17th-Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival, Day Four: ‘Scrappers,’ ‘Putty Hill’

Submitted by mattmovieman on June 27, 2010 - 6:46am

CHICAGO – In Chicago, they are out and about on a daily basis. It is a simple pick-up truck, often bent and rusted with age. Most of the hauling areas in the back cabs of these trucks are outfitted with plywood extensions, increasing their ability to get more stuff in the back. They are the “Scrappers.”

This documentary follows two such men, as they prowl the alleys of Chicago, searching for the elusive metal that they can trade in for cash. Oscar is an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, working 14 hours a day to keep a subsistent level for his wife, child and family back home. Otis is a 73 year old African American man, proud and self-sufficient, who views scrapping as a noble and independent profession.

Co-directors Brian Ashby, Ben Kolak and Courtney Prokopas engage the two men, and use a point-of-view style to understand the often desperate circumstances of the scrap business and its practitoners. Particularly interesting is the nuts and bolts of the recycling centers, where grimy collection areas are in contrast with owners checking fancy computer program read-outs of metal values. When the recession begins, it has a devastating effect on basic prices, and even a 14-hour day of scrapping is not enough to fill the gas tank.

This is the American Dream on a level that most of us would consider a nightmare, but “Scrappers” is an optimistic film. The human animal is a wily creature, using the guile of his evolution to find a way towards self reliance. In the world of Oscar and Otis, satisfaction is just an old hot water tank away.

Sky Ferreira stars in Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill, the closing night selection for the 17th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival.
Photo credit: The Silverman Group

The 17th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival may be winding to a close, but the programming schedule at the Gene Siskel Film Center has merely reached its midpoint. There is still a fabulous array of ultra-indie treasures to be discovered during the final days of the month, several of which blend documentary-level realism with improvisational storytelling.

Apart from “Scrappers,” Sunday’s line-up also includes three short film programs, the last of which (“The Unconscious Uncorked”) features “Night Mayor,” the new film from Winnipeg’s incomparable visionary, Guy Maddin. There’s also an intriguing double feature pairing Branden King’s short domestic drama “Home Movie” with Kevin Jerome Everson’s feature-length “Erie,” an experimental portrait of a town perched on the edge of poverty. Perhaps best of all is the festival’s closing night selection, “Putty Hill,” which utilizes a cast of non-actors to tell the tale of an unexpected tragedy that reunites a dysfunctional family. This is the second film from director Matt Porterfield, who is clearly a major talent on the rise. He’s scheduled to appear at the Sunday night screening, which will be followed by the CUFF Closing Night Party at The Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, featuring live music from “Scrappers” composer Frank Rosaly.

The following days of the festival include a mixture of premieres and encores. In a double bill, Michael Gitlin’s Creationism doc “The Earth is Young” is paired with the Chernobyl retrospective “Into the Zone.” Feminist film theorists will be especially interested in Laurel Nakadate’s bizarre “Stay the Same Never Change,” which evokes the diverse styles of artists such as Joyce Carol Oates and Todd Solondz. Moviegoers will also get a second chance to see Kenneth Price’s “Americatown,” Clayton’s Brown’s short “Tennessee Waltz,” Mark Claywell’s “American Jihadist,” Chris Kennedy’s short “Lay Claim to an Island,” Amy Elliott and Elizabeth Donius’s “World’s Largest,” Judy Friskin’s short, “Guided Tour,” Frankie Latina’s “Modus Operandi,” “Scrappers,” and Chuck Workman’s “Visionaries: Jonas Mekas and the (Mostly) American Avant-Garde.”

Chicago Underground Film Festival: Schedule for Sunday June 27th –
All Films at the Gene Siskel Film Center

1pm: “Erie” and “Home Movie”