogs. The main suspect: The Burger-Priest, who commits his butchery on special orders from the Pope.

Friday, Oct. 13, 10:30 p.m.:
Sunday, Oct. 15, 4:30 p.m.:
Threat, dir. Matt Pizzolo. A homeless punk and a hip-hop revolutionary form an anti-drunk driving group that goes to extreme lengths to put a stop that nefarious crime in NYC.

10) Short Films in Competition:

Thursday, Oct. 12, 10:30 p.m.:
Sunday, Oct. 15, 2:15 p.m.:
“Fiction”
Uso Justo, dir. Colleman Miller.
Pretty Kitty, dir. Gregory Mac Donald.
Logo Logo: O Piloto, dir. Vincent Roven.
Slice of Heaven, dir. Christopher Kinsella.
Felig, la condition deshumaine, dirs. Raphäel Lambert and Romain Winkler.
Turn, dir. Christina Benz.
Surf Gang, dir. Katerina Del Mar.
Memory Lapse, dir. Scott Amos.
Darling Darling, dir. Matthew Lessner.

Thursday, Oct. 12: 10:30 p.m.:
Sunday, Oct. 14, 4:00 p.m.:
“Experimental 1”
New York Zero Zero, dir. Jérôme Schlomoff
[desir’re:] – the Goldstein reels, dir. Unknown.
Meer, dirs. Telemach Wiesinger & Wolfgang
Flicker, dirs. Christina von Greve & C. Schulz
Torchlight Tango, dir. Kerry Laitala
Flying Saucey, dir. Marie Losier
The influence of ocular light perception on metabolism in man and in animal, dirs. Thomas Draschan & Stella
Imbroglio, dir. Steve Party / Karène Lefèbre.
Night Walk, dir. Fabienne Gautier
The Walking Ink, dir. Thomas Barndt.

Friday, Oct. 13, 6:15 p.m.:
Sunday, Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m.:
“Experimental 2”
Autoreverse, dir. Paul Kirps.
Kaizer, dir. Kotaro Tanaka
Copenhagen Cycles, dir. Eric Dyer.
Shangai Shangai, dir. Zhenchen Liu
Drop, dir. Joe Nanashe.
Nothing Girl, dir. Pierre Daudelin
A girl named Kai, dir. Kai Ling Xue.
Osmium, dir. Mihai Grecu
Traces, dir. Pierre-Yves Cruaud.
30X1.01, dirs. Lia, Miguel Garvalhais, Pedro Tudela.
Amelita Destruction, dir. Potter-Belmar Labs
Hang Time, dir. Museng Fisher.
Emerge, dir. Stéphane Broc.

Friday, Oct. 13, 10:30 p.m.:
Sunday, Oct. 15, 4:30 p.m.:
“Animation”
Guide Dog, dir. Bill Plympton.
Still Life, dir. Gerald Vak.
Bodega Bay School, dir. J. Tobias Anderson.
Albino Santa Cop, dir. Tom Priestley.
Damaged Gods, dir. Don Best.
Tyger, dir. Guilherme Marcondes.
An Archetipal Room, dir. Phyllis Bulkin Lehrer.
Far West, dir. Nieto.
Bendito Machine, dir. Jossie Malis Alvarez.
Boom Boom Boogie, dir. Andy Leuenberger.
Pre-selection Jury, dir. Rune Eriksson and Erik Eriksson.
Kontrol Eskape, dir. Mat & Spon
Journey to West, dir. Moto Sakakibara.
Making Pancakdes, dir. Cecilia Lundqvist.
Gender Trouble, dir. Tom de Pekin.
Steakhouse, dir. El Frauenfelder.
Lodger: I love Death, dir. Hannes Hàyhà.

11) Documentaries:

Thursday, Oct. 12: 10:30 p.m.:
“Modern sexuality”
Pandrogeny Manifesto, dir. Aldo Lee & Dionysos Andronis. A portrait of Genesis P-Orridge, cult musician and body artist. (Read the underground movie review)
Pissies not Sissies, dir. Charles Lum. Part one of a trilogy about the International Mister Leather contest.
Hot and Bothered: Feminist Pornography, dir. Becky Goldberg. A look at feminist pornography.
Day’s Night, dir. Catherine Corringer. A look at the practice of sado-masochism.

Thursday, Oct. 12, 4:15 p.m.:
“Marginal Artists”
Max Thayer by Max Thayer, dir. Régis Brochier. Max gives his thoughts on acting in Hollywood.
Firestick, dir. Michelle Eistrup.
Marker, dir. Karina Griffith. Graffiti artists in Ottawa.
Who is Dennis Woodruff?, dir. Marie Blom. A portrait of the infamous L.A. outsider artist and filmmaker.

Friday, Oct. 13, 4:00 p.m.:
High and Dry, dir. Michael Toubassi. A look at the music scene of Tucson, AZ.

Saturday, Oct. 14, 10:45 p.m.:
“Precursory Composer”
Barney Wilen: The Rest Of Your Life, dir. Stéphane Sinde. A profile of the relatively unknown jazz musician.
Faidivertissimo, dir. Véronique Mouysset. A profile of Pierre Henry, the father of electro-acoustical music.

12) Special Features:

Friday, Oct. 13, 4:15 p.m.:
“Inexpressible Horror”
God’s Little Girl, dir. Mitch Davis. The director’s last film is a testament to anguish and melancholy.
The Call of Cthulhu, dir. Andrew Leman. Adapted from the work of H.P. Lovecraft, a young man travels the globe to investigate creepy cults and unimaginable horrors.

Thursday, Oct. 12, 4:30 p.m.:
Vortex, dir. Beth B & Scott B. Lydia Lunch stars as a private dick trying to solve the mysterious death of a crooked politician. Also starring Ann Magnuson and James Russo.

13) Closing Night Film:

Saturday, Oct. 14, 8:15 p.m.:
What Is It?, dir. Crispin Hellion Glover. Nine years to make and a cast of actors all of whom have Down’s Syndrome, What Is It? is a surreal trip into the mind of cult actor Crispin Glover. You better wear galoshes. (Read the underground movie review)

As always, please visit the Lausanne Underground Film Festival official site for more info on all of the films, plus screening locations, concert series and lots, lots more.