Fantastic Fest 2008

Brief Summary:
Probably the biggest concentration of explosions, nudity and blood at Fantastic Fest this year. A documentary that traces the secret and not so secret history of ozploitation.

Full Description:
"Fascinating and hugely entertaining...Brilliant stuff." - Edgar Wright

Finally, the definitive story of the go-for-broke, fuck-it-all Aussie renaissance of the '70s and '80s. The national character of Australia is marked by a certain raucous non-conformity, and the country's fast and furious exploitation film output during this golden age is notable for its extreme audacity - rudeness even. As exiled subjects of the British Empire they might have been expected to copy the staid, overly mannered films of their ancestral homeland but hell no, their films are loaded with more boobs, reckless car chases, explosions and killer fauna than anyone's. They're cheap, filthy, loud and proud. And like a cool rain in the middle of the outback, this very welcome and unexpected doc gives you the "Easy Riders Raging Bulls" style lowdown on all the best ozploitation films you've never seen, including unheralded masterpieces like THE LONG WEEKEND and ROAD GAMES, exercises in stylistic excess like RAZORBACK and NEXT OF KIN, downright full-blooded smut like THE NAKED BUNYIP and STORK, bloody horrors like NIGHT OF FEAR and THIRST and the spectacular action mayhem of Brian Trenchard-Smith, whose films MAN FROM HONG KONG and TURKEY SHOOT break off the violence knob altogether. Fans of genre cinema will be scribbling notes furiously to keep up with the lightning fast pace of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD. In addition to the astonishing assortment of clips from the movies themselves, this film features dozens of interviews with Australian luminaries and imported American talent like Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis. Megafan Quentin Tarantino provides insightful commentary and characteristic enthusiasm throughout, as do directors James Wan (SAW) and Greg McLean (WOLF CREEK). (Lars Nilsen)

Check out the Australian Not Quite Hollywood official site for tons of info and a mountain of jaw-dropping Ozploitation trailers.

This film is sponsored by Foster’s.

Read Edgar Wright's nifty blog post about NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD.

Director Mark Hartley will attend these screenings and answer audience questions afterward.