2011 Calgary Underground Film Festival: Official Lineup

The 8th annual Calgary Underground Film Festival is set to run on April 11-17 at The Plaza Theater with 18 feature films and documentaries, several live performances, a classic cartoon extravaganza and CUFF’s legendary 48-hour Movie Making Challenge.
Sentient car tires. Wrongly accused hillbillies. Post-apocalyptic vampire hunters. Rage-filled neighbors. Real-life superheroes. Angry Star Wars fans. Those are just a few of the oddball characters you’ll find in the CUFF lineup below that includes festival hits such as Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, The Woman, Superheroes, A Horrible Way to Die, Shut Up Little Man!, Rubber and more.
Some of the special events include: Not only a screening of Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson’s documentary Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, but a live concert by the band after the screening. Plus, there will be a wild live burlesque show being held as a fundraiser for the upcoming film Burlesque Assassins; and a classic Saturday morning cartoon marathon curated by Kier-La Janisse that also includes an all-you-can-eat cereal bar.
Also, on opening night, there will be a terrific block of short films that includes Brian Lonano‘s brain-sizzling Martian Precursor, which you can watch streaming online right now.
Check out the full CUFF lineup below. And please visit the festival’s official website for more info on the films and events, plus to buy advance tickets.
April 11
7:00 p.m.: Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, dir. Eli Craig. Two peaceful hillbillies have the misfortune of being mistaken for chainsaw-wielding psychopaths by a group of college students on Spring Break.
9:30 p.m.: “Short But Not Sweet”
Animal Control, dir. Kire Paputts
Bad Mistake, dir. Xavier Hibon
All Flowers in Time, dir. Jonathan Caouette
Martian Precursor, dir. Brian Lonano (Watch online)
The Wonder Hospital, dir. Beomsik Shimbe Shim
File Under Miscellaneous, dir. Jeff Barnaby
Suckathumb, dir. Xstine Cook
Romance, dir. Mathieu Handfield
The Origin of Creatures, dir. Floris Kaayk
Wrecking Ball, dir. Lyle Pisio
Sacrifice: A Vampire Tale, dir. Robert Jukic
April 12
7:00 p.m.: You Are Here, dir. Daniel Cockburn. A group of disconnected tales about people stuck in bizarre social experiments of their own making.
Screening with:
The Head, dir. Aran Wilkinson-Blanc
9:15 p.m.: “Burlesque Assassins Fundraiser,” dir. Jonathan Joffe. This live show performance will help raise funds for Joffee’s upcoming feature film.
April 13
7:00 p.m.: Monogamy, dir. Dana Adam Shapiro. Hired to take voyeuristic photos of his clients, a photographer becomes hot and bothered while following a brazen exhibitionist.
Screening with:
A Shitty Boyfriend, dir. Borja Cobeaga
9:15 p.m.: The People vs. George Lucas, dir. Alexandre O. Philippe. Did Lucas betray his original, die-hard fans when he made Episodes I-III? And why do those fans care so much anyway?
April 14
6:45 p.m.: Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, dir. Lev Anderson & Chris Metzler. This documentary chronicles the friendship and tenacity of Fishbone lead singer Angelo Moore and bassist Norwood Fisher, who struggle to keep their beloved band popular and relevant. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne. (Watch online)
9:30 p.m.: Atrocious, dir. Fernando Barreda Luna. Found footage reveals what happened to a brother and sister who disappeared while investigating a local urban legend.
11:15 p.m.: Stake Land, dir. Jim Mickle. After an apocalyptic disaster, a rogue vampire hunter and a teenage boy team up to stay alive in a world filled with vicious bloodsuckers.
April 15
7:00 p.m.: Shut Up Little Man!, dir. Matthew Bate. This documentary explores the original viral sensation: The hilarious and disturbing audio taped arguments between Peter and Raymond — a gay man and a raging homophobe who lived together.
Screening with:
The Pinata, dir. Manuel Arija
9:00 p.m.: A Horrible Way to Die, dir. Adam Wingard. A newly dating couple, who met each other at an AA meeting, are stalked by a psychotic serial killer who just escaped from prison.
Screening with:
Hangnail, dir. Cavan Campbell
11:30 p.m.: Helldriver, dir. Yoshihiro Nishimura. When Japan is overridden by zombies that can’t be put down by a simple shot to the head, a young woman is transformed into a cybernetic undead murder machine tha wields a gas-powered sword/chainsaw combo weapon.
April 16
10:00 a.m.: “Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat Cereal Cartoon Party!” Gorge yourself on classic animated TV shows, curated by Kier-La Janisse. And, yes, cereal will be served.
1:30 p.m.: Attenberg, dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari. A young woman who finds other human beings repellent is forced to rethink her position by the new man in town who challenges her to a foosball duel.
Screening with:
Elsewhere, dir. Mathy Tremewan, Fran Broadhurst
3:45 p.m.: Superheroes, dir. Michael Barnett. This documentary profiles several people who don homemade masks and costumes to patrol their neighborhoods to combat crime and injustice.
7:00 p.m.: Bellflower, dir. Evan Glodell. While preparing for the coming apocalypse, a pair of best friends find themselves sidetracked from their plans when one of them falls in love with a charismatic young woman.
Screening with:
Haunted, dir. Ramin Eshraghi-Yazdi
9:15 p.m.: Kaboom, dir. Gregg Araki. An ambisexual college freshman becomes embroiled in a surreal conspiracy after witnessing a murder. Or, maybe he’s just imagining things after having eaten some hallucinogenic cookies.
Screening with:
I Liked You Better Before, dir. Michal Lavi
11:30 p.m.: The Woman, dir. Lucky McKee. A seemingly perfect family living in the remote woods capture a feral woman and attempt to tame her through violent means.
Screening with:
¡Mi Burro!, dir. Zach Passero
April 17
1:30 p.m.: The Green Wave, dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi. This documentary paints a picture of the contentious Iranian elections of June 2009 through combining animation, live action and testimonials.
Screening with:
High Level Bridge, dir. Trevor Anderson
3:45 p.m.: Jess & Moss, dir. Clay Jeter. Two teenage second cousins spend a summer together exploring their greatest hopes and darkest fears while living in rural Western Kentucky.
Screening with:
Bottle, dir. Kirsten Lepore (Watch online)
6:30 p.m.: “48-Hour Movie Making Challenge” Watch the results of this annual tradition in which teams of filmmakers were given 48 hours to make a short film after being given randomly generated genres, props and lines of dialogue. Judges for this year’s event include Kier-La Janisse, Mike Morrison, John Tebbutt, David Lawrence and Theodore James.
9:30 p.m.: Rubber, dir. Quentin Dupieux. A sentient car tire seeks revenge on all humans after watching his fellow radials burn to death in a giant heap.
Screening with:
Jack, dir. Kryshan Randel