Antiviral is a high-concept sci-fi film debut from Brandon Cronenberg, son of legendary director David Cronenberg. It is not completely far-fetched to imagine a future celebrity obsessed society where fans receive a virus that their idol has in order to feel closer to them, which is why the film is so creepy. Unfortunately, the signs of a first-time director are present when several of the same shots are repetitively used and by the time the third act rolls around, most of the enthusiasm wears off. Antiviral has enough of style and dazzling imagery that it could possibly win over certain fans of the genre, despite its various setbacks.

From the very opening shot of a man sitting behind a giant billboard of a female model, Antiviral makes it abundantly clear what the film is about; society’s obsession with celebrities. The man in the opening shot is Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones), a technician at the Lucas Clinic who specializes in injecting viruses from celebrities into clients who wish to come closer to their idol. Inside the clinic is a lobby full of clients who hide behind the latest gossip magazine while the latest celebrity chatter airs on the television. And if that was not enough, one can literally get a taste of their obsession at a meat market, where cuts of steak are made up from cultivated cells of celebrities.

With each passing day Syd’s physical condition seems to worsen and everyone around him starts to notice his apparent sickness. But what they do not know is that he is smuggling viruses from the clinic using his own body as the host. After stealing some lab equipment from work, he is able to then remove the copy-protection of the virus which allows him to sell the virus on the black market. Because the market is so fierce, he is in real danger when the wrong people find out his secrets.

Even though Antiviral takes place in a slightly futuristic time period, the truly terrifying part is that it could actually happen someday, especially considering the rise in social media which provides us with constant updates on the celebrities we follow. A rumor started on Twitter can quickly spread to a room full of gossip in the matter of seconds. Rumor spreading is touched on in the film when colleagues discuss rumors they hear from the media but then add their own wild spin on the topic they hear from unreliable sources.

Much of the weight of the film rests on the shoulders of Caleb Landry Jones as he is in almost every frame. The role was physically demanding as he portrays a man who is violently ill from the beginning and by the end is practically on his death bed. For the most part he does a great job with what is required of him. After all, it is not his fault that the film gets repetitive by having him appear in the same state the entire time.

Antiviral falls flat once the initial concept wears off, which is a shame because there were flashes of brilliance at certain moments. The first two acts fly by while the third drags on, mainly because we have to watch the lead stumble around with overwhelming sickness a few too many times. Still, Antiviral is a commendable first outing for the young Cronenberg, even if it is far from flawless. We currently live in a society where we figuratively feed off our celebrities, so Cronenberg’s portrayal of a society that literally feeds off them is frightening yet not unimaginable.

The lineup at this year’s SF IndieFest was unbelievably strong; I anticipated that there would be at least a few certified duds, but that wasn’t the case. Though I didn’t love every film, each had its unique voice, ambition, and spirit. From the lowest-budget short to the most polished full-length feature, they all offered a brand new experience. This made making my list of ten favorite films very difficult. I connected with many, many films at the festival, but these ten are the ones that I felt compelled to champion the most.

Top 10 Films from SF IndieFest

#1 Simon Killer

The thing about Simon Killer is, it’s a difficult movie to digest, but in the best way possible. The teeth-grinding level of discomfort Antonio Campos and Brady Corbet are able to achieve in Simon Killer resonated with me more than anything else at the festival. Corbet finds a way to make Simon both magnetic and repulsive, and Campos captures Paris at its most deeply colorful and richly textured. Pound for pound, my favorite movie of the festival.

Remember to keep it tuned in to Way Too Indie in April for our full review of Simon Killer and our interview with director Antonio Campos.

#2 Be Good

Though not as flashy as Simon Killer, Todd Looby’s Be Good also finds its protagonist going through alarming mental transformations that surprise even him. Be Good will break your heart stealthily, little by little. Joe Swanberg’s All the Light in the Sky does the same and shares the same naturalistic tone, but when it comes to picking my personal favorites of the festival, Be Good just hits closer to home. Every moment in this movie feels earned, and Looby’s characters are handled with care. It’s the type of movie that just might teach you something about yourself by the time the credits roll.

#3 I Declare War

There were more than a few movies at this year’s festival that evoked feelings of nostalgia, but I Declare War recalls an era of movies (The Goonies, Stand by Me) that I just happened to grow up with. The kids playing their supposedly innocent ‘game’ quickly realize that their heated prepubescent emotions are too powerful to contain. The child actors’ performances are beyond impressive, and the film’s intensity and stakes are consistently high throughout the running time.

#4 The Legend of Kaspar Hauser

‘Strange’ does not begin to describe this movie. To attempt to describe what ‘happens’ in The Legend of Kaspar Hauser would be to betray it. It’s a visually and sonically stimulating film that rubs you in a way that no other film can. It will make you laugh, squirm, headbang, ponder, gag, yadda yadda yadda. You just…you just need to watch it. It’s absolutely nuts… in a good way.

#5 Antiviral

Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral serves as a showcase for its gifted lead actor, Caleb Landry Jones, much like two other films at the festival, Simon Killer and The Story of Luke. What sets Jones’ performance apart from the other two is his spine-chilling physical transformation. Cronenberg’s imaginative and haunting imagery are as arresting as his fathers’, but Jones makes use of every bit of his body to burn the images of his painful deterioration into our minds.

#6 All the Light in the Sky

Films are best when they act as a mirror, illuminating our darkest fears and forcing us to confront them. As Jane Adams, as Marie, fights internally to find her place in this gigantic world, we realize that she’s fighting something we all must all face sooner or later. Nobody has captured the 21st century adult on film quite like Joe Swanberg, and he delivers another stunning time-capsule work of art with All the Light in the Sky.

#7 The Story of Luke

Of all the characters I’ve encountered in the many films at SF Indiefest, The Story of Luke is the one I hold nearest to my heart. The attachment you feel for Luke and his quest for love is inescapable, mostly due to Lou Taylor Pucci’s spot-on performance. The powerful message of acceptance and love The Story of Luke delivers is one that fit the spirit of SF Indiefest and the great city of San Francisco like a glove.

#8 The We and the I

Leading up to the opening night screening of Michel Gondry’s The We and the I, the thing I was most looking forward to was just how innovative Gondry would get with his camera in the super-enclosed space that is a city bus. Just how many interesting camera angles could he find? The answer? It doesn’t matter. Gondry does use his camera in interesting ways, but what makes this film special are the ever-changing dynamics of the loud-mouthed, quick-witted, unfiltered characters that occupy the bus.

#9 The Ghastly Love of Johnny X

Watching this film in 35mm at The Roxie was one of the cornerstones of my incredible SF Indiefest experience. Having the director, Paul Bunnell, and the cast there, the energetic crowd, the buttery popcorn, the technical difficulties; these things all added up to an unforgettable night at the movies, which is what SF Indiefest is all about.

#10 Funeral Kings

The ultra-vulgar kids in Funeral Kings remind me of myself as an awkward teenager. I chuckled at how much of myself I saw in these characters in their pursuit of attention, validation, and sex. To see them chase after girls and sneak around their parents’ houses in the middle of the night was like a blast from the past. Like I Declare War, Funeral Kings features some incredible performances by young actors. The attitude these kids exude is authentic, and nothing about their performances feels forced.

From February 7-21, a giant celebration of independent film will be running wild across the San Francisco Bay Area in the form of SF IndieFest, an independent film festival which will be celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, and Way Too Indie will be there to give you comprehensive coverage of the festivities. San Francisco exhibits an open-mindedness, advocacy of cinematic experimentation and innovation, and general artistic acceptance that no city in the world can match, making it the ideal environment for a festival like SF IndieFest to thrive in.

San Francisco hosts a slew of film festivals throughout the year, but what makes SF IndieFest unique are its special events, which include a The Big Lebowski -themed party (to be followed with a 35mm midnight screening of the film), a Roller Disco party (because, why not?), a Valentine’s Day 80’s Power Ballad Sing-Along, a Quinceanera-themed opening night party, and much more. These events are sure to provide a hell of a time for the thousands of festival-goers, but it’s the stellar lineup of films that has attracted independent filmmakers and enthusiasts from around the world to the city by the bay since 1998.

Our coverage will include: Film reviews and impressions, photos, video blogs, and coverage of the various special events and parties.

The films on deck this year are phenomenal; any and all lovers of independent film (that means you) should be getting very, very excited. Here are some films from the festival to keep an eye on, with reviews to follow as the festival commences.

The We And The I

(Director Michel Gondry)

In the festival’s big opener, the endlessly imaginative Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind, The Science of Sleep) plants us on a bus sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with a group of mischievous Bronx teenagers on their last day of school and watch as their relationships evolve, or perhaps dissolve. It will be interesting to see what kind of imagery and situations Gondry, with his surrealist visual style and mad-scientist flare, will offer up with such a small, cramped space to play with. We watch Gondry’s films to see just how far he can stretch his imagination, and The We And The I looks to be an inventive, humorous, emotional, and wholly unique showcase of his one-of-a-kind creativity.

The We And The I trailer:

Days of Grace

(Director Everardo Valerio Gout)

Set in Mexico City, Days of Grace follows the intertwining destinies of three men, who fight for their lives inside the vicious, corrupt, wicked environment that envelops them. Jumping between the years 2002, 2006, and 2010, Everado Valerio Gout tells a relentless tale of deception and vengeance that puts its characters through hell to see who comes out in one piece.

Days of Grace trailer:

All The Light In The Sky

(Director Joe Swanberg)

In All The Light In The Sky, the festival’s closer, Joe Swanberg invites us to spend time with Marie (Jane Adams), an actress in her 40’s who lives on a house by the sea in Malibu. Marie feels there is something missing in her life, and we watch as she contemplates which direction to go in to find what she’s looking for.

(No trailer yet for All The Light In The Sky)

Antiviral

(Director Brandon Cronenberg)

In this gruesome, thrilling take on body-horror, director Brandon Cronenberg delivers a fantastic feature debut that channels his father’s legacy while successfully establishing his own cinematic style. Antiviral follows Syd March, played by the gifted Caleb Landry Jones, as he uses his own body as a vehicle to smuggle viruses harvested from celebrities to sell to rabid fans who want to make a connection with their favorite stars on a biological level.

Antiviral trailer:

Wrong

(Director Quentin Dupieux)

Dolph Springer (Jack Plotnick) wakes up to find he has lost the love of his life: his dog, Paul. He embarks on a strange, wacky, comical quest to reunite with his beloved canine friend, and uncovers an unexpected spiritual conspiracy along the way. In Wrong, the follow-up to the outrageously absurd Rubber, director Quentin Dupieux creates a weird, nonsensical world where it rains indoors, dog sh*t has memories, and clocks read “7:60.”

Wrong trailer:

There are a lot more wonderful films to look forward to at the festival. Here is the rest of the lineup.

SF IndieFest 2013 Lineup:

28 Hotel Rooms (Matt Ross)
Be Good (Todd Looby)
Berberian Sound Studio (Peter Strickland)
Blue Dream (Gregory Hatanaka)
Born Innocent (Donald Wrye)
Bound By Flesh (Leslie Zemeckis)
Days of Grace (Everado Gout)
Faceless (Tristan Albrecht)
Faces in the Mirror (Boyd Tinsley)
Funeral Kings (Matt & Kevin McManus)
The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (Paul Bunnell)
Ghosts With Shit Jobs (Chris McCawley)
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp (Jorge Hinojosa)
I Declare War (Jason Lapeyre & Robert Wilson)
Inside Lara Roxx (Mia Donovan)
It’s a Disaster (Todd Berger)
The International Sign for Choking (Zach Weintraub)
The Last Elvis (Armando Bo)
The Legend of Kaspar Hauser (Davide Manuli)
The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus (Alexandre Phillippe)
Manborg (Steven Kostanski)
Not in Tel Aviv (Nony Geffen)
The Other Side of Sleep (Rebecca Daly)
The Revisionaries (Scott Thurman)
Sightseers (Ben Wheatley)
Simon Killer (Antonio Campos)
The Story of Luke (Alonso Mayo)
Sun Don’t Shine (Amy Seimetz)
Toys Are Not For Children (Stanley Brassloff)
Video Diary of a Lost Girl (Lindsay Denniberg)

Shorts Program

An Animated World
Bouquet of Pleasures & Pains
Cults, Manholes & Slide Rail Riders
Defying the Limits
Hilarious & Entertaining Adventures
Innocence Bursting
Uncanny Shorts-Past & Present

Nearly a month ago the first wave of 22 tiles were announced that would play at the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival and today the rest of the lineup has been revealed. Some of the notable additions to the lineup were; Paradise: Love which played at Cannes, Carlos Reygades’ baffling Post Tenebras Lux, the obsessive The Shining documentary Room 237, Brandon Cronenberg’s debut Antiviral and SXSW winner Gimme The Loot.

CIFF is shaping up to be a festival that is worth attending as the lineup is certainly stacked with some reputable films including the controversial Holy Motors and other Cannes film festival titles such as Beyond the Hills and Like Someone in Love. Other anticipated films that will play at the festival are; The Sessions, Leviathan (which was CJ’s favorite film at TIFF) and The Impossible.

Also a special presentation of Cloud Atlas will play at the festival and serve as the Centerpiece Film. Scheduled to attend that screening are the directors of the film; Tom Tykwer and the Chicago natives Lana and Andy Wachowski.

The 48th Chicago International Film Festival will be held on October 11th through October 25th 2012 at AMC River East 21 in downtown Chicago. This year I will be attending the festival and reporting back with capsule reviews and tweets for Way Too Indie so stay tuned.

2012 Chicago International Film Festival Lineup
Here is a link to .PDF with schedule and descriptions of the films.

The ABCs of Death (various directors)
After Christmas (Benjamin Kegan)
After Lucia (Michel Franco)
Ken Nordine Presents Agenbite of Inwit
Agon (Robert Budina)
Alaskaland (Chinonye Chukwu)
Another Bullet Dodged (Landon Zakheim)
Antiviral (Brandon Cronenberg)
Any Day Now (Travis Fine)
Art of Conflict (Valeri Vaughn)
As Goes Janesville (Brad Lichtenstein)
Astrid (Fijona Jonuzi)
Bad Seeds (Safy Nebbou)
The Believers (Clayton Brown Monica Long Ross)
The Bella Vista (Alicia Cano)
Benji (Coodie and Chike)
Beyond the Hills (Cristian Mungiu)
Bite of the Tail
Black Pond (Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe)
Black’s Game (Axelsson)
Body Memory (Ülo Pikkov)
Boys Are Us (Peter Luisi)
Cadaver (Joseph Ansell)
Caesar Must Die (Paolo and Vittorio Taviani)
Café Regular, Cairo (Ritech Batra)
A Caretaker’s Tale (Katrine Wiedemann)
CatCam (Seth Keal)
The Central Park Five (David McMahon, Ken Burns and Sarah Burns)
The Chair (Grainger David)
Chill (Hana Jušić)
Citadel (Ciaran Foy)
The Cleaner (Adrian Saba)
Clip (Maja Milos)
Cloud Atlas (Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer)
Color of Sky (Dr. Biju)
Come to Harm (Bokur Sigthorsson)
Coming of Age (Gerhart Ertl and Sabine Hiebler)
The Conquerors (Sarolta Szabó and Tibor Bánóczki)
Consuming Spirits (Chris Sullivan)
Dad, Lenin and Freddy (Rinio Dragasaki)
Day of the Crows (Jean-Christophe Dessaint)
Dear Hunters (Zack Bornstein)
The Delay (Rodrigo Plá)
Diaz: Don’t Clean up this Blood (Daniele Vicari)
Dinosaur Eggs in the Living Room (Rafael Urban)
Don’t Click (Tae-kyeong Kim)
Dragon (Peter Chan)
Dreams for Sale (Miwa Nishikawa)
Drought (Everardo González)
The Drudgery Train (Nobuhiro Yamashita)
Edmond Was A Donkey (Franck Dion)
Ellen is Leaving (Michelle Savill)
Empire Builder (Kris Swanberg)
Everybody’s Got Somebody…Not Me (Raúl Fuentes)
The Exam (Peter Bergendy)
F*ckload of Scotchtape (Julian Grant)
Fable (Lester Hamlet)
Faces (Said Najmi)
The Final Member (Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math)
Flight (Robert Zemeckis)
Flowerbuds (Zdenek Jirasky)
Footnote (Joseph Cedar)
Friend Request Pending (Chris Foggin)
Full Circle (Zhang Yang)
Germania (Maximiliano Schonfeld)
Gimme the Loot (Adam Leon)
Hemel (Sacha Polak)
Holy Motors (Leos Carax)
Hometown Boy (Hung-I Yao)
The Impossible (Juan Antonio Bayona)
In Hanford (Chris Mars)
In Their Skin (Jeremy Power Regimbal)
Jai Bhim Comrade (Anand Patwardhan)
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (Chris James Thompson)
John Dies at the End (Don Coscarelli)
Keep the Lights On (Ira Sachs)
Kern (Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala)
King Curling (Ole Endresen)
Kuma (Umut Dag)
La Demora (Rodrigo Plá)
The Land of Eb (Andrew Williamson)
The Land of Hope (Sion Sono)
Land of the Heroes (Sahim Omar Kalifa)
The Last Friday (Yahya Al Abdallah)
The Last Ice Merchant (Sandy Patch)
The Last Sentence (Jan Troell)
Leviathan (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel)
Like Someone in Love (Abbas Kiarostami)
Maniac (Franck Khalfoun)
Marie Kroyer (Bille August)
Marla (Nick King)
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (Alex Gibney)
Meeting Leila (Adel Yaraghi)
Mekong Hotel (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Modest Reception (Mani Haghighi)
A Monkey on My Shoulder (Marion Laine)
Mr. Christmas (Nick Palmer)
Mr. Sophistication (Danny Green)
Murderer Alias X (Lynn Devillaz & Antonio Veiras)
My Bow Breathing (Enrico Maria Artale)
Next Door Letters (Sascha Fülscher)
Night Across the Street (Raoul Ruiz)
Not Fade Away (David Chase)
Numbered (Dana Doron and Uriel Sinai)
Of Snails and Men (Tudor Giurgiu)
Off White Lies (Maya Kenig)
Oh Willy… (Emma de Swaef)
Old Man (Leah Shore)
Once Upon a Time Was I, Veronica (Marcelo Gomes)
Otelo Burning (Sara Blecher)
Our Children (Joachim Lafosse)
Out in the Dark (Michael Mayer)
An Oversimplification of her Beauty (Terence Nance)
Paradise (Nadav Kurtz)
Paradise: Love (Ulrich Seidl)
The Patsy (King Vidor)
Paul (Adam Bizanski)
The Perfect Fit (Tali Yankelevich)
Pitch Black Heist (John Maclean)
La Playa DC (Juan Andres Arango Garcia)
Post Tenebras Lux (Carlos Reygadas)
Postcards from the Zoo (Edwin)
The Pub (Joseph Pierce)
Quartet (Dustin Hoffman)
The Queen of My Dreams (Fawzia Mirza)
Rat Fever (Cláudio Assis)
Reality (Matteo Garrone)
The Repentant (Merzak Allouache)
Return (Shay Levi)
Rhino Season (Bahman Ghobadi)
Room 237 (Rodney Ascher)
Room 69 (Claude Barras)
A Royal Affair (Nikolaj Arcel)
The Runner (Ana Lazarevic)
The Sapphires (Wayne Blair)
The Scapegoat (Charles Sturridge)
Sea Shadow (Nawaf Al-Janahi)
A Secret World (Gabriel Mariño)
The Sessions (Ben Lewin)
Shadow Dancer (James Marsh)
Shameless (Filip Marczewski)
Sharqiya (Ami Livne)
Shun Li and the Poet (Andrea Segre)
Simon Killer (Antonio Campos)
Sister (Ursula Meier)
Sleep Tight (Jaume Balagueró)
Something in the Air (Olivier Assayas)
Stand Up Guys (Fisher Stevens)
Starlet (Sean Baker)
StringCaesar (Paul Schoolman)
Tastes Like Chicken? (Quico Meirelles)
Tchoupitoulas (Bill Ross and Turner Ross)
Tey (Alain Gomis)
This is London (Mohammed Rashed Buali)
The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni (Rania Stephan)
TSTL/ King Lost His Tooth (Gheith Al-Amine)
Under the Colors (Esmaeel Monsef)
Valley of Saints (Musa Syeed)
Voice Over (Martin Rosete)
Waiting for P.O. Box (Bassam Chekhes)
War Witch (Kim Nguyen)
The Weekend (Nina Grosse)
Westerland (Tim Staffel)
Where the Buffalo Roam (Brad Bischoff)
Winter of Discontent (Ibrahim El-Batout)
The World Is Funny (Shemi Zarhin)
Written in Ink (Martin Rath)
Xingu (Cao Hamburger)
Yardbird (Michael Spiccia)
Yuma (Piotr Mularuk)
38-39°C (Kangmin Kim)
43,000 Feet (Campbell Hooper)

David Cronenberg’s son Brandon is set to release his debut feature Antiviral and now, after announcing it will play at the Toronto International Film Festival, a trailer has been put online. The film, which clearly shows David Cronenberg’s love for body horror running through the family, revolves around a man (Caleb Landry-Jones) working for a company who inject paying customers with the same viruses as famous celebrities. Once Jones injects himself with a virus that turns out to be lethal, it looks like all hell breaks loose.

The trailer definitely makes a big impression. Using the film’s sound mix to create an abrasive soundtrack (similar to the trailer for A Serious Man), the trailer takes full advantage of the squirm-inducing aspects of its premise. The word from Cannes was mixed, but the trailer makes this look like one to watch. Antiviral will have its North American premiere at TIFF in September before its theatrical release.

Watch the official trailer for Antiviral: