2006 Melbourne Underground Film Festival: Award Winners
By Mike Everleth ⋅ July 20, 2006
Before I get to the official list of winners of this year’s Melbourne Underground Film Festival, I’ll start off with director Tony Comstock. Tony writes in to say that his Damon and Hunter: Doing It Together the film won the Best Documentary prize at the festival. Cuz that’s what you get: You write to the Underground Film Journal, you instantly get thrown to the top of the heap.
As Tony also tells me: “This is especially exciting because the MUFF screening (two sold out shows!) took place in defiance of Australian censorship laws.” It seems that Australia, like England, has really strict “decency” laws. But in Australia it is illegal for an X-rated film to be shown publicly to adults. At all. Here in America, that kind of thing is generally not done, but it’s certainly not illegal. However, I guess the screening went off well and nobody’s been arrested.
For more info, go to the Comstock Films website, but — be warned — it does have explicit sexual material on it. Tony also keeps an extensive blog there.
So, in addition to Damon and Hunter, here’s the rest of the winners:
BEST FILM
darklovestory
Dir: Jon Hewitt
BEST DIRECTOR
Stefan Popescu– Roseberry 7470
BEST MALE ACTOR (Tie)
Aaron Pederson – darklovestory
Christian Poppi – Welcome Stranger
BEST FEMALE ACTOR (Tie)
Belinda McClory – darklovestory
Alice Ansara – Roseberry 7470
BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR
Adam Royall – Blue Notes
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR
Katy Manning – When Darkness Falls
BEST USE OF THE GUERRILLA AESTHETIC
demonsamongus
Dir: Stuart Simpson
(Watch this underground film streaming online)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Blue Notes
Dir: Bill Mousoulis
TECHNICAL AWARDS
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jason Turley – Blue Notes
Dir: Bill Mousoulis
BEST SCREENPLAY
Christopher Folino – Gamers
Dir: Christopher Folino
(Read the underground movie review)
BEST SOUND
demonsamongus
Dir: Stuart Simpson
BEST EDITING
Jason Turley – Welcome Stranger
Dir: Jason Turley
MORE AWARDS
BEST SHORT (Tie)
Remembering Nigel
Dir: Frank Howson
Penny
Dir: John King
RUNNER-UP BEST SHORT
Glass
Dir: Ivan Duzel
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Tie)
Damon and Hunter: Doing it Together
Dir: Tony Comstock
Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Dir: Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer
(Read the underground movie review)
Underground Film Feedback (5 comments)
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I hope you’ll believe me when I tell you that when I wrote I had only heard that we won, not that we were in fact tied with Plagues & Pleasures. We are absolutely honored to share the Best Doc title with them. (I hope they feel the same!)
I figured that’s what happened. Why would you make something up? Heck, you even have it listed on your own blog. I still consider it you “won,” just as the Plagues guys should say they “won” period instead of “we won in a tie.”
“However, I guess the screening went off well and nobody’s been arrested.”
The screening did indeed go off very well and as far as I can tell Australian society hasn’t crumbled into complete anarchy as a result of a cinema full of adults watching grow up stuff – there was no looting in the streets and a nary a bonfire lit…there may have been debauchery and lustful activity conducted but far as I can tell it happened in people’s homes pretty much like it did prior to the screening. I hope one day there may be a little more freedom around depictions of sex on film. :)
And…can I just say that I applaud MUFF programmers for choosing to screen Damon and Hunter.
Congrats to all the winners!
On the one hand, I’m glad to hear that Australian society hasn’t crumbled. On the other, it would have been fun to watch.