The Kooky World of Kuchar
It Came From Kuchar
In the 1960s, when Andy Warhol was the king of pop-culture and YouTube didn't exist, two brothers shaped the New York underground film scene.
Known at the time as the "8mm Mozarts", Bronx-born twins George and Mike Kuchar have produced outrageous, no-budget short films for over four decades. Their love for kooky b-grade films started at the tender age of 12, when the boys began making homespun movies on their aunt's 8mm camera.
The films are characterised by their vivid colours, lurid music and off-kilter plots. Even after the pair progressed from their adolescent filmmaking efforts, they continued to use their friends as actors and create homegrown footage in the Bronx.
As part of the Freaky Friday series, ACMI will be featuring a series of works from the Kuchar brothers' collection, kicking off on 15 April with a screening of Jennifer Kroot's documentary, It Came from Kuchar. A former student of George Kuchar, Kroot's film is an affectionate tribute to the work of the avant-garde filmmakers.
For a pair that remains relatively unknown, they certainly have some high profile fans. John Waters, Buck Hentry, Atom Egoyan, Guy Maddin and Wayne Wang have all attributed inspiration from the Kuchar brothers - and are all interviewed in Kroot's documentary.
Priding themselves on remaining 'underground', the Kuchar films are not easy to come by, even in this digital age. So if you don't want to miss films like Sins of the Fleshapoids, where humans indulge their carnal desires while enslaved androids polish the silverware, or 1973 film The Devil's Cleavage - a lovingly farcical parody of Hollywood melodramas, be sure to get along to this Freaky Friday tribute.
Freaky Fridays will be screening a series of Kuchar film programs every Friday at 9.30pm from 15 April - 27 May.
Published Monday, 4 April 2011
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