The Neo-Futurists Present 2010 Film Fest 7/1-8/5

The Neo-Futurarium - where awesomely awful films live to see another day. Superheroes, Canadian pop stars, racist Arizonans, parasites, Vikings, sea serpents, and ponies make appearances in Film Fest IX: The Perils of the Neo-Futurarium runs July 1 through August 5, Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. at 5153 N. Ashland. This year's roster of films and artists:

July 1: Supergirl (1984)
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the stewardess on that plane! Kara Zor-El, one of the last Kryptonians, journeys to Earth under the guise of Superman's cousin Supergirl, seeking the powerful Omegahedron that can save her home of Argo City from certain doom. While on Earth, she finds love in the form of a manly college groundskeeper and hate in the form of would-be witch princess. Occasionally, she even performs acts of super-heroism! Members of the Plagiarists perform while Jack Tamburri, director of last year's smash Film Fest hit Cruising, directs this allegedly empowering epic about a blonde, attractive illegal alien and the misogyny she not only battles, but represents.

July 8: The Apple (1980)
After you take a bite from The Apple, you'll never need another disco-influenced opera with overt Biblical allegories ever again. Canadian pop duo Alphie and Bibi travel from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to an America that looks a lot like West Germany, where they face tribulation in the form of the shady Mr. Boogalow and his monolithic music Company BIM. Will they be able to resist temptation and save their souls, or will the Day-Glo neon devils condemn them? Presented by ensemble members from Barrel of Monkeys (Breakin', Death Wish), co-directed by Geoff Rice and choreographed by Donnell Williams, with musical direction by Curtis Williams.

July 22: Billy Jack (1971)
The racism and corruption of Prescott, Arizona, come up against a formidable opponent in the form of Billy Jack, a half-Cherokee Green Beret, Vietnam veteran, and hapkido master. As the self-appointed protector of the counterculture Freedom School, Billy Jack is driven to righteous rage by the oppression of Prescott's privileged class, and proceeds to teach a lesson about tolerance and face-kicking that none of them will soon forget. Directed by Film Fest veteran Bob Stockfish (Equinox, The Ten Commandments) and featuring local musician Naomi Ashley who performs renditions of a few of the film's hippie-skippy musical numbers.

July 22: Brain Damage (1988)
Behold this cautionary tale of a normal American teenager...normal, that is, until he started drinking the blue fluid of the ageless, wisecracking brain parasite living with the elderly Jewish couple in the apartment below! Brian thought he had it all until he discovered the ecstasy and horror of getting high and committing wanton homicide. Will he be able to kick his habit, or will the parasite emerge victorious? Fresh-faced Film Fest director Molly Plunk presents a reading of this barely disguised Just Say No parable from the same cinematic mind that brought the world Frankenhooker. Musical Direction by Doni Schroader and Bret Koontz.

July 30: The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Great Sea Serpent) Featuring Robot Vs. Dinosaur (1957)
A unique first for the Film Fest, Chicago comedy scene stalwart Joe Janes (The Improvised Shakespeare Company, 365 Sketches) takes Roger Corman's 1957 babespoitation fantasy about Viking women and mashes it together with the famous 1963 Peter Weiss play best known as Marat/Sade, directed by the Great Sea Serpent. A metatheatrical feast of lust, betrayal, and the struggle of all human beings to overcome the suffering of being alive, this Film Fest presentation will challenge all of your preconceived notions of both asylum inmates and buxom berserkers.

August 5: My Little Pony: The Movie (2006)
Our ninth Film Fest concludes with this glorious sugar-spun confection about the magical land of the Little Ponies, who frolic all day in the meadows around Dreamcastle. When rambunctious Lickety Split runs away and the land is threatened by the machinations of three ugly witches, only the power of rainbows and friendship and flutter ponies can save the day! Film Fest creator Rachel Claff co-directs this cavity-inducing toy commercial with help from longtime Neo-Futurist Noelle Krimm and the unwilling-captive, even-narration of famously cranky solo performer Ian Belknap.