Producer Profile: LACE CRATER's Joe Swanberg

Joe Swanberg is well known for being one of our Vanguard Mascot contenders, but he is also well known for his micro-budget filmmaking style. Nearly every film he has directed has been produced by himself, but he has also produced a few films he did not direct, including this year's Lace Crater in the Vanguard program. Below are just of a few of the many films Joe has produced, some of which you may not have heard of.

In 2009, Joe produced his wife Kris Swanberg's film It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home. The film, which selected for SXSW 2009, follows Cam (Jade Healy) and Annie (Kris Swanberg) on a trip through Costa Rica. The film is currently available to rent or buy via Vimeo.

2011's Fantasia festival saw TIFF favourites Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett (A Horrible Way to Die, You're Next, The Guest) screen the Swanberg produced film What Fun We Were Having. The film is an anthology of short films about date rape, and not much is known about it beyond the reviews out of Fantasia. Joe Swanberg does however star in the fourth story in the anthology as a young man who, while under the influence, makes the biggest mistake of his life with his roommate's sister.

Queen of the Earth is a film by Alex Ross Perry that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival this past February. Released by IFC Films in August, the film stars Katerine Waterston and Elisabeth Moss as two women that grew up together that discover they have drifted apart while at a lake house retreat.

Further information about Lace Crater can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Facebook page and director Harrison Atkins' website.

LACE CRATER Screening Times:

Sun. Sept 20, 3:15PM SCOTIABANK 9

LACE CRATER Premieres Tonight!

Wanna go see a movie?

Grab your burlap "going out" sacks because Lace Crater premieres tonight. (You're going to want to pick up some protection, too. Love is love, but intimate hauntings and sexually transmitted ghostism are forever).

Lace Crater is the charming and sometimes creepy story of a Ruth (Lindsay Burdge), a young woman going through some relationship troubles, and a shy ghost named Michael. As Vanguard Programmer Colin Geddes puts it:

An awkward twentysomething begins to undergo some strange physical changes after a weekend tryst — with a ghost — in this charmingly lo-fi, supernaturally-tinged comedy-drama.

Will Ruth and Michael make it work despite the chafiness of burlap? Will they remember to use protection and avoid intimate hauntings and sexually transmitted ghostism? 

And, if that's not enough drama, Lace Crater also features, special guest, Joe Swanberg, the inaugural Vanguard Program Blog Mascot. Could this be his attempt to reclaim the title?

Hi, is this Vanguard Mascot Battle? I have a contender.

LACE CRATER Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 15th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 10
Tuesday, Sept 17th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sunday, Sept 20th, 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9

LACE CRATER and Other Ghostly Sexual Encounters

Lace Crater follows the story of Ruth (Lindsay Burdge), an awkward twenty something that begins to experience strange physical changes after a weekend tryst with a ghost. The phenomenon of sexual encounters between ghosts and humans is called spectrophilia, and there are some films that have explored this phenomenon in the past. While not exactly a trope explored often, the relationship between humans and ghosts is one that can produce either romantic or terrifying outcomes.

Ghost (1990) is perhaps the most famous example of a romantic haunting. While no actual human-ghost sexual encounter occurs in the film - the famous pottery scene occurs at the beginning of the film - Sam Wheat's (Patrick Swayze) love for Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) is so strong that he watches after her to protect her after his murder.

The Entity (1981) is a film that is the exact opposite of a romantic haunting, and Martin Scorsese considers it one of the scariest horror movies of all time. The film stars Barbara Hershey as a woman who is tormented and sexually abused by a ghost. The film is based off the story of Doris Bither, a woman who in 1974 told Culver City, California police that she was raped by invisible assailants.

Last year's hit Midnight Madness film It Follows (2014) doesn't feature a human-ghost sexual encounter, but it does feature something arguably scarier - a sexually transmitted poltergeist as programmer Colin Geddes put it in last year's programming notes. The film follows Jay (Maika Monroe) as she confronts a murderous entity visible only to her after having sex with a new boy she has been seeing.

 

Further information about Lace Crater can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Facebook page and director Harrison Atikins' website.

LACE CRATER Screening Times:

Tue. Sept 15, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 10

Thu. Sept 17, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 14

Sun. Sept 20, 3:15PM SCOTIABANK 9

LACE CRATER: Director Profile + 5 Questions With Harrison Atkins

Lace Crater is director Harrison Atkins's feature film debut, and it's playing as part of this year's Vanguard programme.

An awkward twentysomething begins to undergo some strange physical changes after a weekend tryst - with a ghost - in this charmingly lo-fi, supernaturally-tinged comedy-drama.

Not content to do just one thing, Atkins is a director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, and musician. Whew! That's a lot of talent for one guy.

We've already discussed a few of his short films on the blog, and if you haven't already, you should definitely check them out. They are weird, witty, and wonderful.

After watching the short films and the Lace Crater teaser trailer, our curiosity was piqued so we chatted with Atkins about his influences and his obsession with cats. There may have been some mention of the Official Vanguard Mascot Competition, too. Hrmmm...

"Hello, this is the Committee To Re-Elect Joe Swanberg as Official Vanguard Mascot calling..."

 You've got Bandcamp pages for three different bands (all of which you are involved with) listed on your website. In "Blissful Banquet" you actually have music performed live. Would you ever be interested in scoring films?

I'd love to score films. I was able to compose for films a little bit in college and found it very stimulating. In the past few years, I've toyed with the possibility of scoring a film of my own, but have always ended up collaborating with other artists. Maybe some day!

Please expand upon your fascination with cats. They feature prominently in two of your short films. Do you have cats of your own?

No, I'm actually allergic to cats so in my real life I have to keep them at a distance. I think cinema is the only lens through which I can explore my desire to pet them and hold them. Honestly, I'm not sure why they keep popping up. I guess I just think they're funny? But I'm not ruling out the possibility of some subconscious or repressed trauma.

Last year, It Follows, a movie about a girl who contracts a ghost from sex, played at the Festival. In Lace Crater, your character has sex with a ghost. Do you think that sex and ghosts are part of the current cultural zeitgeist and if so, why?

It's pretty strange! I mean, I think technology has the capability to fracture identity in a way is sort of unprecedented. There's definitely something kind of spectral to me about the personas people adopt online. Not to mention this whole uniquely modern experience of having a friend or acquaintance who tragically dies, but then you can still visit all of their social media accounts? That's a very ghostly thing, really, this Internet proxy self that haunts cyberspace after death. So I suppose this all could be a corollary of culture's increasingly immediate and intimate relationship with technology.

Your short films have playful, sarcastic, almost surreal qualities. Are there any filmmakers who have inspired you to strive for those qualities because of their own films?

So many. But Stephen Chow instantly springs to mind; he's one of my favorites. And along the same lines, Katsuhito Ishii - especially Funky Forest, which was huge for me. And I'm a pretty big Apichatpong Weerasethakul guy; a lot of his films have a kind of goofy formal language that really resonates with me. Andrzej Zulawski is in there somewhere, too. And David Lynch, when he's being funny.

Did you know that Joe Swanberg was the Official Vanguard Mascot of 2013? Now that you have this information, do you feel compelled to toss your hat into the ring for Official Vanguard Mascot of 2015? (Also, how is Mr. Swanberg handling things post-Vanguard Mascot? He never returns our texts.)

I'm tempted to gun for the crown this year, but what's the point of replacing one giant novelty pencil with another? What I mean to say is, I have a lot of respect for the current Mascot. It seems like a really tough job. And I know Joe just hasn't been the same since he lost the title last year. I think the transition from Mascot back to civilian can be really rough. (It's a complex social issue that I don't think gets enough publicity.)

LACE CRATER Screening Times:
Tue. Sept 15, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 10
Thu. Sept 17, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun. Sept 20, 3:15PM SCOTIABANK 9

LACE CRATER: The Short Films of Harrison Atkins

Harrison Atkins is making his feature film debut with the world premiere of Lace Crater, but before directing the horror-comedy-drama, he helmed a few short films that have been uploaded in full on his Vimeo page. The first one we'll look at is an animated short called Catsleeves from 2010, which has a surprisingly literal take on the title.

The second is Chocolate Heart, which opens with the protagonists' parents turning into cats. If that doesn't draw you in, perhaps the talking toilet will. It really does need to be seen to be believed. Chocolate Heart was a hit at several festivals last year and this year and was also featured on ShortOfTheWeek.com.

Harrison's most recent short is Blissful Banquet, which was a Vimeo Staff Pick and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Oak Cliff Film Festival this year.

Further information about Lace Crater can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Facebook page and director Harrison Atikins' website.

LACE CRATER Screening Times:
Tue. Sept 15, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 10
Thu. Sept 17, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun. Sept 20, 3:15PM SCOTIABANK 9

LACE CRATER First Look: Title Treatment and Stills

Lace Crater is one of Vanguard 2015's most mysterious titles. It's the debut feature by director Harrison Atkins and it's produced by celebrated indie director Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas). Poke around online for more info about the film and you'll find only the striking title treatment above and precious few stills.

We do know, however, from programmer Colin Geddes' programme note, that the film's plot has a seriously kinky hook: it's about the (bodily) horrific aftermath that a woman faces after a sexual encounter with a ghost.

LACE CRATER
Tuesday, Sept 15th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 10
Tuesday, Sept 17th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sunday, Sept 20th, 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9