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COMPASSQ&AFor almost 20 years Ant Timpson has been the brains behind theIncredibly Strange Film Festival. We caught up with New Zealand’ssultan of crazy, cult cinema to find out what terrors are being unleashedthis year and why people are drawn to these bizarre filmsWhat is the Incredibly StrangeFilm Festival all about?It’s a big screen ode to my cinematicpsyche and a platform that allowsme to expose incredible newgenrecinema to New Zealandaudiences. I’m very grateful to theNZ International Film Festival forallowing me my section to cut loose in.How did the festival start?It started in April 1994, as an excuseto watch cult films with my friends.The response from day one wasoverwhelming.What is your curation process?These days the line-up is 99% newmaterial and this is sourced froma network of film spies around theworld. I also attend high-profilefestivals to see the films that arecausing a ruckus on the circuit.I watch around 200 films to getdown to the 10 programmed.What qualifies a film as‘strange’?Well ‘strange’ in the context of‘Incredibly Strange’ is just a wayto explain things that fall outsidethe mainstream. It might not evenapply to some of the films that screenin my programme anymore. It’smore a reflection of the influencesthat shape many of the films I’minterested in.How did you become a fanof these movies?There was no defining moment.At heart I love all cinema – this is justone area I’m intensely passionateabout. But I could happily programmea section on spaghetti westerns,noir, biblical epics or sport films.I grew up going to the CrystalPalace in Mt Eden in Auckland andattended every type of film over theyears. I think once you sip the madgenius of an Ed Wood film at an earlyage, it weaves a spell that is neverbroken. I’m glad to say I’m still underthat spell.“If you come awaywith one image from afilm that you’ll neverforget, then that is animportant film to me.”What is it about these strangefilms that people like?The new films are the most excitingfilms on the film festival circuit.They’re films that have wowedcritics and audiences at Sundanceand Cannes Film Festivals.Often they’re transgressive piecesof cinema, breaking new ground,offering glimpses to a cinematic worldthat we haven’t seen before. If youcome away with one image from afilm that you’ll never forget, then thatis an important film to me.What can moviegoers expectfrom this year’s festival?The unexpected. People who attendone of the films I’ve programmedshould know that I’ve been movedby the film and I want them to bemoved, too. I want them talkingabout it to friends the next week.I’ve programmed films that willterrify, others that make you think,and a couple that will make youstand up and cheer.What advice would you givesomeone just starting to diptheir toes into this strangecinematic world?Respect your elders. Start off with theseall-time classic, incredibly strangefilms and then expand out from thereto other far reaches of the cineverse:Eraserhead, El Topo, Plan 9 FromOuterspace and Pink Flamingoes.What is your favourite strangefilm of all time and why?That’s a Sophie’s Choice question.to me. ←The Incredibly Strange Film Festival isscreening nationally throughout winteras part of the New Zealand InternationalFilm Festival programme. Check www.nzff.co.nz to find dates for your region.PHOTOGRAPHY: JESSIE CASSON10 AA Directions Winter 2013