2002 Great Lakes Independent Film Festival

Vakvagany

Category: Experimental  1hr 26min
Director: Benjamin Meade

"Vakvagany,"  is a haunting film that causes viewers to become dirty little voyeurs peeping in windows that are perhaps best left alone. You literally take out of it what you bring in, and that's not always a good thing. The film acts as an "experiment in cinematic language" and has no actors and no plot, but it does feature commentary by demon dog James Ellroy, filmmaker Stan Brakhage and psychiatrist Dr. Roy Menninger, who serve as tour guides giving their own spin of what is happening on the screen. The catalyst for this sometimes disturbing film is found (stolen, to be honest) home movies from Budapest, Hungary. They feature the Locsei family's life after World War II (sans Tom Hanks). Like any family, they seem to have problems, especially when it comes to their son and daughter, but what these problems are is open tointerpretation. Dad's job is suspect and Mom may be a tad too friendly with her son, Erno. Or is Dad a friend to the Jews and Mom just doing what moms did in Central Europe at that time? Ellroy has an opinion and Dr. Menninger has a different one. Viewers can think whatever they want to. Go in mistrusting of humans and prepare to be sickened. Be a bit more optimistic and find a film that verges on maudlin. One thing is for sure, Erno and his sister strayed off the road to normal at some point in their lives. What caused their mental problems, however, is a bit of a mystery ...or is it?  The film features a new score by the Alloy Orchestra.

Director: Benjamin Meade
Filmmaker Benjamin Meade is a faculty member at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri, and the University or Pecs’ in Pecs’, Hungary.  He teaches courses in Film Production, Digital Media, and Film and Communication Theory.  He is a board member of the Center for Cognitive Studies in Film and Video in Atlanta, Georgia, and editor of The Journal of Moving Picture Images.