I could do with a hand - I'm organising a film festival...

[justdrew]

the gay zombie porn market is wide open

‘Gay zombie porn’ film banned from Australia’s largest film festival

A "gay zombie porn" flick which shows aliens engaging in necrophilia has been pulled from Australia's biggest film festival after being rejected by censors, organisers said Tuesday.

"L.A. Zombie", which also features homosexual sex and full-frontal male nudity, is the first film in seven years to be banned from screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival, which starts on July 22.

Festival director Richard Moore told The Age newspaper he had received a letter from censors rejecting the film by Canadian director Bruce LaBruce.

Described by Moore as a "video art zombie film", "L.A. Zombie" stars French porn actor Francois Sagat as a man convinced he is an alien zombie sent to Earth to roam the streets of Los Angeles in search of dead bodies and gay sex.

Australia's film classification board said the movie had been denied an exemption from classification, not banned as Moore had claimed.

An exemption would have allowed the film to be shown at the festival, but board director Donald McDonald said he had concluded, from the film's synopsis and the director's previous classification history, that "L.A Zombie" was not suitable for screening.

"In the opinion of the director, the film, if classified, would be classified X18+ or RC (refused classification) and, in this circumstance, the law requires the director to refuse an exemption," McDonald said in a statement to AFP.

Films may not be screened publicly unless they are classified, while classifications of X18+ or RC prevent a film from being shown in most public cinemas.

Moore has defended the festival's attempt to show the film, telling public broadcaster ABC that people have a right to judge it for themselves.

"They know they're not gonna go and see Fantasia or Bambi," said Moore.

"L.A. Zombie" will have its world premiere next week in Locarno, Switzerland. The director expressed his delight at the censors' decision in an interview with an Aussie news talk platform.

Last year's festival drew protests from China and had its website hacked over the decision to show "Ten Conditions of Love", a biopic of Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer.

This video is a trailer for LA Zombie. It contains scenes of violence and gore and should be considered not safe for work.

although I've now officially "had it up to here" with zombie vampire anything

[justdrew]

the gay zombie porn market is wide open

‘Gay zombie porn’ film banned from Australia’s largest film festival

A "gay zombie porn" flick which shows aliens engaging in necrophilia has been pulled from Australia's biggest film festival after being rejected by censors, organisers said Tuesday.

"L.A. Zombie", which also features homosexual sex and full-frontal male nudity, is the first film in seven years to be banned from screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival, which starts on July 22.

Festival director Richard Moore told The Age newspaper he had received a letter from censors rejecting the film by Canadian director Bruce LaBruce.

Described by Moore as a "video art zombie film", "L.A. Zombie" stars French porn actor Francois Sagat as a man convinced he is an alien zombie sent to Earth to roam the streets of Los Angeles in search of dead bodies and gay sex.

Australia's film classification board said the movie had been denied an exemption from classification, not banned as Moore had claimed.

An exemption would have allowed the film to be shown at the festival, but board director Donald McDonald said he had concluded, from the film's synopsis and the director's previous classification history, that "L.A Zombie" was not suitable for screening.

"In the opinion of the director, the film, if classified, would be classified X18+ or RC (refused classification) and, in this circumstance, the law requires the director to refuse an exemption," McDonald said in a statement to AFP.

Films may not be screened publicly unless they are classified, while classifications of X18+ or RC prevent a film from being shown in most public cinemas.

Moore has defended the festival's attempt to show the film, telling public broadcaster ABC that people have a right to judge it for themselves.

"They know they're not gonna go and see Fantasia or Bambi," said Moore.

"L.A. Zombie" will have its world premiere next week in Locarno, Switzerland. The director expressed his delight at the censors' decision in an interview with an Aussie news talk platform.

Last year's festival drew protests from China and had its website hacked over the decision to show "Ten Conditions of Love", a biopic of Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer.

This video is a trailer for LA Zombie. It contains scenes of violence and gore and should be considered not safe for work.

although I've now officially "had it up to here" with zombie vampire anything

Zombie porn screening leads to police raid
Updated 11 hours 16 minutes ago
Police have raided the home of Melbourne filmmaker Richard Wolstencroft after he held a public screening of the banned movie LA Zombie.

A police spokeswoman says the house was raided this morning "in relation to exhibiting and possessing an unclassified film".

Wolstencroft, the founder and director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF), is expected to face court at a later date.

He held a public screening of LA Zombie, directed by Canadian Bruce LaBruce, in August. *

The Australian Classification Board banned the film just before it was due to be screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival in July.

The film is described in the festival program as "gay zombie porn".

Wolstencroft has been contacted by the ABC.

Wolstencroft, whose films include Pearls Before Swine, Bloodlust and The Beautiful and The Damned, has in the past been vocal about his stance on free speech.

In 2003, MUFF, with Wolstencroft at the helm, attempted to show a controversial film by Holocaust denier David Irving but they shelved the plans at the last minute due to security fears and the mounting controversy surrounding the screening.

---

* I guess they decided to keep things simple, eh bruce?

[Nordic]

Well, he can always sell copies of it on Amazon.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/10/amazon ... de/?hpt=T2

[Nordic]

The girl I lived with in Denver, years ago, worked for the Denver film festival. I was really impressed at how they managed to get so much stuff donated to them in the name of promotion. She and I got to drive around in a brand new cadillac (with a cell phone!) for two weeks, all of it donated by Cadillac (just as a for instance).

I think the guy (can't remember his name) who ran the thing and started it had it all set up as a non-profit corporation in order to do that. Don't know what the equivalent of that is in Australia, but if you can do that, then the sponsors can get an nice tax-writeoff for helping you out. And that could be anything and everything -- the beer at the parties, the hotel rooms, the screening facilities, the printing of the brochures, everything.

This guy in Denver ended up making a really good living doing this festival, non-profit and all.

Can't remember his name. Ron something it seems ....

[Seamus OBlimey]

Can't remember his name. Ron something it seems ....

Jeremy?

Nimbin is not LA.

So Joe, how'd it go?

I'd love to hear, as I'm sure would we all.

[Avalon]

One thing I;d strongly suggest for any undertaking of this sort, is to have a continuity and logistics book/files. Document what you do, by what date you need to do it, what works and what doesn't. Be meticulous, and vow to leave the festival better than it was when you got it.

I go to a private conference held every year that brings 120 people together from a 500 mile radius, which I've been attending for about 15 years. Different people have the task of organizing it each year, and we're constantly revising the continuity book to make sure it isn't a burden for the next group of people who undertake the task.