Editor

March 6-15th is fast approaching for lucky year seven of the Backseat Film Festival! We’re proud to announce all the great movies we are screening, including 14 feature films (all of which are Philly premieres) as well as over 50 shorts and music videos from around the world! Official selections include films of all genres from Brazil, Sweden, Spain, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, UK, Switzerland, and of course, plenty of local stuff too! And many of the filmmakers will be present at their screenings! Special screenings include premieres from Bam Margera, Adam Rifkin and Bill Plympton!

The main screenings will take place at our 941 Theater (941 N. Front St., Northern Liberties, Philly 19123) over the weekends of March 6-8th and March 13-15th. During the week we have several screenings and special events lined up, including Movie Monday at the Trocadero on March 9th, Fancy Pants Cinema at N3rd Lounge on March 10th and the Roast of the Legendary WID at the 941 Theater on March 12th. Tickets are cheap, $8 per screening block, 3 Screenings for $20 and its $50 for a festival pass that will get you access to the 21 screening blocks and all after parties and special events!! Besides all the great movies we’re known as the ‘Drinking Man’s Film Fest’ for good reason, free booze at every screening -but you don’t have to drink or be over 21 to enjoy the movies, just willing to have a good time!

Backseat Film Festival 2009 Official Schedule - March 6-15th – ALL PHILLY PREMIERES!
FRIDAY, MARCH 6th – OPENING CEREMONIES and 3 SCREENING BLOCKS
7pm – Altamont Now! – Directed by Joshua Von Brown - It’s the 30th anniversary of the infamously disastrous Rolling Stones concert at Altamont, and ‘The Call’ to the youth of America has been sounded… on the Big Rock Springs Public Access Channel. Chronicling indie rock legend Richard Havoc and his cadre of angry, misguided revolutionaries, seemingly-square journalist Mark Clark finds himself deep inside the Cult of The Kids headquarters (and 15 stories below ground). Mostly at gunpoint.
9:30pm – Blood on the Highway – Dir. Barak Epstein - After a gastrointestinal mishap with their map, three twenty-somethings on a road-trip accidentally wander into Fate, Texas, only to find the town populated by bloodthirsty, dimwitted vampires. A brutal run-in with two carnivorous convenience store clerks leads the three to take refuge with the town's only surviving humans and prepare for battle with an army of the undead.
Midnight – Hot Rod Girls Save The World – Dir. D.A. Sebastian- When big city newspaper reporter Vanessa Trojan goes to a small backwater town to do a feature article on two female Street Racing icons, she doesn’t realize that this will be the last article she ever writes. Hot Rods, Hot Dames, Half Zombies and Aliens all converge on the small town as it quickly falls into campy B-Budget movie chaos.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7th – 3 SCREENING BLOCKS
4pm – Backseat Shorts Block # 1 – A selection of the finest rock n’ roll shorts and music videos!
7pm – Idiots and Angels – Dir. Bill Plympton - Good battles evil as a gun-running, booze-swilling, cigarette-puffing badass is dragged, kicking and screaming, toward salvation in Bill Plympton's slyly sardonic black comedy. The feature film’s totally wordless corporeal pantomime is his best animated feature to date!
9:30pm – The Burnt House – Dir. Adam Ahlbrandt - After the death of their infant child, Joe and Megan move to the rural childhood home Joe has avoided since his father committed suicide. Tensions in their marriage and Megan’s infidelity lead the two down a dark spiral which uncovers the story of what really occurred 25 years ago in the derelict shell nestled behind Joe’s parents’ house in the woods. When strange unexplained things begin happening which mirror the past, what will become of them?
Midnight – Afterparty TBA

SUNDAY, MARCH 8th – 3 SCREENING BLOCKS
4pm – Backseat Shorts Block # 2 – A selection of the finest rock n’ roll shorts and music videos!
7pm – Vampiro: Angel, Devil, Hero – Dir. Lee Demarbe- A documentary about one of Mexico’s biggest wrestling legends by the director of such Backseat favorites as the Harry Knuckles series and Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter. Canadian-born Vampiro is about to embark on his biggest international tour yet, with Demarbe’s cameras there to document every body slam. Along the way we learn more about the man, his life, his loves, his highs and lows. Mickey Rourke may have played the role of “The Wrestler”, but Vampiro is the real deal!
9:30pm – Minghags – Dir. Bam Margera- The Margeras will present the film along with the CKY Crew - Trailer trash rockers Lenny (Bam Margera) and Ponce (Brandon DiCamillo) have vowed revenge, on billionaire scum-bag Rut Ru (also DiCamillo) and his bloated sidekick Dominick who have heisted Ponce's cool invention, the Garbage Juicer! Will the nimrods foul Rut Ru’s well laid plans, save the Garbage Juicer and still get to the sorority party on time? Cameos and appearances by Ryan Dunn, Brandon Novak The Dudesons, The Bloodhound Gang, Gina Lynn, Phil and April Margera, “Compton Ass” Terry Kennedy and more!
Midnight – Afterparty TBA


MONDAY, MARCH 9th – MOVIE MONDAY @ The Trocadero presented by Backseat Film Fest!
DETROIT ROCK CITY – Dir. Adam Rifkin
Four members of a high school band called Mystery (Edward Furlong, Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello & Sam Huntington) do everything they can to attend a KISS concert in Detroit. In order to make it to the show they must steal, cheat, strip, deal with an anti-rock mom and generally do whatever it takes to see the band that has inspired them to be musicians. With an all star cast including KISS, its one wild ride!
As part of the Backseat Film Fest's tribute to Director Adam Rifkin
Plus Film Fest short films before the feature! Free Admission with a Festival pass or a stub from any Backseat Fest Event or $3 gets you in and goes towards a drink / New Special: Arrive before 7pm or in costume and get a FREE beer and a bag of popcorn.
FREE WITH TIX STUB OR LAMINATE - Doors open at 6:30pm / Show at 8pm / 21+


TUESDAY, MARCH 10th - FancyPants Cinema @N3rd presented by Backseat Film Fest!
Fancy Pants Cinema -@ N3rd (3rd and Brown) Submissions open at 9pm, screenings start at 10pm
The Backseat Film Fest takes over Fancy Pants Cinema at N3rd! Filmmakers are invited to bring their own films to screen too! We will screen ANYTHING you have as long as it is 15 min or under! And if the audience likes it, we will select it to screen at the Backseat Film Festival!
You can get a great meal and plenty of booze here too! It's a good time!
FREE - 18 to enter, 21 to drink!

WED, MARCH 11th – A DAY OF REST (OR IS IT?)

THURSDAY, MARCH 12th – THE ROAST OF THE LEGENDARY WID @ 941 Theater! Philly’s favorite prop-comedian is getting a very fitting tribute! Featuring local comedians including TuRae, Brendan Kennedy, Chip Chantry, Benny Michaels, Scott Johnston, Nick Esposito with MC Richie Redding! More surprises to be announced.


FRIDAY, MARCH 13th – 3 SCREENING BLOCKS
7pm – Rockabilly Baby – Dir. Ken Farmer- During the Rockabilly era, Baby Boy Watkins, a piano-playing prodigy, comes to terms with the impact his rise to success has on those closest to him. His manager, Dirty Dawkins (Todd Farr, who will present the screening) and sister Jollene Watkins set the ‘backstage’ during Baby Boy’s big break at The Nashville Jubilee. Based on the play written by Leslie Jordan.

FRIDAY, MARCH 13th – 3 SCREENING BLOCKS (Continued)
9:30pm – Resurrection County – Dir. Matt Zetell - When four suburbanite campers roll into the backwoods southern town of Enoch,they find that southern hospitality still exists. As long as you mind the signs. Things are not what they appear to be as a weekend camping trip turns deadly. The locals are all too happy to serve up their own brand of an eye for an eye justice! A pulse pounding, take no prisoners descent into neo southern gothic horror.
Midnight – Sex Galaxy – Dir. Mike Davis - One hundred years in the future, sex has been declared illegal on Earth. When a crew of astronauts hears of a distant planet inhabited by insatiable female creatures who exist only to satisfy man's desires, they decide to take a detour from their routine mission in search of the mythical star system known as the Sex Galaxy. But like all expeditions fueled solely by lust and carnality, risk lurks around every corner, danger and regret at every turn. Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 will love this flick, cut together out of weird found footage and old stag flicks overdubbed to hilarious effect.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14th – 3 SCREENING BLOCKS
4pm – Backseat Shorts Block # 3 – A selection of the finest rock n’ roll shorts and music videos!
7pm & 9:30pm – Backseat Film Fest’s Tribute to Adam Rifkin – Tribute to a filmmaker who has had a particularly diverse career, from Hollywood successes like ‘Detroit Rock City’, ‘Small Soldiers’, & ‘Mousehunt’ to more underground fare like the cult classics ‘The Dark Backward’ and ‘Night at the Golden Eagle’. We present his latest film, ‘Homo Erectus’ as well as our favorite Rifkin classic, the Dark Backward! - Director/Star Adam Rifkin in Attendance for Q & A!
7pm - HOMO ERECTUS - (AKA National Lampoon’s the Stoned Age) - A comedy set in prehistoric times following the exploits of the hapless Ishbo (Rifkin), a philosophical caveman who yearns for more out of life than sticks, stones, and raw meat. Determined to single-handedly advance the human race, Ishbo continually irritates his fellow Neanderthals with ridiculous inventions like the toothbrush, the spoon, and pants. The rest of his tribe, including his exasperated parents (KUNG-FU’s David Carradine and Talia Shire), write off his absurd gizmos and forward thinking ideas as the ravings of an idiot, something that doesn’t help his efforts to impress the beautiful Fardart (Ali Larter - HEROES), the cave girl he loves from afar. Fardart only has eyes for Ishbo’s studly but dimwitted brother, Thudnik (Hayes MacArthur). As if things couldn’t get any worse, the enemy tribe on the other side of the hill is readying for war. Will Ishbo ever win Fardart’s love? Can he possibly survive a man-eating wooly mammoth or a man-hating tribe of beautiful but deadly Amazons? Can he finally pull his species out of the primordial doldrums before he’s history? Featuring hilarious appearances by Gary Busey, Tom Arnold, Ron Jeremy, Carol Alt and more!
9:30pm - THE DARK BACKWARD (1991) PHILLY THEATRICAL PREMIERE AFTER 17 YEARS! – Adam Rifkin’s cult classic follows Marty Malt, (Judd Nelson) a nerd who pursues a stand-up comedy career encouraged by his fellow garbage man, Gus (Bill Paxton). Though Gus (who accompanies him on accordion) continues to tell him how great he is, Marty actually stinks. When the "comedian" grows a third arm out of his back, Gus uses this twist to get him signed up with a sleazy talent agent (Wayne Newton), and it begins to look like his career is on the move, even though his girlfriend (Lara Flynn Boyle) is freaked out by his new appendage!
Midnight – Afterparty at M Room featuring Strip for Pain: America’s Most Dangerous Gameshow!

SUNDAY, MARCH 15th – 3 SCREENING BLOCKS
4pm – Backseat Shorts Block # 4 – A selection of the finest rock n’ roll shorts and music videos!
7pm – Strange Girls – Dir. Rona Mark - Twin sisters, unable and unwilling to talk to anyone but each other, live a nearly comatose life in a psychiatric institute. After the murder of their psychiatrist, they are released onto the streets of Pittsburgh. Extreme strangeness ensues.
9:30pm – Run, Bitch! Run! – Dir. Joseph Guzman - Catherine and Rebecca are two Catholic School girls going door-to-door selling Religious paraphernalia in order to pay for their books and education. Things go horribly wrong when they knock on the wrong door in the wrong neighborhood. Run! Bitch Run! is a throw back to the classic 1970's Rape and Revenge films like 'Last House On the Left' and 'Ms. 45.
Midnight – Closing Ceremonies

Each screening block begins with several shorts and music videos. Shorts selections include lots of local filmmaker selections and new films from festival favorites such as award winning directors Bill Plympton, Scott Colonico, Secret Pants, Tommy Pistol, Rodrigo Gudino (Rue Morgue Magazine), Paul Campion, Jack Truman, Maron Studios, Lee Demarbre, Lewis Ingham, Adam Ahlbrandt, Gina Andreoli, Nikc Miller, Alex Ferrari and Justin Powers.

Backseat Film Fest awards over 13 Awards every year with thousands of dollars in prizes being awarded to the winners. Categories include; Best Feature Film, Best Featurette, Best Short Film, Best Documentary, Best Animation, Best Music Video, Best Local Filmmakers, Best Soundtrack, Best Movie Title, Best Drinking Movie, Best Breasts, Best Zombies, Best SPFX, Funniest Film, Most Disturbing, Most Original, Staff Favorite and more!

Stay tuned to the all new website at www.backseatfilmfestival.com for the up-to-date schedule, trailers, film info and more festival news! Advance tickets are now available online as well as at the 941 Theater Box Office!

Many Filmmakers are available for interviews and screener copies of the films can be made available for review. For more info or to receive screeners for review, please contact:

Doug Sakmann – Public Relations
Office: 215 235 5603 - Fax: 215 235 9745 - Cell: 917 287 4175
Email: doug@backseatfilmfestival.com - www.backseatfilmfestival.com – www.941theater.com

The 2009 Backseat Film Festival is made possible by our generous sponsors, including Pabst Blue Ribbon, Bside.com, Philadelphia Weekly, Gray Kangaroo Personal Liquor Filters, M3 Printing and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office.

The 941 Theater and the Philadelphia Friends of the Projected Arts also thanks the following for donations; Heckmann Painting, Tim Cronin, The Trocadero, Sulimay’s Barber Shop, Allstate Insurance, Hyperion Bank, Liberties Bar, Surreal Studios, Philadelphia Eddies Tattoo, Higher Grounds Coffee and Paolo’s Pizza.


About the Backseat Film Festival (BFF)
The BFF is a touring rock n’ roll film festival now in its 7th successful year, founded by Philly production company, Backseat Conceptions. The main annual event is held in Philadelphia every spring before hitting the road throughout the year, bringing with it the finest selections in edgy, fun world cinema. With its unique blend of programming, the Backseat Film Festival has hosted several weekly screening series in Baltimore and New York, and continues to host showcases at various festivals and events across the globe. Past markets for the festival include Park City Utah, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Austin and Dallas TX, Jacksonville FL, Wisconsin and Kansas City. The festival has even hosted screenings on the Vans Warped Tour in 2003 and 2004 as well as at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

With a growing reputation within the festival circuit, filmmakers have also seen tangible benefits to screening with the Backseat Film Festival. In addition to receiving awards and prizes, great independent features like “Skinned Alive”, "Blood Car", "Stupid Teenagers Must Die!", "Sight", "Beer Drinkers in Space", "Die You Zombie Bastards!" and "Prison-A-Go-Go" have been able to land national distribution deals due in part the their screenings and awards at BFF events.
www.backseatfilmfestival.com

About the 941 Theater & Philadelphia Friends of the Projected Arts (PFPA):
After two years of development, the 941 Theater (the official Backseat Film Festival venue) will have its official grand opening as a movie theater which will show first-run independent films regularly all year round. The 941 Theater has been in a soft opening for several months and is currently the #1 rated spot on Yelp.com for Live Music and Nightlife in Philadelphia and has been for over the last month (Starting Jan 12th 2009) with 12 Five Star reviews, beating out the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and many other prominent Philly venues. The theater space has the backing of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, 1st District Councilman Frank DiCicco as well as Michael O’Brian the Philly State Representative.
www.941theater.com
www.projectedarts.org