DIRT ON THE UNDERGROUND: THE STEFAN POPESCU INTERVIEW

I met Sydney Underground Film Festival co-founder and director Stefan Popescu several years ago when assigned to interview him; it went well and led to my stint as a jury member on early SUFF incarnations. Expectedly, Popescu’s off-centre film tastes run the gamut from avant-garde to abrasively obtuse to downright bizarre. His charms sneak up on you; he can seem shy, even awkward, but tweak to his passions and his voice ups an octave, his stare becomes more intent and the insightful flow of educated opinion comes thick and fast. He has directed two darkly stylish, low-budget features – Rosebery 7470 (2006; haven't seen it) and Nude Study (2010; didn't like it) – that reflect his commitment to a truly challenging and unique film aesthetic.

Popescu (pictured, above) is a delight to interview; his responses generally begin with “Mmm, that’s interesting” or “Wow, good question”. And I have always thought he looks like the result of a three-way between Janeane Garofalo, Luke Wilson and Griffin Dunne. Wisely, I kept those opinions from him before we chatted via phone about the 2012 SUFF event, which launches this week in Sydney’s inner-west. Here is the edited text of a long conversation which covers an NSFW version of local soap Home & Away, the bureaucracy of an inner-city council, the Aurora shootings, James Franco and bestiality....

Screen-Space: Ok, so how are you dealing with another round of this Festival madness?

Popescu: It’s always crazy but it’s manageable. Every year, I always think ‘Next year will be easier’, because I know the ropes and everything is in place but it is never like that. Every year something wacky happens (laughs).

Screen-Space: What’s happened this year? Oh, you’re on the record by the way.

Popescu: Oh, ok. That’s cool (laughs). The whole Mr Doodleburger thing. Firstly, tracking Mr Doodleburger and then (having him) agree to his first public appearance. I don’t know if you know who Doodleburger is...

Screen-Space: No, I don’t.

Popescu: ...but he’s the guy who redubs Alf Stewart from Home & Away. He’s become this cult figure after (local current affairs show) Today Tonight and A Current Affair tried to track him down but couldn’t. They could only say how horrible he is and when I saw (his redubs), I thought ‘Man, he is awesome!’ (laughs) He’s got to come to Sydney Underground!

Screen-Space: Where did you have to take the festival this year to make it grow? The website looks slicker. There’s seems to be an element of... well, not less underground or less grungey...but certainly a concerted effort to make some of the marketing that might suggest a newfound direction in what you want to achieve.

Popescu: That’s interesting. Maybe we are just getting better at it (laughs). If anything, resources were stretched way thinner this year. Maybe we are just getting better at utilising those resources and focussing our energies. For example, we finally figured out that you need to get one key-art image and design everything around that image. This is one of the first festivals when we haven’t had a professional designer on board. Actually, a lot of that is Katherine (Berger, SUFF co-director; pictured, right, with Popescu).

Screen-Space: She has always done an amazing job. Stefan, I’m playing devil’s advocate here, because I am really looking forward to seeing the films, but there’s a little sense of the mainstream in your choice of films like Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie and films starring James Franco. What makes these films underground enough to warrant their programming?

Popescu: Ok, that’s a really good question. ...Billion Dollar Movie is starting to touch on mainstream, but those guys (stars Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker) are die-hard indy talents and always will be. And, I mean, the subject matter...it is a bit like Super last year, which was such an appalling film in terms of (its relationship) to what’s mainstream. And we always need a kicker like that, something that is almost mainstream but still challenges people’s boundaries. But the James Franco film, Francophrenia (pictured, left)...it is essentially a ‘gonzo’-documentary. (Popescu gives a long, detailed description of the bizarre plot). The line between which reality you believe in, because the audience has to choose between three realities  in which Franco plays himself...well, it’s actually really, really smart. It’s one of the more cutting-edge films programmed, even though it stars James Franco (laughs).

Screen-Space: Ok, to counter that, what will really shock this year? What is catering for the really hard-core underground film enthusiast?

Popescu: Something like....um, well there are three that come to mind. Total Bad-Ass is really out there; it is contemporary Texas, sort of like the Hunter S. Thompson of today, I think. Zero Kill will be challenging to some people, this film about people’s murder fantasies in which people have to act in their own murder fantasies and then discuss it afterwards. Snuff film fantasy-type stuff. Oh, and Donkey Love, of course (laughs). When I first watched it, I thought ‘Is this a mockumentary?’, because it is done in this dark, comical way, but at a certain point you realise it is a very real documentary.

Screen-Space: Does your programming of the Wikileaks documentary (Patrick Forbes’ Wikileaks: Secrets and Lies) reflect your personal opinion?

Popescu: Yep, definitely. We always try to throw a very political one in there and we are all absolute supporters of Assange. Mind you, that documentary doesn’t necessarily paint him in the best light.

Screen-Space: Did you have any qualms programming Bobcat Goldthwaits’ God Bless America in light of the Aurora shootings (The film contains a graphic shooting scene set inside a cinema; pictured, below)?

Popescu: Well, firstly, it was programmed before that occurred. But, I guess, when you are working with cinema you are essentially working with fantasy. And then you have something like that shooting, where someone has decided to merge fantasy and reality...I mean, it’s really hard to comment on what goes on inside another person’s head. My reaction is not that it has changed Bobcat’s film, but my reaction is that I feel my secure definition of what fantasy and reality is has been challenged. When those boundaries get challenged, and they rarely get challenged, you think as a film buff, and I’m sure you felt this as well, that ‘Oh shit, what is going on here....” It was programmed so we wouldn’t have pulled it, not that we would have anyway. We encourage discussion when films that we program present challenging moments or ideas. 

Screen-Space: You mentioned that some of the local backing has dropped off this year?

Popescu: (Laughs) The only funding we’ve had for the last three or four years has been $1000.00 a year from Marrickville Council. But this year....God, it’s almost embarrassing to talk about (laughs)...there was a mix-up with their website, which said that the application could be put in up until 7.00pm, so we put it in at, like, 6.00pm, but the website was wrong; it was actually 5.00pm (laughs).

Screen-Space: Oh, no...

Popescu: Yeah! So we rang them and said “Come on, it’s only $1000 and it’s been like 4 or 5 years,” but they were like “No!” (laughs) It is so embarrassing. But the good thing is, this year we are surviving on nothing but ticket sales, purely on public support. When the people decide we are not doing something right, we won’t exist anymore.

Screen-Space: That’ll never happen, mate. Every night I have been there it has been a wild, supportive, full crowd.

Popescu: It is kind of nice. We don’t exist because some consulate says so or some embassy supports us, like other culturally-based film festivals. We are there purely because people want to see what we have to offer.