We’re six years on from Flight Of The Concords, and while many still associate Jemaine Clement with the quintessential show, the Kiwi actor is slowly building a post-show name for himself. After a spat of vocal work and supporting roles, Clement has taken the lead in several winning indies. Earlier this year he starred in the hilarious mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows and now the first trailer has arrived for the forthcoming People, Places, Things.

Clement plays Will Henry, a floundering graphic novelist and professor in New York who is struggling to put his life back together, raise his twin daughters, and get back into the dating world after catching his long-time partner cheating on him with an old friend.

The formula for the film follows some familiar twists and turns, but with Clement up front, the proceedings look to have lots of potential. Written and directed by James C. Strouse (Grace Is Gone, The Winning Season), the support in this one is pretty stacked with Regina Hall, Jessica Williams, Stephanie Allynne, and Michael Chernus.

People, Places, Things won some winning reviews out of Sundance earlier this year, and we just caught it at the LA Film Festival this past weekend. The first trailer certainly has charm, so it’s safe to say we’ll be queueing up for this one on August 14th. Check out the trailer below.

The sometimes subtle, sometimes ridiculous, alternative humor of the New Zealand comedy scene appears to be a category that one either loves wholeheartedly or knows nothing about. Taika Waititi (Boy) and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, Eagle vs Shark) are right at the heart of this burgeoning comedy scene and their latest collaboration, What We Do in the Shadows, is yet another step up in their hysterical reign. Premiering at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, the film doesn’t sound all too promising on paper. Yet another mockumentary, which are always very hit (Best in Show) or miss (Bruno), this one follows a group of vampires Real World style in the months leading up to a large masquerade for the undead. But Waititi and Clement are true to their deadpan and amusingly naïve approach to characters, presenting a farcical and truly funny take on an overdone subject.

Taika Waititi’s boyish face is put to great use as Viago, a 317 year old vampire who sweetly welcomes his documentarians, eager to present a benevolent and modern look into the life of the average vampire. He lives with his three roommates in a Victorian-style home with thick curtains and outdated wallpaper outside of Wellington. First is Vladislav (Clement), a much older and Dracula-esque vampire with a more sexual appetite but a failing libido due to a past shaming by a particularly loathsome vampire named “The Beast.” Second is Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), a younger vampire at only 183 years old, who Viago calls the “bad boy” of the outfit. And last is the rarely seen, Count Orlok-style vampire Petyr (Ben Fransham), who at over 8,000 years old can hardly be asked to contribute to roommate meetings.

Based on a 2006 short film of the same name made by Waititi and Clement, the film provides insight into many of the typical vampire scenarios. Their lively night-life and having to deal with the problem of trying to get into clubs when bouncers don’t actually invite you in. There is the heartbreak of not aging while your love interest moves on and grows old. Not to mention run-ins with the local werewolf pack, who are really trying to adjust their image: “We’re werewolves, not swear-wolves.” (The pack is led by Flight of the Conchords alum Rhys Darby as Anton.) Deacon must put up with his Familiar Jackie (Jackie van Beek) who does his every bidding but is getting particularly antsy to get her end of the bargain and be made into a vampire. Then there is the issue of finding food, virgins being preferable.

One particular evening Jackie brings over what she assumes are two virgins, one being Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), her ex-ex. After a frightening chase throughout their dark home, and an especially jarring example of Vlad’s stunted shape-shifting abilities, Nick is attacked by the feral Petyr and turned into a vampire. The rest of the film focuses on Nick’s transition as a new vampire, searching for acceptance with the other guys and trying to maintain a friendship with his best friend Stuart while simultaneously wanting to eat him. His cocky bravado around his new status as a vampire leads to plenty of dissent among the guys as well as dangerous ramifications for one of the group.

The film uses seamless visual effects, amusingly showing the vampire’s ability to become bats, to disappear in mirrors, and the hilarious ramifications of attempting to eat normal food. With the gothic lighting of the vampire’s house, and the singular camera light providing a reminiscent found-footage horror feel, the movie maintains a spooky mood at the very times it most makes fun of itself. Mostly it’s the excellent presentation of vampires-as-normal-people that makes for plenty of comedic-fodder and is what makes the film work so effortlessly. Of course, in typical fashion of anyone who has seen past samplings of the filmmakers’ works knows they aren’t afraid to take things up a notch, and an especially bloody scene towards the end inserts some ironic gravitas but doesn’t try for too much sentimentality.

In one of the film’s most golden scenes, a pair of cops show up to the house to investigate loud noises (Nick and Deacon fighting). Viago uses his best attempts to hypnotize them into not seeing anything out of the ordinary which makes for some especially laugh-out-loud moments as they come upon a corpse and warn the gentleman to take better care of their drunks friends. Waititi and Clement have put together a welcome edition to the mockumentary-comedy genre presenting characters that are both endearing and lovably dangerous. What We Do in the Shadows presents the sort of gags that will continue to garner laughs upon multiple viewings and is a refreshing look at vampires, giving them new life (or death?) while playing off of our sentiment for their kind.

What We Do in the Shadows is now playing in the Los Angeles area, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, DC, Seattle, San Diego, the Bay Area, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa.

The world’s largest indigenous festival, imagineNATIVE showcases a wide variety of film, radio and media from Indigenous artists around the world. Now in its 15^th year, the festival has brought an impressive selection of feature films to its line-up.

With the festival running between October 22 and 26, we wanted to let readers know some of the features worth checking out, especially since some screenings might be the only opportunity to catch some truly compelling films and stories in theatres. Be sure to read our thoughts below on our favourite films playing at imagineNATIVE, and check out the full line-up and schedule at www.imaginenative.org.

What We Do in the Shadows

Screens October 22 at 7pm (Opening Night Gala)

What We Do in the Shadows might have arrived late to the party (the vampire craze sparked by Twilight already reached its peak a while ago), but in this case it’s better late than never. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi first conceived their film back in 2005 as a short, only to wait over 8 years before developing it into a feature. It’s a mockumentary following four vampires living together in New Zealand: stuck-up Viago (Waititi), ladies man Vladislav (Clement), “bad boy” Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) and 8000-year-old Peter, a Nosferatu-looking vampire who spends most of his time butchering people or sleeping in his tomb in the basement.

Kudos to Clement and Waititi for making such a funny film, especially since they are performing multiple variations of the same joke. What We Do in the Shadows mostly spends its time focusing on the way supernatural beings adapt to the kind of everyday banalities everyone else goes through. It’s a surprisingly adaptable joke, and whether it’s arguing over who’s slacking on their chores (“You have not done the dishes for five years!”) or trying to get invited into the city’s most popular nightclubs, it never stops being funny. That’s largely due to the hilarious cast, all of whom improvised their lines. Clement and Waititi wrote a script as the basis for the film, but the rest of the cast never saw any of their writing. It took over a year for the two of them to cut down over 100 hours of footage into a lean 90 minutes.

What We Do in the Shadows is certainly one of 2014’s funniest movies, a consistently hilarious take on vampires that thankfully puts the focus on keeping the jokes coming.

Drunktown’s Finest

Screens October 23 at 8pm

Taking place in a small New Mexico town described as a place meant for people to leave, Drunktown’s Finest opens with someone asking why people continue to stay. The rest of the film tries to answer that question by focusing on three Native Americans; Nizhoni (Morningstar Angeline), an adopted child trying to find out about her biological parents before heading off to college; Sick Boy (Jeremiah Bitsui), trying to stay out of trouble before going into basic training; and Felixia (Carmen Moore, excellent), a transsexual trying to become a Navajo model. All three characters share a desire to leave, hoping to make a better life for themselves outside of town.

Writer/director Sydney Freeland creates an earnest, well-meaning drama about identity and people’s connection to their roots. Freeland’s writing may lack subtlety, with a lot of on-the-nose dialogue expressing her film’s themes, but it has a great sense of character, providing well-rounded portraits of its three protagonists and their individual struggles. By the end of the film, where a ceremony brings the cast together, Freeland provides a clear answer to the question opening her film. The town may be lacking in opportunities, but its strong sense of family and community is the sort of thing that’s hard to walk away from.

Trick or Treaty?

Screens October 25 at 5pm

Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary premiered earlier this year at the Toronto International Film Festival, but those who missed out catching it the first time should try to see it during this festival. Obomsawin’s documentary may feel lacking in its presentation, a rigidly conventional form that feels a bit bland, but its content is absolutely vital. Treaty No. 9, aka the James Bay Treaty, was signed in 1905 by the Government of Canada and representatives of First Nations across Northern Ontario. First Nation leaders believed they were signing a treaty that promised their customs and ways of life wouldn’t be impacted by the government, so long as they let the Canadian government own the land. In reality, the treaty was an unconditional surrendering of the land to Canada. The government could do whatever they wanted.

Obomsawin shows evidence that government officials tricked First Nations officials into signing the treaty, essentially promising them whatever they wanted just so they could get a signature (due to the language barrier at the time, the terms of the agreement could only be explained orally). The film structures itself by looking into the past, present and future over the central issues surrounding the treaty. The first third explains the history of the treaty, while the second third focuses on the Idle No More movement, a series of protests by Aboriginals over Bill C-45, a piece of legislature making major changes to various environmental bills without consulting with First Nations groups. The final third looks to the next generation by showcasing a 1,000 mile trek taken by Cree youth to Ottawa in support of Idle No More. Obomsawin makes sure the anger from her film’s subjects always registers, but looks at the protests as a hopeful sign that change is on the horizon.

SOL

Screens October 24 at 5:30pm

In Igloolik, Nunavut, tragedy strikes a family when Solomon Uyrasuk, their young, talented son, dies while in RCMP custody. Officials rule the death as a suicide, but the family believes there might have been foul play. Directors Susan Avingaq and Marie Hélène-Cousineau don’t turn their documentary into a murder investigation. Instead, they use Solomon’s story to shine a light on a health crisis occurring in Northern Canada: an alarmingly high suicide rate, especially with youth. Every year the RCMP receives over 1,000 calls for suicide or suicide attempts in Nunavut, a province with a population of 35,000. The suicide rate in Nunavut is 13 times higher than the national average. With figures like these, alarms should start ringing for the government. Instead the issue is largely ignored, with one interview subject observing that suicides in Nunavut are treated as “just another thing to manage.”

And while Avingaq and Hélène-Cousineau expand their scope to cover an issue impacting all of Nunavut, they never forget what inspired their film. Footage and interviews of Solomon show he was a likable, talented performer, getting his start as a child actor in a TV series. In his adult years he joined a circus through a youth program dedicated to fighting against suicide, travelling to different countries as a performer. Avingaq and Hélène-Cousineau argue Solomon’s loss, among many others, could have been prevented, his actions a result of external factors more than internal ones. It’s hard to disagree with them, especially when their presentation is so affective and gorgeous (the widescreen compositions of Igloolik add a layer of sombre beauty to the proceedings). SOL should hopefully go on to gain greater exposure, as its subject matter begs for a wider audience.

This May Be the Last Time

Screens October 24 at 11am

Similar to SOL, director Sterlin Harjo uses a tragic incident to explore a larger issue. In 1962, Harjo’s grandfather mysteriously disappeared. When the local Seminole community searched for his body, they sang old hymns to help them find Harjo’s granddad. Harjo quietly looks into his own ancestry, as well as the origin of the hymnal music practiced by members of his tribe.

The results of his inquiry are fascinating, with the music having a background connecting it to Scottish missionaires, Appalachian music and Gospel hymns. The film’s title comes from a hymn that was a favourite of Harjo’s grandmother. Harjo finds out the song had its origins as a slave song in the 1800s, before going through gospel and blues to end up as a song by The Staple Singers in the 1950s. The Rolling Stones heard the song, and made their own version called “The Last Time.” Harjo gracefully tracks other hymns back to their origins, and in doing so highlights an aspect of music history that’s largely gone unnoticed.

Harjo ends things on a bittersweet note, closing with a hymn while commenting on how the tradition of sharing and learning music is slowly dwindling. This May Be the Last Time gives the now dying form of music its proper due.

Purposely ridiculous and quirky, this movie should by no means be taken seriously and it seems to be content with that. It was one of those movies that I really wanted to like but it was completely disappointing.

Gentlemen Broncos was directed by the same person who did Napoleon Dynamite, Jared Hess. I was unaware of this at the start but it’s so remarkably similar to Napoleon Dynamite that after just seeing the opening credit sequence I immediately knew the director was. It has all the same type of humor, dialog and style as Napoleon Dynamite, except not nearly as good. Perhaps just sense it was done before in an all too familiar way it felt like a major let down.

It’s about a young outcast who writes sci-fi stories that no one likes. He ends up going to a writers’ convention where he meets his writer idol named Chevalier. After Chevalier reads his story, he claims it as his own and it becomes a big hit. Meanwhile, the main characters friends create a movie based on the same story and it also gains some recognition. Chevalier gets worried that he will be exploited if it was found out that he wasn’t the original author of this book. Trust me, it sounds a lot more interesting then the movie ended up being.

I’ll admit that I was mainly interested in this movie because Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords co-starred in it. He plays Chevalier. I also really enjoyed the previous movie he was in Eagle Vs Shark, which also shares the same style and feel as this, except that it was a much better film. I thought his character was the only thing that saved this film from being a complete disaster.

Only but a few mere chuckles was all this received and it would have been much more original if he didn’t do Napoleon Dynamite first. Even for Jemaine Clement fans as myself, it’s not worth going out of your way to watch it.