Founded in 1993, the New York Underground Festival, in its own descriptions, shows a radical departure from mainstream filmmaking: There are wild stories of businessmen who threw up while watching ‘Impact Zone’ and then left. Festival director Ed Halter suc­cinctly commented this incident: "Yeah well, it was some guy in a suit. Fuck them if they're not preprared to see lesbians masturbating with ,the Club7 “
A great part of the New York Underground Festival’s popularity is owned to the grotty niche of garbage it has found. The audience knows very well that deviant films are screened here, productions that are far away from the shiny polished Hollywood creations. The screening of (brain) ejaculations that have become images, is more than just cineastic passion. It is a mission, co-director Tod Phillips explains, because showing these films is a necessary evil. Traditionally, documentaries are an important part of the festival. Animated films like I Married a Strange Person’, where director’s Bill Plympton’s wildest phantasies are taking shape in a feature-long film, are also part of the repertoire. In addi­tion to experimental films like ‘Visitors’ by Franco Antico, there are many short films such as ‘Bystander from Hell’ by Matthew Harrison. The film is set in the urban jungle of New York City. ‘Out to Lunch’ by Daniel Martinico tells the story of a young man who is suffe­ring from an unnamed disease and who is counting his last days.
NYUFF-director Ed Halter describes his vision: ”We believe that's something best left for filmmakers to answer for themselves. When selecting films for exhibition, we seek to go beyond what mainstream venues show to present works of an innovative, subversive, uncompromising and at times controversial nature. The Underground Festival exists to support and promote films that push boundaries and break new ground - that challen­ge, entertain and provoke. “
This aspiration makes the NYUFF to a stunning moist biotope. In its humid atmosphere, the rarest specimens of filmmaking are roaming.