Thank youse!

So, that’s it for another year.  From My Winnipeg to Spider Baby we sho did see some fine works o’ cinema.  Thanks to everyone who came along. I hope it left you a little richer.  Thanks to Milos of whom more later.

Not everything worked, of course.  My attempts to evade last year’s problems of getting bumped failed. No one remembered which Friday of the month the Core Program was showing. Lost Valhallas, a go at celebrating Melbourne’s history of arthouse cinema, also fizzed due to no one liking its irregularity.  I blamed myself and moved on to a weekly schedule at Milos’ recommendation, starting in autumn with Heathers. From then it was every Friday at the gallery bar where everybody knew your name.  There were only two bumps which is pretty good going. 

And then there were the titles that my best efforts couldn’t save from their audiences. Myra Breckinridge was generally not seen as the self performing lesson in the misalignment of concept and execution. Liquid Sky was pronounced dumb by the gen ys who came to see it. Noriko’s Dinner Table was jest plain misunderstood.  

My self performing lesson? Can’t win em all. Seriously, young and old cry time poor and when they make their minds up that’s it for eternity.  That means if I am to suggest some context for a given title I have to do it carefully which takes a lot of preparation. Time poor!

That ranted, A Woman is a Woman and Harold and Maude both gained new fans and Come and See left us again stunned and silent.Their success made up for how disturbing I found the consevatism of the younger audiences and the few lo-shows.

Now, the future. Milos who again generously gave of his space and time needs both between now and the end of the year for his own concerns including an exhibition of his own works, spending time with his famliy and the seasonal parties and functions that do more to pay his outgoings than my little film night. He got a decent round of applause during my speil for Spider Baby and deserved every last clap.He has shown every encouragement and a lot of tolerance (especially of the horror movies I keep putting in front of him). He's also suggested I come back in January to do some more.  I'm into it as long as the  bar and screen are there. If that happens you will know.

Meantime I'll be using this space to air praise and greviances of the more contemporary fare available at local cinemas.  High time I went back into the legitimate darkness of commercial movie houses and hacked into choctops of all flavours. I'll letcha know