"This all started at SXSW in 2005. The term "mumblecore" was a joke that the sound mixer of Mutual Appreciation came up with to categorize that film, KOTM (Kissing on the Mouth), The Puffy Chair, and Four Eyed Monsters. People around the festival were talking about the similarities between those four films and Andrew Bujalski made the mistake of using the word "mumblecore" in an interview. For some reason that name stuck, and none of us has been able to shake it since then. It has been really positive insofar as the films have all received more attention as a group than they would have individually, but it has also resulted in a backlash and a dismissive tone from a lot of critics.
To set the record straight, none of us knew each other before SXSW 2005. I had emailed with Andrew a few times, because I had seen his previous film, but I met the Duplass brothers and Aaron and Susan in Austin. There was no movement, or any master plan. It was just a coincidence of a few filmmakers in different parts of the country all making films about themselves and their friends. I met Frank Ross a few months later, and the following year at SXSW I met Aaron Katz and all of us were making films in our own style before we even knew the others existed."
- Joe Swanberg
This is from a new piece by Cinematical about the "M-word", of course. Jen Yamato ponders why so many of the artists that are lumped into this group are uncomfortable with the term, and some even with the association. Read the full piece HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment