Sugarbutts

Lesson 9 is a short film about the loss of a lover to insanity. Part horror story, noir-like mystery and disaster film, Lesson 9 weaves together shards of a narrative that has been shattered like excerpts from the journal of a lover gone mad. A disaster movie after the disaster, the film uses three different definitions of possession to form its thematic structure and to explore love, loss, sexuality and insanity.

Punk rock auteur, Danny Plotnick shot his YouTube classic "Skate Witches" in one afternoon in 1986 on Super 8 film at a cost of $60. In it, a group of teenage female skatepunks (and their pet rats) terrorize boy skaters.

Extreme manipulation of filmic time and space combined with an impressionistic lighting scheme help create an urban spaces nightmare. A woman living by herself is having a hard time, downstairs the neighbours are fighting, next door they're having extremely loud sex, an old lady's stealing her clothes in the laundry room, and worst of all, she's no better than the rest.

A character referred to as "The Professor" introduces and comments on a filmed version of a supposed script from a 1960's home movie-making magazine. Even though the target audience would presumably be making the film at home and casting their friends and family, the script is an extremely suggestive tale of a housewife being seduced by a traveling salesman.

A tale of backwoods blacktop mayhem--Two dim-witted, lead-footed guidos from Bayonne, New Jersey bust through stoplight after stoplight in their turbo-charged, fuel-injected Pontiac Grand Prix until their mean machine nearly eighty-sixes another hunk of American steel. And that's just the start of it...A confrontation, an assault, fists-a-flying, and traffic violations.

Two lunkheads get dumped by their friends in the desert.

An ode to the counterculture of the 80s and 90s, when finding quality culture was a real treasure hunt.

A pretentious underground filmmaker struggles with his masterpiece while a scuzzy punkoid chick tries to keep her band from fading into obscurity.

The pointless shenanigans of San Francisco rock 'n' roll ne'er-do-wells The Icky Boyfriends and their futile quest for rock stardom.

A narcissistic tennis pro, a talentless socialite and an animal rights activist discover the troubles of “fame”.

A rare glimpse into the art and married life of two giants of autobiographical comics, Justin Green and Carol Tyler, who pioneered and set the bar for one of comics' most important genres.

The epic tale of a longhaired loser getting mugged by a bunch of rug rats in a laundromat at 22nd and Guerrero.

A sock monkey enjoysg a night on the town.

Ever wonder what it's like to go on tour with your film, band, poetry or art? Well it's not all glad-handing, schmoozing, free drink tickets and adoring audiences. Along the way there are some dark, dank and humiliating moments. The Tour Tips series will address some of these pitfalls to better prepare the travelling artiste for his or her journey down the wrong side of the road.

Crackling with the energy of a 1980s punk rock, seat-of-the-pants, totally wired DIY production, Elevator to Stardom is a reminder of how films got made back in the day. Come up with an idea, use the small footprint and immediacy of Super 8, and knock out a crowd-pleaser in a month’s time. Grain-be-damned, thread up the projector, and let’s get viewing.

A loving tribute to comic genius Flip Wilson.