MIDWEST PREMIERE OF SHUCKING THE CURVE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Todd Verow’s frenetic and corrosively low-rent visions of American verities–raw sex and shredded emotion–portray glamour as a kind of drug-induced condition.” (San Francisco Bay Guardian)

“I make no excuses. My films are risky, experimental and convince many who see them that it is possible to make a film that they dream of making without mortgaging the soul and the house.” (Todd Verow)

On June 19th, the Chicago Underground Film Festival will present two programs of work by underground film maverick and digital video pioneer Todd Verow. The first will be a selection of Verow’s early controversial shorts, including V is for Violet, The Flesh is Willing, Operator, Gun, The Death of Dottie Love, Built for Endurance, and Fetal. The second will be the Midwest premiere of Verow’s digital video debut, Shucking the Curve. Called “wicked, wild and wacky” by the Village Voice, ‘Shucking ‘ is the second film in Verow’s notorious addiction trilogy. The screenings will be held at The Viaduct 3111 North Western Ave. at 7 and 9 p.m. Admission is $5 for one, $8 for both. Free to CUFF.ORG members.

Todd Verow has long been a heavyweight on the underground film scene. Originally best known for his experimental shorts and his controversial debut feature Frisk—a “molotov cocktail of hustlers, pedophilia, and snuff” (Filmmaker Magazine) starring Parker Posey and Craig Chester—Verow has since become a leading figure in the realm of digital video, shooting his last three features with the medium. Working with a stable of improvisational actors, Verow churns out, intense character-driven dramas at a rapid pace, editing one while shooting another, and completing pre-production on a third: he vows ten by the year 2000. Digital video, he explains, “liberates my actors, my writer and myself to experiment and improvise without the sticky fingers of a financially spun web of restraint that so many young filmmakers find themselves tangled in at the very onset of their ‘careers’. ” This working style has lead critics to compare his work to that of Warhol/Morrissey, Cassevettes, and Fassbinder. Time Out New York has dubbed him New York’s underground film posterboy, saying “you’ll either love his work or find it utterly repellent.” With his features headlining DV sidebars at major festivals like Cannes and lecture spots at Sundance, M.I.T., and Wellesley, Verow has solidified his reputation as a truly independent director and leader of one of the most exciting film scenes this side of the Atlantic.

The event is part of CUFF’s year-round underground film series. Organized to ensure the presence of uncompromising film and video in Chicago, the series is part of CUFF’s commitment to increase its impact on the counter-cultural landscape. Says Festival Director Bryan Wendorf, “Our goal is to add to Chicago’s already diverse alternative film scene, filling in the gaps between what’s screened at Chicago Filmmakers, Facets and the Film Center. Our emphasis is on discovering and exposing fresh new voices in film and video.” Past programs have included a night of mischief with experimental filmmaker tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, an appearance by underground chronicler Jack Sargeant, and a special screening of Dave Sarno, Seth Henrikson, & Rob Shields’ Goreville U.S.A.

For More information on Todd Verow visit his award winning website.
Mr. Verow is available for interviews.

The 6th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival takes place August 13-19 at the Village Theater 1548 North Clark Street. For more information call the festival hotline 773.866.8660 or visit http:\\www.cuff.org.