THE OUTSIDER CINEMA MANIFESTO

BY AMY LYNN BEST

The definition of B-movies has changed over the years. B-movies began as the lower budget films that played after the main film at the weekly double feature. They usually consisted of camp and horror. Several of the earliest B-movie filmmakers, like Roger Corman, Sam Arkoff, and Douglas Sirk, worked directly for studios, others were independent artists who didn't have the talent, ambitions, or just didn't want to be bothered with the restrictions and demands of the studios. They seemed to want to have fun and make a movie. Usually a monster movie. These B-movie makers have become the heroes for independent filmmakers of today. Particularly the grindhouse artists like H. G. Lewis, Russ Meyer, and Doris Wishman. They made low budget movies. Maybe some considered their movies to be trash, but they had style.

For a while the makers of these lower budget movies could categorize themselves as Indy movies. The Coen Brothers, John Waters, and John Sayles were all considered Indy filmmakers. They took risks and tried different things. From Raising Arizona to Miller's Crossing, O Brother Where Art Thou to The Man Who Wasn't There, Ethen and Joel Coen try to tell a good story. They can't be placed into just one genre of filmmaking. Whether or not you are a fan of Waters, Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and Pecker are also very diverse. Many who love one of his films can't stand any others. They started as good movies, made by talented people just with a budget lower than a Hollywood movie and without any studio backing. Sundance came along and these films were getting noticed and separated from the junk. Unfortunately, Sundance seems to have become became something just to get studio backing. It was good these movies were being seen, but they lost the true independent nature that made them so remarkable to begin with.

The current state of B-movies isn't as noble. A B-movie is now considered to be any low budget movie; preferably something with lots of gore and nudity. Anyone with a camcorder, Kayro syrup, and a girl taking her shirt off - but virtually no skill - is making a movie. With the internet, it is much easier to get these movies out to others. And many good movies are getting lumped together with all of the trash. Many makers of low budget movies don't want or deserve to be overlooked because they are making b-movies. They are afraid that they are not being taken seriously as filmmakers, and good movies made by talented people are being dismissed by critics because of the "B Movie" label. Rather than being considered a "real" good movie with a low budget, and were talking under one hundred thousand dollars not under a couple of million, they are not even being considered.

"Outsider Cinema" was born while members of the Happy Cloud Pictures family were sitting around after a read-through, discussing how it was a shame that we and other micro-budget artists we knew and admired were putting so much effort and so much of ourselves into our movies and they were being ignored or, worse yet, categorized with the latest slap-dash serial killer or lesbian monster movie. We were making our movies for a reason. To tell a story, to make a statement, to entertain. Not because we could get a girl to undress. We realized that many of our peers were doing the same thing. From Eric Thornett's 24 hours, to Ron Bonk's Vicious Sweet, to Eric Stanze's Scrapbook. We needed to express to our intended audience that we were creating something special. These movies are not the best things ever, but they deserve to be in a different class than "B-Movie". There is thought and intention behind every single one of these films. Exploitation is not the main goal. These movies are meant to be a tribute to the original B- movies that we loved, using plot, characters, and cinematography to tell their stories. The stories themselves might be simple and familiar, but the effort and ideas behind them shows through. We have come back to the filmmaking of our predecessors, good fun films on a low budget.

I am really looking forward to seeing a great many Outsider Cinema films come along. I'm hoping that with the advent and ease of digital video that we'll see a new revolution of independent filmmaking - along the lines of what was being done in the seventies by the now-powerhouse directors like Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Coppolla, later John Sayles. Films driven by character, rather than gore or nudity. Not that I'm professing to be against these elements in any way! I think many of us working today are choosing to focus on other story-driving forces, however. I'm sure that even if you don't like what we're considering to be "Outsider", you'll appreciate these movies, and hopefully have fun watching them.