While the film revels in its disorienting nature, filmmaker Mitchell Stafiej and co-leads Travis Cannon and James Watts provide clarity about the inspiration, process, and production of The Diabetic. Traveling all the way from Montréal to a different section of Montréal, this gang of storytellers and comedians exuded an affability that their film’s anti-hero would do well to learn from, as well as providing restaurant recommendations North of the Border.
“[W]e needed to get into Alec’s mind because otherwise he was just like this huge loser, and that’s all he was.”—Mitchell Stafiej
366 Weird Movies’ Giles Edwards interviews director Mali Elfman, actress Katie Parker, and producer Derek Bishé about their 2022 supernatural road trip movie, “Next Exit.” Preceded by the Q&A remarks from the film’s official premiere at the 2022 Fantasia International Film Festival. Stay tuned (or skip to the end) for restaurant recommendations.
366 Weird Movies’ Giles Edwards interviews Carter Smith about his 2022 queer horror movie “Swallowed.” Also includes Smith’s Q&A remarks from the film’s official premiere at the 2022 Fantasia International Film Festival. Stay tuned (or skip to the end) for restaurant recommendations for Bailey Island, Maine.
All Jacked up and Full of Worms is a low budget horror/comedy about lowlifes getting high on hallucinogenic worms. 366’s Giles Edwards sat for an audio interview with writer/director Alex Phillips, editor Troy Lewis, and FX artist Ben Gojer soon after the film’s World Premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Stay to the end for restaurant recommendations for South Lake, Texas; Chicago, IL; and Home Depot.
“I don’t know the difference between a weird movie and a not-weird one… I think all movies are weird. If they’re not weird, they’re not any good at all.”–Alex Phillips
We sat down with Delta Space Mission‘s Calin Cazan to reminisce about the making of the 1984 Romanian space epic and get a recommendation for where to eat in Bucharest.
Mr. Cazan provided some additional notes and links post-interview:
“Romanian cinema had several studios: for live-action films there were several studios in Buftea (near Bucharest); for documentaries, there was a studio, Sahia, with two offices in the capital; for animation, there was Animafilm, with two offices.
About 300 people worked at Animafilm. The animation was best for the budget, because it made series for children (6 to 12 years old) that sold well, for television, bundled in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
I studied architecture at the Ion Mincu Institute of Architecture—after my internship, I went to Animafilm. After graduating from a course taught by Victor Antonescu, I joined as an animator. Because my architecture studies were not recognized, I also attended courses at the Institute of Fine Arts.
Victor Antonescu initiated a sci-fi series, based on which the General Manager launched a kind of promotional contest for a new series. Together with Mircea Toia, we assembled a team to work on the first episode, which was a success. The management asked us to continue the series.
Delta Space Mission was intended for ages 12-20 years, and over. The destination was also international, targeting the countries with which Animafilm already had commercial relations.
Of course, we were influenced by the sci-fi movies that were on the market at the time. But also the books and publications. George Anania, who was the director of Animafilm, was also a writer of sci-fi novels.
For a meal in Bucharest, I recommend, for young people, ”Curtea Veche,” and for those close to my age, any restaurant in Charles de Gaulle Square or Herăstrău Park.”
Literary influences on Delta Space Mission:
Jules Verne – “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, “Around the World in Eighty Days”, “A Journey to the Center of the Earth”, “From the Earth to the Moon”
Isaac Asimov – Foundation (1951), Foundation and Empire (1952), Second Foundation (1953), I Robot (1951)
Arthur C. Clarke – 2001 – A Space Odyssey (1968), “2010 – Odyssey Two” (1982), “Rendezvous with Rama” (1973)
