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Wednesday Night Cinema Society 10/27/21

a man wearing a red shirt and fur hat playing a guitar while kneeling in front of a green forest
Wed, Oct 27, 2021, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: 
Communications 150 (Studio C)

This coming Wednesday (October 27th), Allen Riley will present Doomed, a grunge fantasy narrative made with point-and-shoot cameras from 2009 to 2011 and finally brought together as a film in 2021. This screening will feature a musical performance by the director.

Doomed | Allen Riley | US 2021 | 60min | English
A grunge band falls under the spell of an enchanted tree while struggling with their incomplete music in a remote cabin.

 

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LG-Oe5gzwY

 

Statement:
I filmed “Doomed” with a group of friends in the hills and swamps surrounding Stroudsburg, PA from September 2009 to September 2011. With a backpack filled with a couple of small cameras, a digital audio recorder and a thrift store tripod with missing feet, we created a lo-fi parable about the creative process told through 90’s alternative rock iconography. The production crept into a realm of immersive fiction with the cast/crew living collectively for weeks and even sleeping overnight in the abandoned chicken coop where the interior scenes were filmed. The centerpiece of “Doomed” is a fantastical tree creature named Glofin constructed using burlap, latex, alpaca wool, and glass taxidermy eyes. Production was halted when Glofin was destroyed by wild animals. I returned to the project years later and discovered a complete narrative within the footage. I also created the musical score by physically processing analog cassette tapes I recorded of myself practicing distorted electric guitar as a teenager in the 90s. The resulting film is charged with the spontaneous energy of its location-based production. - Allen Riley