[ecrea] Cult Film Conference

*                                               Offscreen Film Festival 
presents
                          in collaboration with Cinema Rits & 
Northumbria University

                                   Cult Film Conference, Friday March 24

                                  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Cult*



What exactly is the unique appeal of cult films? How could bad - even 
terrible - movies like Troll 2, Plan 9 from Outer Space or The Room
grow into cult films with a worldwide following? Are low budget and bad 
taste essential criteria or is there such a thing as a “good” cult film?
Is cult a matter of taste, perception or hype? Three international 
experts in cult film theory share their insights illustrated by the most 
outrageous film clips.

*Program:*
14:00 What defines a film as cult? – Jamie Sexton (Northumbria University)
14:30 Inferno, Argento and the 'good' cult film – Russ Hunter 
(Northumbria University)
15:00 Bad is Good – I.Q. Hunter (De Montfort University, Leicester)
15:30 break
15:45 panel discussion
16:30 end
Film program at Cinema Nova and Cinematek: Inferno, The Room and 
Cannibal Ferox.
*
Practical Information:*
Friday March, 23 > 14h – 16h30
Cinema Rits, Rits Erasmushogeschool
70, rue A. Dansaertstraat
1000 Brussels
http://www.offscreen.be
http://ritscafe.be/cinema-rits
The conference is free but please register in advance via 
(ils /at/ offscreen.be) <mailto:(ils /at/ offscreen.be)>

*Abstracts*

*What defines a film as cult? – Jamie Sexton (Northumbria University, 
Newcastle)*

“Cult film” is a phrase used frequently in various media, though there 
is often confusion as to what the concept actually means. This talk will 
introduce some of the dominant ways in which cult cinema has been 
defined, focusing on production, exhibition and consumption. An 
illustrated tour through some of the major historical landmarks in cult 
cinema, as well as a few of its lesser-known jewels, will also be provided.

*"Didn't you used to be Dario Argento?" Inferno, Argento and the 'good' 
cult film –  Russ Hunter (Northumbria University, Newcastle)*

Dario Argento has long attracted controversy. With several of his films 
banned from video and DVD release and dogged by accusations of misogyny, 
his work has faced a rollercoaster ride of critical interest. But whilst 
his films after 1982 have faced the full force of international critical 
opprobrium, films like Deep Red, Suspiria and Inferno are the work of a 
director at the creative peak of his career. Distinguished by its visual 
flair and art cinema aesthetics Inferno can be viewed as an example of 
‘good’ cult cinema – a film that has developed a cult following but that 
has legitimate reasons to be labelled a ‘good’ cult film.
*
Bad is Good – I.Q. Hunter (De Montfort University, Leicester)*

What is the unique cult appeal of incredibly Bad Films? In this 
illustrated talk, I.Q. Hunter explores an evolving canon of cult 
failures and 'badfilms', from Plan Nine from Outer Space to Birdemic and 
The Room. He shows how such ultra-low budget efforts, in their 
tastelessness and refusal to adhere to communal standards of 
craftsmanship, can be appreciated as the bold subversions by a warped 
auteur of the reigning codes of a dull and compromised industry. Even 
the most derided films ever made contain cult pleasures unimaginable in 
mainstream successes.

/Offscreen Film Festival in collaboration with Cinema Rits & Northumbria 
University
Academic partners: Northumbria University, Centre for Cinema Studies- 
University of British Columbia, De Montfort University, Leicester/