DeZ Vylenz Log

A captain's log of activities and projects, affiliations and developments involving the Shadowsnake ship and various guerilla film expeditions. Updated in between storms by DeZ Vylenz, Writer - Director - Martial Arts Choreographer

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Powerful Vibes

Powerful Vibes. In good and in bad ways. All of which will affect my film making in a profound way, as I don’t write my fiction within a vacuum. My primary interest in myth is the truth, the journey we undertake as humans, tiny creatures within a vast universe of which we only understand a glimpse with our limited senses and instruments.

Last week, a lot of bad vibes again in the media. Attempted bombings in London and Glasgow, fortunately with no serious casualties. Newspaper and TV headlines adding to the public fear. A good thing is that the people in Great Britain remain quite sensible and the majority seem to understand that this is the work of a small group of people, not a majority. As far as I know the whole concept of Jihad was always intended to be a spiritual battle within an individual to conquer one’s own demons and live a clean path.

This has now been taken literally by militant factions, thus bringing the religion of Islam in a more negative light in the media, resulting in casualties inflicted amongst Muslims as well. Local government politics, historical feuds and events, there are so many factors that only now a clearer picture of the causes and symptoms of global terrorism is coming together. The UK had experienced the IRA before, Germany the Baader Meinhoff group and in The Netherlands some minor incidents (train jacking in the 70s) with the Moluccan secessionist groups, so it was not entirely new on European soil.

Even though I grew up experiencing a military coup d’etat, a dictatorship with all its blatant propaganda and murders of the opposition, none of it was racially or religiously based. It was mostly just a struggle for power and money. Suriname is a very diverse and plural society where Idul Fitr (end of the Ramadan fasting month) is a national holiday, just as X-mas is or Holi (Phagwa) a Hindu holiday, or the abolition of Slavery on the 1st July (1863). In one of the main roads in the city centre, there is one of the largest mosques in the Caribbean next to one of the largest Jewish Synagogues and there has never been any violence or tension between the various religions or cultures.

In fact, you join friends in their celebration out of respect and genuine curiosity for their way of life and worship. In Morocco this kind of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims has also been the case, so extremism and friction have something to do with context and cannot be used to generalize a whole group of people. But while growing up in Suriname, I –and most of my friends—took for granted that this cultural adaptability was something special and not common in most countries where the population is relatively homogenous.

“Terrorism” is a relatively modern term and has been used and propagated by different groups all over the world, very often a group that wants to make some kind of statement, whatever that may be. People born on their own soil have been know to resort to violence whether that be Japan, Peru, the USA (e.g. the Unabomber) and so on. Considering violence and war are inherent to human nature, the conversion to a society of total peace seems difficult as a lot of frustration and anger is often directed in more immediate and violent means. Hurt leads to more hurt and so on, spiralling into a vortex of hatred.

Against this whole background and events over the last weekend I had been thinking a lot about how our global civilization as a whole is still so fragmented and engaged in competitive friction. Despite great technological leaps, spiritually there is still no clear evolution in sight, at least not on a major scale. The problem is that even on an individual level, most people don’t truly know who they are, what they want or appreciate in life, let alone manage to empathize with others. There are of course small groups of people worshipping deities or the universe in a pure way, to express gratitude for our life, food, friendships and most of all love.

This might seem too airy-fairy or “70s” to scores of people in these sceptical times, but this practice is exactly what the Shuar shaman brothers Hilario and Miguel from Equador are spreading across the world. And airy-fairy is the last thing this ancient tribe of powerful hunter-warriors can be accused of. They are perhaps known by most as “Jivaros” or “head hunters” which they don’t like to be labelled as, because it was a more derogative term given by Spanish missionaries and colonizers, who never managed to conquer or convert the proud and fierce Shuar tribe.

The shrunken heads were a big fad in the late 19th century in Europe, and up to this day the entire procedure remains a big secret of chemistry. A human head could be shrunk to the size of an orange, with the skin mummified and the face recognizable, with the eyes and mouth sewn together. Their knowledge of plants and chemical components within the Amazon forest is tremendous. E.g. Curare, a powerful toxin used for hunting is a well known feat and Ayahuasca is famous for its sacred and intense psychedelic properties and used through various religious or indigenous groups around the Amazon.

Hilario Chirap is the Shaman Chief of about 18 Shuar tribes, totalling a rough number of 18,000. Next time I’ll write about an extraordinary meeting with Miguel --his younger brother--an equally gifted shaman and musician while he was passing through Amsterdam. It was a great unexpected uplift from all the negative vibes to see a traditional culture –with the equivalent status of royalty-- from deep within the Amazon jungle travelling to bring positive knowledge to “modern” society.

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Contemporary Cinema

Last Wednesday of the month, which was supposed to be the "classic" film comment day, but my brain is fried from running from meetings East-West, North-South on London's hectic underground this week. Needed some light fluff last Sunday, so saw Ocean's 13, which actually was entertaining and quick paced, and it didn't annoy me like the other parts where it was a lot about characters being super cool and hip and talking the jive and all that. But though Soderbergh knows his film language, it's still popcorn fare that you won't really remember after a few days.

Most people who know the underworld won't recognise any of the hip characters in the real world (with a few exceptions), so in that sense the gangster loan sharks in Killing of a Chinese Bookie (which I saw on Monday) were very realistic in their peasant like stubbornness to just get their money from their victims. A simple money making racket, where only intimidation was needed, no charm, no style, no frills.. But life imitates art of course, so over the last few years plenty of "alternative" entrepeneurs have taken a liking to the flash and the bling.

Of course there are various shades and occupation within the underworld, so nothing is hard set and in fiction every writer or filmmaker works with their own version of how they see the underworld. And Soderbergh's film is of course meant as a comedy, while Cassavetes' is a character study. Killing of a Chinese Bookie has some great moments, but some bits I did find a bit too long, especially the night club cabaretier annoyed me after a while. But it still is a brooding and captive piece of 70s cinema, and back then it was even more difficult to produce films independently, so the more respect to Cassavetes for putting his own money in.

As for the more established Hollywood filmmakers, it's odd to see most of them who've won Oscars and all kinds of prizes making all the light stuff, while they could venture further. Maybe it's something about getting established, maybe it's to do with age, maybe it's the comfort of luxury that takes away the urgency and drive, but there are very few filmmakers who manage to make really interesting or edgy stuff once they've become "respectable" or "bankable".

But sneaking into other screens of the multiplex to see what else was going on, made all of the films above masterpieces of the century compared to the teeniebopper leveled stuff like Fantastic Four (saw the last 10 minutes or so), or some Bollywood flick I can't even repeat the title of, with a Taj Mahal backdrop in the background and a superslick groomed actors couple slimeballing each other in some song, then there was Vacancy (last 15 minutes), more standard modern horror material.

To be honest, the craft of storytelling, directing and narrative is not there anymore. It's all about the slickness and the glam. And I'm sure around the world some great films are made, but most of us will never see them in the cinemas or even hear about them as the prospects of distribution are still bleak. What cyan ye do. It's the nature of the beast.

Posted by DeZ Vylenz  

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Forgotten Rebels of Cinema

Been a crazy week again, picking up on business in London, but managed to make some time last Sunday and watch John Cassavetes' Opening Night at the National Film Theatre, where the BFI has a whole monthly retrospective thing going on. His films are well known of course for great actor performances. A Woman Under the Influence (again with his wife Gena Rowlands) is another great classic. In the hands of another director these actor driven films might have easily come across to me --I usually prefer some plot & structure--as narcissistic, depressing or too pretentiously "arty", but Cassavetes just has that touch that gets you entirely involved in the emotional fabric of his films.

On top of that his whole approach of putting his own money into his projects makes him all the more one of the independent maverick champions. It's a shame most of contemporary audiences keep watching films not older than a few years, because the 70s in particular still has truckloads of ignored classics.

For more on the man:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cassavetes

This Friday I hope I find a spare hole in the schedule to check out Killing of a Chinese Bookie again, which I saw many years ago.But it was one of those moments when you're so tired after 10 hours of work and university the warm womb of cinema darkness lulls you in and out of sleep. In terms of emotional intensity and the raw energy of the streets, it's in the same urban zone as Mean Streets and another one of my favourites: Bad Lieutenant, which is still Abel Ferrara's best film I think and possibly also Harvey Keitel's most intense role. I haven't seen all of his work, except some snippets passing by in those rare moments I'm near a TV, and a lot of it is rather more art house. But when I saw Bad Lieutenant back in the 90s, its raw energy just gripped me by the throat and only released me once the credits rolled up.

Below are a few links, Ferrara about Madonna, Jimmy Page and the crooked side of the film business (his robber baron reference must give every filmmaker involved with development and production some deja vu jolts). Reading about that Kashmir sample that's now unfortunately removed from the film makes me value those days in the Amsterdam film houses (most of them closed down by now) all the more. It really gave the scenes that extra dimension.

The First interview is the most interesting one, check it out:

http://www.avclub.com/content/node/22601

http://nypress.com/15/27/news&columns/feature.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signifying_Rapper#_note-tobias

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Lieutenant

Short but snappy:

http://www.artinterviews.com/abelFerrara.html

http://www.cultureport.com/newhp/lingo/authors/ferrara.html

http://www.cultureport.com/newhp/lingo/authors/ferrara2.html

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Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The Waiting Game

Back in London city. From riding a bicycle through Amsterdam's centre with concentric canals and streets --always a great atmosphere in the summer-- to the London underground in a few hours. I guess we do take for granted how fast modern transport is. Several fruitful meetings that should give some momentum to a few new projects, but as usual "development" in the film industry is slower than a Victorian steam engine with even more variables that can grind the endeavours to a halt.

Film is a waiting game, and I can be patient if necessary, but that whole Waiting For Godot modus operandi is not my thing. Same way that a bike is slower in absolute terms than for example a bus, but at least you keep moving and don't need to wait on a tram or bus that might not even show up because of technical breakdown. Similarly, it still seems best to continue production on an independent basis, although it's a lot of hassle.

If I had to wait on the "perfect" budget or production and distribution companies to help me out, The Mindscape of Alan Moore would still be in development hell. Actual shoot and production took 2 years, the remaining 4 years were spent dealing with companies, promotion, festivals and preparing the DVD release (roughly over the last 8 months). Considering Terry Zwigoff spent 9 years on Crumb, shooting bits and fundraising at the same time, it's not that bad, but limitations and obstacles are not things you want to put up with your whole life through. It's good in the beginning to gain experience, learn about hard graft and determination, shaping character and all that, but at some point you just want to tell stories and bring new worlds onto screen, never seen before, except in your head where they are constantly simmering to occassionally reach a boiling point.

Hopefully the next one will be far easier, with dedicated producers on board which will allow me to focus on directing and writing, but hearing about established and acclaimed directors who spend years getting their films off the ground, it's best to keep moving ahead unilaterally. Anything else that happens is a great bonus, but film is not the only thing I'm focusing on, although I still find it the most exciting and unpredictable medium if things really work and great production teams and crew are at the right place and the right time. With a fistfull of dollars to fuel the machine.

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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Writing on the move

Crazy week. Had a flight Monday afternoon to Amsterdam, but Sunday got phone calls to finish a treatment for submission deadline on Tuesday. So spent till 2 am writing the two different projects, Monday more work, rushed off to airport, landed at 22:00, picked up and delivered straight to a production office where we continued with the treatments and guidelines till 1.30 am. Then dropped at my place (which is mainly my library). Good to be back after 4 months, but immediately back on the missions.

The great thing about this city is the bicycle infrastructure. You can move so fast here on the bike without waiting on buses, trams or trains, with great bicycle paths that are safe to speed on, except for the pedestrians and tourists occasionally crossing like slow sheep. In London it's far more dangerous, as there are no dedicated roads for bikes. A lot of people use bikes here to go from one business meeting to the next. Far more efficient.

Anyway, the last four weeks I've spent in a writing frenzy, from business plans to treatments and strategies. If all goes well and these projects get the funding, I need to focus on two screenplays, which is great to get hired for, but it means my own projects have to remain in the fridge for a while. I can't wait to get a few months off just to focus on those, two feature film scrips and a novel, all interconnected with the same world and characters and compiled from experiences and notes accumulated over the last 10 years.

Most of it was written on the move, on trains, planes and automobiles, in small notebooks, on the back of receipts and any piece of paper I could find in my pockets at the time. Since I discovered the small flat moleskins, those are a standard part of my outfit now. Lightweight and a small number of pages to quickly fill up and move to the next one, rather than lugging around with bulky hardbacks and so on. Pens should always be waterproof ink as rain and tea spills can wash out your thoughts otherwise, but strange enough it's rather hard to find pens, as most waterproof inks are still delivered in markers that show through to the other side of the page.

It will take a while before all the other distractions are out of the way, but will be good to get it all out of the system and structured onto paper and the screen. Back on the missions for now.

Posted by DeZ Vylenz