{"id":8733,"date":"2015-01-17T20:00:53","date_gmt":"2015-01-18T02:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=8733"},"modified":"2021-09-02T00:42:47","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T06:42:47","slug":"qa-du-c-u-jessie-seitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=8733","title":{"rendered":"Q&A du C-U: Jessie Seitz"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAlt Film is Alive\u201d<\/strong>
\nA short interview with the Art Co-op\u2019s Jessie Seitz about her film, FIVE<\/p>\n

by Jason Pankoke<\/em><\/p>\n

Every now and then, a past participant in MICRO-FILM<\/strong> era movie culture connects with our fair twin cities<\/span><\/a>, often sharing their work or knowledge accumulated in the world at large with our friends and neighbors. We at C-U Blogfidential<\/strong> get a kick out of witnessing these individuals cross paths<\/span><\/a>. As a timely example, who could foresee that a former member of a Midwest production company with long-term MF<\/strong> ties would be screening her own film publicly, for the very first time<\/em>, in Champaign? Here comes that d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu<\/em><\/span><\/a> all over again\u2026<\/p>\n

Apart from festivals and other special events, we typically do not cover specific picture shows in the schedule of the Art Theater Co-op, 126 W. Church St., Champaign<\/strong>, but today we make an exception for the unorthodox choice of THE MANSON FAMILY<\/strong>. A key underground feature to emerge during the proliferation of specialty DVD labels in the mid-2000s, your humble editor has been waiting for a long time to see this fever dream concocted by outlaw filmmaker Jim VanBebber<\/strong> (DEADBEAT AT DAWN<\/strong>) and scraped together over 15 years beginning in the late Eighties.<\/p>\n

Tonight at 10 p.m.<\/strong>, the Art will present a restored, high-definition MANSON<\/strong> brought out by Los Angeles<\/strong>-based Severin Films<\/strong><\/span><\/a> in 2013 via limited theatrical release and a widely available Blu-ray<\/span><\/a>. This marks the film\u2019s public debut in Champaign-Urbana<\/strong>; the same can also be said for the short subject accompanying it titled FIVE<\/strong>, a creation of Art staff member Jessie Seitz<\/strong> who is currently attending the University of Illinois<\/strong>. Coincidentally, this is not<\/em> the first time her name will have reflected off the silver screen at the Art!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A transplant from St. Louis<\/strong>, Seitz amassed post-production experience on the direct-to-video output of that city\u2019s Wicked Pixel Cinema<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and its founder Eric Stanze<\/strong>, who provided one of our very first interviews for MICRO-FILM<\/strong> back in 1999. Her recent WPC credits include an executive producer stint on their self-released Nazi thriller RATLINE<\/strong> and as an associate producer and documentarian on the science-fiction tinged DEADWOOD PARK<\/strong>, distributed by Cinema Epoch<\/strong> in 2007 and featured at the Art\u2019s inaugural New Art Film Festival<\/strong> in 2010<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please hit the jump to enjoy our brief chat with Seitz about FIVE<\/strong>, described on IMDb.com<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> as \u201c[unveiling] life in a small Midwest factory town, as seen through the eyes of a five-year-old girl. It is the story of her last summer before kindergarten begins, a tale of the last days of pure youth.\u201d If you miss out on tonight, be sure to watch FIVE<\/strong> \u2013 starring VanBebber and Amanda Pemberton<\/strong> and executive produced by Stanze \u2013 on Amazon Instant Video<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, or submit to THE MANSON FAMILY<\/strong> sans<\/em> FIVE<\/strong> next Thursday, January 22, 10 p.m.<\/strong>, at the Art.<\/p>\n

Read on, MacDuff\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

C-U Blogfidential:<\/strong> We appreciate you taking a few moments to provide background on yourself and the impetus behind this weekend\u2019s shows, Jessie! To begin, it\u2019s easily understood by Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> movie fans the Art Theater Co-op<\/strong><\/span><\/a> prides itself in providing viewing opportunities of non-mainstream cinema, but it generally supersedes a large body of experimental and underground cinema. What did it take for the Art to unleash Ohio<\/strong> native Jim VanBebber<\/strong> and THE MANSON FAMILY<\/strong> on the C-U?<\/em><\/p>\n

Jessie Seitz:<\/strong> The Art really does<\/em> try to bring a mix of both underrepresented and classic films to our audience. That being said, there are certain fringe films for which the audience in C-U still needs to be built. Late Nights at the Art<\/strong><\/span><\/a> has always been a great platform to present those types of films to the people who would appreciate them the most. The Late Night committee decided to show staff picks as a sort of \u201cend of the season\u201d thing. I chose THE MANSON FAMILY<\/strong> because of my connection to the director and I felt our Late Night regulars would really dig it.<\/p>\n

CUBlog:<\/strong> In certain film circles, MANSON<\/strong> is legendary for the lengthy amount of time it took VanBebber and company to finish it and find its original distributor, his singular take on the Charles Manson<\/strong> cult, and his implicit criticism of the mainstream media. How do you think the film holds up today and compares in the past decade-plus of \u201ctorture porn\u201d and the deluge of horror cinema and television?<\/em><\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> MANSON<\/strong> absolutely holds up because it is a truly original piece of work. I feel it\u2019s unfortunate that it gets lumped into the whole \u201ctorture porn\u201d genre because that\u2019s not what the movie is about. With few exceptions, movies that focus on torture are only doing it for shock value and have very little to say. MANSON<\/strong> makes some pretty heavy social critiques and is presented in an artful, well-constructed manner.<\/p>\n