HELLAWARE
dir. Michael M. Bilandic, 2013.
USA. 73 mins.

SATURDAY, APRIL 13 – 7:30 PM w/Mike Bilandic, Keith Poulson and others for Q&A
(This event is $10.)

THURSDAY, APRIL 11 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, APRIL 16 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, APRIL 23 – 7:30 PM

Local heartthrob Keith Poulson stars as aspiring photographer Nate, whose disgust with – and desire for – art-–world legitimacy leads him down the darkest alleys of the world wide web and into the thick of rural America’s rap-rock scene. After a bro-y photoshoot with a group of teenaged, would-be Juggalos, Nate achieves meteoric success as a documentarian of backwoods subculture – but at what cost? The tenuous nature of “authenticity” and a wicked examination of the contemporary art industrial complex dog our hero’s journey from poseur hanger-on to enfant terrible. The sinister nature of his sudden success – like the subjects themselves – is a mere stepping stone, sending Nate and his pals hurtling toward a schadenfreude-laden conclusion that scratches every bitter itch.

Part of MIKE MADNESS: Three Films by Michael M. Bilandic

Does the phrase “New York microbudget indie” give you hives? Are you worn out from watching the same three sadsacks navigate “existential crises” and blather on about Artaud as they amble down Brownstone-lined sidestreets? Rest easy, weary cinephile, because Spectacle has a hotshot of free-wheeling macabre aimed directly at your jugular!

Cultural anthropology and low-budget unpredictability mix and mingle on the mean streets where writer-director Michael M. Bilandic has trained his jaundiced camera eye. Burned-out techno DJs, gangs of marauding teen rap-rockers, and a rollerblading drug dealer are just a handful of strange characters you’ll meet in this alt-teur’s cinematic Rolodex. Bilandic’s films are something of best-kept secret around these parts – produced the fringes of New York’s humble movie colony, these sui generis works beg to be celebrated.

These three feature films – HAPPY LIFE, HELLAWARE, and the spanking-new JOBE’Z WORLD – are untouchable works of rare art that mark this cool cat as one to watch. Think you can handle the multi-sensory stimulation of American independent cinema’s boldest visionary? Shed those presumptions and take a dip – the water’s fine!