The most important recording in the early grunge era wasn’t made by some alt rock star. It was a covert audio recording of two drunken men living in a small flat in San Francisco, who spent their available free time yelling, screaming, hitting and generally abusing each other.
The phenomenon began in 1987 when Eddie and Mitch (two young punks from the midwest), moved next door to Peter Haskett (a flamboyant gay man), and Raymond Huffman (a raging homophobe). This ultimate odd-couple hated each other with raging abandon, and through the paper-thin walls their alcohol-fuelled rants terrorised Eddie and Mitch. Fearing for their lives, they began to tape record evidence of the insane goings-on next door. In the process, the boys accidentally created one of the world’s first viral pop-culture sensations.
Their tapes went on to inspire a cult following, spawning sell-out CDs, comic artworks by Dan Clowes (Ghostworld), stage-plays, music from the likes of Devo, and a Hollywood feeding frenzy. For the newly famous Eddie and Mitchell, this would be a life-changing experience that would see them ingested into the belly and fired out the orifice of the pop culture beast.
In this first feature to come out of the SAFC’s FilmLab initiative, Matt Bate (What the Future Sounded Like, The Mystery of Flying Kicks) explores the blurring boundaries between privacy, art and exploitation. Selected to screen in competition at Sundance.
Festivals: Sundance in World Documentary Competition 2011; Adelaide FF 2011; True/False 2011;Wisconsin Film Festival; New Directors/New Films; Florida Film Festival Calgary underground Film Festival 2011; Seattle FF 2011: Sheffield Doc Festival 2011; Edinburgh FF 2011; Sydney FF 2011(Foxtel Australian Documentary Prize competition)’; Frameline: San Francisco LGBT FF 2011; Melbourne FF 2011; Outfest: Lost Angeles LGBT FF; Era New Horisons Poland; Doc Liepzig
Awards:
- AACTA Awards: Best Editing in a Documentary
- Adelaide Film Festival: Special Jury Mention
- AACTA Awards: Nominated for Best Documentary