The Magnifique World of the Sacramento French Film Festival

Romance between a philosophy professor and a hairdresser, or a 60-year-old dentist and a computer instructor half her age; a 60-year-old former beauty queen who hits the road for an epic road trip; and a judge who finds out not only is she pregnant, but that the father is a murder suspect—you can expect a lot of the unexpected at the 2014 French Film Festival, now in its 13th year and happening June 20 – 29 at the Crest Theatre. The films in this year’s celebration of French cinema explore subject matter ranging from adolescence and young pregnancy to mental illness, self-discovery, and, of course, love.

According to Cecile Mouette Downs, the festival’s executive and artistic director, this year’s selection is one of the strongest yet, and includes 12 of the most acclaimed and awarded premiere films, as well as three classics: the 1970 fairy tale film Donkey Skin (Peau D’Ane), the 1994 historical drama Queen Margot (La Reine Margot), and the 1942 comedy thriller The Murderer Lives At Number 21 (L’Assasin Habite Au 21).

There will also be a screening of short films (complete with petit déjeuner, aka a French breakfast), as well as two late-night films—an erotic thriller and a horror film, both of which have gained high-caliber reputations in their respective genres.

French cinema fans will recognize names like Audrey Tautou, Romain Duris, Juliette Binoche and Roman Polanski. To top it off, Laetitia Dosch, the star of the film Age of Panic, is rumored to be attending the festival and presenting the film on the first weekend (June 20-22).

We’ve highlighted a few films featured in this year’s festival.

Inside (À l’intérieur)

2007 | Horror
Saturday, June 28 • 11:45 p.m.

Considered one of the scariest, most gruesome French horror films out there right now, À l’intérieur features the rare female killer. The plot is a morbid one. While a pregnant widow is waiting for a ride to the hospital from her mother so doctors can induce labor, a mystery woman (a frightening Beatrice Dalle) shows up at the door with plans to perform the procedure herself and take the baby. Critics give À l’intérieur an 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, waxing poetic about what a “damn good” horror film it is, and even toying with the thought of labeling it a classic. “Leave it to the French to make Suspiria look like a ‘30s drawing-room comedy,” one critic commented, referencing the Italian cult classic that has made numerous Greatest Horror Films of All Time lists. If you fancy scissors and guts in your horror movies, this is a not-to-miss.

Chinese Puzzle (Casse Tete Chinois)

2013 | Romantic Comedy
Sunday, June 29 • 3:15 p.m.

Calling all Audrey Tautou fans! Here is yet another film to settle your fix, taking place this time in New York City’s Chinatown. This romantic comedy concerns Xavier (Romain Duris), a writer who may just need a little amour to clear up a bad case of writer’s block after the mother of his children moves from Paris to New York, taking their children with her. To be closer to his kids, Xavier follows suit and winds up living in Chinatown. Suddenly Xavier finds himself in the company of a former roommate and a former lover. “I came to New York to be near my kids, who I had with a Brit, who I lived with for 10 years. I had a baby with two lesbians. I married a Chinese woman to become an American. And life’s not complicated?” Xavier asks in a poignant scene. Casse Tete Chinois is, in fact, a follow-up to Cedric Klapisch’s films L’Auberge Espagnole and Russian Dolls, which follow the same characters. (No, you don’t need to see the previous films in order to follow this story line.)

Queen Margot (La Reine Margot) 

1994 | Historical Drama
Saturday, June 21 • 3:45 p.m.

Considered a timeless classic, La Reine Margot is a (very) ‘90s adaptation of the historical novel written in 1845 by Alexandre Dumas. It traces the life of Margaret of France, aka Marguerite de France or Marguerite de Valois, a Catholic who reigned as France’s queen during the 16th and 17th centuries. From poisonings to beheadings, this true story is anything but a happy one, recreating the bloodstained history of France during the battle between Catholics and Protestants for political power—notably the infamous St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572. Entangled in the plot is Margaret’s personal life, starting with her arranged marriage to Henri de Bourbon, the king of Navarre and a Protestant, in order to make peace between the Protestants and Catholics, which is (of course) followed by a love affair with the soldier La Mole. This movie won the Jury Prize and Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as five César Awards. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, SFFF will present the digitally restored director’s cut of this film, honoring the film’s maker and stage director Patrice Chéreau, who passed away last year.

Attila Marcel

2013 | Musical Comedy
Saturday, June 21 • 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, June 22 • 3:40 p.m.

Some of the best movies are those that walk the line between reality and a dreamlike world sprinkled with oddities and hints of old Paris. Attila Marcel smacks of a magical realism that is found in French films like Amelie. “It’s not Lord of the Rings, it’s not a totally fantastic universe,” says leading actress Anne Le Ny. Attila Marcel is about a dreamy young pianist who became mute after his parents died in a mysterious accident when he was just two. Suspecting his father was violent with his mother, he suppresses his emotions and treats his parents’ deaths as a dark secret. This suppression makes him a bit childlike. Things take a sudden turn when he meets one of his neighbors, a strange woman (Ny) whose home is overrun with vegetable plants. She is rough, tough, outspoken, very eccentric and connected to nature, Ny says of her character. Directed by Sylvain Chomet, who also directed the 2010 animated drama The Illusionist (L’illusionniste), this film is about self-discovery.

Camille Claudel 1915 

2013 | Biopic Drama
Sunday, June 22 • 6 p.m.

Camille Claudel 1915 tells the true story of Camille Claudel, the renowned French sculptor and artist who became the protégé, mistress, and muse to Auguste Rodin (another renowned French sculptor). Around the age of 50, Camille (played by award-winning Juliette Binoche) is admitted into an insane asylum at the urging of her brother, the poet, playwright, and diplomat Paul Claudel. The film traces Camille’s despair, convinced that she is not insane and constantly awaiting visits from her brother with hopes he will take her away from the asylum. The story is based on the letters exchanged between Camille and her brother throughout her years spent there. Camille Claudel 1915 tells Camille’s story in a strikingly raw and emotional way. In fact, the film itself was directed in an asylum in France, using its doctors, nurses, and patients as supporting cast members.

Stranger By The Lake (L’Inconnu Du Lac)

2013 | Erotic Thriller
Saturday, June 21 • 11:35 p.m.

Sometimes, it seems we humans are blindly attracted to what’s in our worst interest. Exploring that concept, L’Inconnu Du Lac takes place on a lakeshore in southern France frequented by gay nudists. The beach also serves as a favorite hangout for the main character Franck, a thirty-something handsome gay male who is constantly scouting the shoreline during the summer. On one afternoon, he meets and is immediately attracted to Michel. The next day, from behind the trees, Franck sees Michel murdering a lover in the lake. Blinded by passion, despite what he secretly knows, Franck is even more infatuated with the killer and seeks a relationship with him, even after police begin an investigation into the death. The film received a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, four stars from Michal Oleszczyk on RogerEbert.com, eight César nominations this year (including Best Film and Best Director) and is praised by critics as a sexy and arresting erotic thriller.

Turning Tide (En Solitaire)

2013 | Adventure, Drama
Sunday, June 29 • 8:05 p.m.

This film tells the story of sailor Yann Kermadec (played by François Cluzet), who replaces his sailing cohort in the Vendée Globe. Yann’s prospects of winning the three-month round-the-world yacht race are looking good, until he discovers he’s not alone on the ride. Somehow a teenage stowaway managed to sneak onto the boat when Yann landed on the Canary Islands to repair a damaged rudder. Since the Vendée Globe is a solo race, having a passenger onboard immediately disqualifies Yann. Lacking options, Yann has no choice but to share his journey with his unexpected guest. In doing so, he also has a change of heart. A debut for French cinematographer Christophe Offenstein in a directorial role, this film recreates the harshness of international sailing competitions while revealing the spectacular views and extreme conditions of the untamed sea.

The Sacramento French Film Festival runs June 20 – 29, 2014 at the Crest Theatre. Opening night reception begins at 6 p.m., June 20. There are a variety of ticket prices and passes available; visit Sacramentofrenchfilmfestival.org for more info.

Food Network’s Tough-Love Host Chef Robert Irvine Talks About the Business of Giving

Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine is Santa Claus in a bodybuilder suit.

OK, that’s probably stretching it, but Irvine does drop some major surprises on the contestants of his latest reality show Restaurant Express, and quickly wraps up business plans and recipes for struggling eatery owners in Restaurant:Impossible, both on The Food Network.

Granted, he does these tasks in a militaristic way, barking orders and slathering truths when it comes down to wilted pieces of lettuce pretending to dress a platter or overpriced, undercooked barbecue menus.

Despite his tough love, Irvine’s goal is to empower people through food and fitness. His passion is to lend a helping hand where needed and teach his expertise in restaurant management, biceps and complementary flavors.

He’s accomplishing all these not only with his TV shows, but also with a forthcoming book to be released early 2014 on family, food and fitness; a live, national comedy show that talks about fitness and lifestyle in a fun way; a new nutritional snack food; an instant customer feedback technology called Humm Systems; and regular cooking tours for military personnel.

Yes, Irvine’s mind does run a thousand miles per hour. That’s why he works out, the 49-year-old British native says. It’s the only thing that really keeps him focused as he races from one end of the country to the other.

The reason the running around is worth it? He gets to help thousands of people, including those who are part of a project extremely important to him: Wounded Warriors.

“This year, we were able to cook for 122,000 Wounded Warriors,” Irvine says. “We met our goal.”

The Wounded Warrior Project (Woundedwarriorproject.org) provides programs and services to severely injured members of the military who are in transition between active duty and civilian life.

Irvine also volunteers with Invisible Children, an organization that spreads awareness about children forced to fight in Central Africa’s Lord’s Assistance Army (key name Joseph Kony); the Make a Wish Foundation; and 70 to 80 other charities annually.

His television work reflects his philanthropic personality as well, focusing on bringing people out of whatever funk is causing their restaurants to sink, or whatever barriers are holding them back from running their own kitchen or food venue.

For example, in a recent holiday Restaurant:Impossible (R:I) episode, Irvine revamped both a diner and a firehouse in New Jersey that incurred severe damage during Superstorm Sandy.

That episode was noticeably dear to Irvine’s heart, because before he got into cooking, his dream was to become a firefighter.

“I just came out of the [Royal] Navy, but I wasn’t really smart enough for [firefighting] so I became a cook instead,” he laughs over the phone from Albuquerque, N.M., where he’s getting ready to shoot an episode of R:I. “But my dreams have never changed. I joined the Navy, and I fought fires in the Navy.

Life is about just helping other people.”

The premise of R:I is that Irvine enters a struggling business, analyzes its major issues and tries to turn it around in two days with $10,000, following up after the episode with online updates to ensure the restaurant makes it.

Restaurant Express is a little different in that Irvine helps potential chefs make it big. In the debut season that just ended last week, Seonkyoung Longest—who grew up in South Korea and was residing in Mississippi—won the chance to be executive chef at M Resort’s restaurant Jayde Fuzion in Las Vegas, after seven intense episodes that included cooking meals for zoo animals, preparing dishes out of food trucks and meeting the whims of Irvine like cooking up a unique version of fish and chips.

At one point, Irvine was so impressed with Longest, despite her only having three years of kitchen experience, he said, “You move around a kitchen like you were born in one.”

The concept of the show intrigued Irvine when a friend at The Food Network pitched the idea of traveling across the country with a bus full of cooks. It wasn’t too different from Irvine’s own personal experience of traveling the world by sea during his time in the Royal Navy, and being asked to do one-in-a-lifetime menus like cooking for the Academy Awards or for Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal.

His experiences increased his business savvy and his efficiency in putting out impressive food fast. He now brings those skills to home cooks who want to make it big, just like Irvine did.

“It took a year of putting it together but I gotta tell you I was so proud of it, so proud of the show, the challenges, the way we taught the contestants,” Irvine says of the work behind Restaurant Express. “You went away learning something in the business. Every one of them did.”

Education and life-changing experiences epitomize Irvine. If you ask him what he’s learned in the last 25 years as a chef, he’ll tell you it’s to not judge anyone. That’s a hard task in a field that is rewarded through strict taste competitions and high standards. But for Irvine, the end game is more about business success and good food.

And he’s not that picky.

“I don’t really have any favorite foods,” he says. “I like new and exciting. Texture, taste and color. I love comfort foods like roast chicken.”

That sentiment makes sense with his two brick-and-mortar restaurants in South Carolina—Eat! and Nosh. Both focus on local cuisine, but one brings a unique sophistication while the other amplifies the perfect lunch.

When asked about major food service trends and the next big thing in the industry, Irvine keeps it simple.

“The next big thing is here,” he says. “It’s tapas, small plates and shared food, but there is not the next ‘wow thing.’ We’ve been through it all. There’s nothing that hasn’t been done already. We’re just moving toward a less formal atmosphere.”

Seems that way from the surface, but judging from Irvine’s full plate of projects, the big things—publicly anyway—are coming from the celebrity chefs who have some fun tricks up their sleeve.

If you’re interested in seeing what Chef Robert Irvine is cooking up in the kitchen, live, in the tech world or at the grocery store—because he will no doubt touch them all—visit Chefirvine.com.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, no he doesn’t get to eat as healthy on the road as he’d like to but at the time of this interview, the chef was diving into a salad of spinach, beets and walnuts with some pita and carrot hummus.

See Robert Irvine live in Sacramento when he brings the “impossible” to the Crest Theatre on Jan. 14, 2014. Doors open at 6:30. Tickets can be purchased at The Crest’s box office, through Thecrest.com or by calling (800) 225-2277.

Sacramento’s infamous late-night film festival, Trash Film Orgy, has officially returned for its 13th year! It all goes down on Saturdays at midnight now through Aug. 17 at the historic Crest Theatre, where TFO not only plays killer films like Shaun of the Dead and Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!, but also hosts entertaining live stage shows encouraging audience participation. There are also games, costume contests, prizes and tons of other weird, awesome stuff. There are four weeks of TFO left, so don’t miss out! July 27, 2013 see Sean S. Cunningham’s original 1980 slashfest, Friday the 13th; Aug. 3, 2013 is The Road Warrior, an Australian post-apocalyptic action flick from 1981; on Aug. 10, 2013 see Escape From New York, a 1981 science fiction action movie set in the future (1997, hah!) from influential filmmaker John Carpenter (Halloween, Big Trouble in Little China and others); and finally, on Aug. 17, celebrate Trash Film Orgy’s 100th show with a double header featuring H.G. Lewis’ classics Two Thousand Maniacs! and Blood Feast. All seats are $10, and only those 18-and-over are allowed in. If you wear a costume, you’ll save yourself a buck while gaining countless street-cred points. For those of drinking age, the Trash Lounge does serve beer and wine, so you can feel free to get a little loose. Doors open at 11 p.m. and the screenings start at midnight. For more information, visit Trashfilmorgy.com.

Horror film masterminds George A. Romero and David Cronenberg are just a few of the inspirations behind the latest film from Desperate Visions production company director and horror enthusiast, Jason L. Rudy. Mondo Sacramento 2 shares the more horrific tales of this busy little city and pays homage to the Mondo style of filmmaking popular throughout the ’60s and ’70s. The term “shockumentary” is commonly associated with this genre of films, where staged sequences presented as actual documentary footage are presented and sprinkled in with generally taboo subjects like sex and death. While Rudy’s Mondo Sacramento released last year told stories of the Vampire of Sacramento, Richard Chase, and Batgirl, Michelle Cummenski, Mondo Sacramento 2 invites audiences to learn just what really happened in the home of Dorothea Puente. Puente, who ran a boarding house in the ’80s, was convicted of cashing her elderly and mentally disabled boarders’ social security checks. Any complainers were killed and buried in her backyard. Horror legend Lynn Lowry, from films like Romero’s The Crazies and Cronenberg’s Shivers will star as Puente. Besides the Puente murders, Rudy’s film includes the first husband and wife serial killer team, the ill-fated assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford at the Capitol and even tales of worship and sin at the family friendly drive-in theater. Mondo Sacramento 2 premieres on Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Crest Theatre (1013 K Street). There will be two encore screenings on Saturday, May 18 at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., also at the Crest. All seats are just $10, tickets are on sale now at Tickets.com or via the Crest Theatre’s box office.

Planet of the Vampire Women

Not Rated

Anyone who’s stuck around through the credits of your run-of-the-mill Hollywood blockbuster knows that movies require the hard work of a lot of dedicated individuals. From actors to directors, caterers to key grips and so forth, it’s easy to see where a lot of the money from those astronomical budgets is going.

Small or even no-budget films aren’t any easier. They require just about as much work to get the job done. However, instead of relying on a vast team of trained professionals, a dedicated few are required to wear many hats. Such is the case with the Sacramento-based filmmakers behind Trash Film Orgy, headed by director/writer Darin Wood and his wife/producer/director of photography Christy Savage. The credits for TFO’s latest feature, Planet of the Vampire Women, which has just landed a U.S. DVD distribution deal through Seminal Films (international distribution is also being secured through ICAP Media), show a long list of names, but in this case don’t be surprised if you see the same name multiple times.

“I tell the guys this every time. I tell them this every month, and they’re like, ‘I don’t know how to do this, I don’t know how to do that.’ I’m like, we’re going to find out how to do it. I tell them, ‘You don’t understand–95 percent of the whole thing is creative problem solving,’” Wood says. “Just figuring out what the thing is and then options, maybe trial and error. It’s all about that.”

The result may fall short of a James Cameron opus, but what you get is something that feels handmade and personal. Most importantly, though their budgets might be small, TFO certainly does not skimp on the fun. As Savage puts it, “We’re of the mind that at this budget level, you can’t take yourself too seriously, because no one else is going to. At least if you give the people the fun and the silliness, they’re going to have a lot more fun with it than trying to do a $25,000 uber-serious movie. I mean, it worked for The Blair Witch Project, but it doesn’t work for most people.”

This ethos is readily apparent in Planet of the Vampire Women. The film originally premiered at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento on Aug. 31, 2011, but it will return to the venerable movie house on April 13, 2012 to celebrate its distribution deal and official DVD release, which is set for April 24, 2012.

The film opens at a multi-billion dollar space casino that is ransacked by a group of space pirates led by Captain Mickey “Trix” Richards (Paquita Estrada). The heist doesn’t go unnoticed, however, and the group is pursued by the ever-dutiful space marine-turned-cop Sergeant Val Falco (Jawara Duncan). The chase takes its toll as both pursuant and pursuer end up crashed on a deserted rock of a planet on the outskirts of the universe. To make matters worse, Captain Richards has become possessed; she is transformed from foxy inter-galactic plunderer into a vicious undead vixen who must feast on the blood of the living–you know, a vampire–unbeknownst to the unsuspecting crew.

Loyal crewmember Ginger Maldonado (Liesel Hanson) takes the reins, leading what’s left of the ragtag group on what turns out to be a futile expedition to find and rescue the missing Richards. As our heroes plunge forth into this extra-terrestrial heart of darkness, the plot begins to unfold, which involves a doomed race of parasitic beings fighting for survival and an effort to ensure that they don’t spread like a plague across the galaxies. Simple and effective, the story is B-movie gold, giving a wink and a nod to the great films of trash cinema past while casting itself as a new cult classic.

Planet of the Vampire Women’s most striking feature–other than the gratuitous blood and bare breasts–is its setting. Wood, Savage and co-producer Amy Slockbower have crafted an eye-catching world. From the gloriously gaudy interior of the casino to the surreal, cartoonish rock formations of the abandoned planet our protagonists have found themselves stranded upon, sets are cohesive and colorful, and the film’s plentiful CGI follows suit. While it may not look realistic per se, it meshes beautifully with the drugged-out look of the Vampire Women’s more conventional backdrops.

Computer graphics are something of a new feature in TFO’s bag of tricks. In fact, as Savage tells Submerge, Wood, putting his creative problem solving skills to the test, learned 3-D digital modeling on the job with help from students at Art Institute — Sacramento while making Planet of the Vampire Women.

“We knew it was going to be a space movie. There were spaceships and crap like that. We were going to do miniatures in the beginning,” Wood elaborates. “We were just going to buy a bunch of models and mash them all together, and make them look like something random, but I wasn’t going to get them to look the way I wanted them to look.”

Another feature that sets Vampire Women apart from TFO’s previous effort, Monster from Bikini Beach, is more coherent storytelling. Whereas the latter sometimes felt as if it was two movies in one–a story about a down-on-his-luck rogue cop entwined with local crime syndicates colliding with a Creature from the Black Lagoon-type tale–Vampire Women plows headlong into a straightforward story arc. While Bikini Beach wasn’t short on delightfully cheap thrills and snappy dialogue, TFO’s latest film feels more confident and ends up more thoroughly enjoyable. The snappy dialogue hasn’t suffered one bit, though, as evidenced in memorable lines such as “My bullshit meter is picking up huge readings of I don’t give a fuck.” Priceless!

The April 13 event at the Crest has implications beyond just a mere celebration. TFO will also unveil its Planet of the Vampire Women comic book, written by Wood and featuring the artistic talents of Paul Allen.

“[Allen] was at a screening of Planet of the Vampire Women, and he got really excited about it and went home and did some drawings over the next couple of days,” Wood says of the project’s beginnings. “It’s got this Ed Roth kind of style. He’s a really funky kind of artist. He kept saying, ‘We should do a comic book,’ but I was like, ‘We don’t really have any money. We just did the film. We don’t have the resources to do a comic book.’ I would see him at parties, and he would keep bugging me about it, but I never took him seriously.”

Eventually, Wood gave in to Allen’s tenacity to bring Vampire Women to the paneled page. Wood says the story of the book is a mix between a prequel and a sequel, following the exploits of pleasure-clone Astrid Corvain (played by Stephanie Hyden in the film).

“It was a lot of fun,” Wood enthuses. “I’ve never written a comic book before.”

Beyond that, the Vampire Women screening at the Crest will also serve as a fundraiser for TFO’s next movie. The film is untitled as of yet, but the working title is “Badass Monster Killer.”

“I’m hoping not to use that, but some days it grows on me,” Wood says of the name.

He describes the film as “A Blaxploitation take on a Lovecraftian world.” As a result, Wood says he’s also been throwing “Loveshaft” around as a possible title, but jokes that it sounds too much like a porno.

TFO has also set up a campaign on http://www.indiegogo.com/ to raise funds for their forthcoming production. A synopsis posted on the site reads as follows: “On the trashy side of Camaroville, there’s a mob turf war going down, but the new gang in town ain’t content with merely controlling the local dope and sex trade. They are also mixed up with dangerous black magic, intent on resurrecting hideous demon-gods who have waited centuries for the chance to eat all our souls and enslave mankind!”

Exclamation indeed!

See Planet of the Vampire Women in its newly remastered form at the Crest Theatre on Friday, April 13, 2012 at 10 p.m. Tickets are just $10 and can be purchased through http://www.tickets.com/index.html. Some official copies of the DVD will be for sale along with the Vampire Women comic book. If you’d like to donate more to the “Badass Monster Killer” fund, head to http://www.indiegogo.com/badass-monster-killer

Nightmare in the Twilight to celebrate their debut LP at Hella Metal Fest

One fateful day, Michael Alvarez went to McDonald’s and came home with more than a value meal. He ended up with a band.

“My friend was too lazy to get McDonald’s, so he sent me out to get McDonald’s,” Alvarez explains. “On my way there, I ran into an old friend from high school, and he wanted me to join a band with him, and that’s how I ended up meeting Shorty [Ruben Trejo].”

Trejo and Alvarez started jamming together around late 2008, by Alvarez’s account, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2009 that their current project, Nightmare in the Twilight, came to be.

“My guitarist at the time was a little more into partying and doing other shit, so it turned into me and Mike jamming out and working on some songs,” Trejo tells Submerge over the phone. “Playing whatever came to mind.”

Just two years later, the band, which features Alvarez on guitar, Trejo on drums, Zaryn Mankins on bass and Trejo’s little brother Santana Estrada on vocals, is ready to release their eponymous debut LP on Oct. 1, the same day they will take the stage as part of the Hella Metal Fest at the Crest Theatre. Though it hasn’t taken a long time for the Sacramento-based death metal band to get to this point, Nightmare in the Twilight’s road toward maturity certainly hasn’t been traveled without some growing pains along the way.

One such pitfall along the band’s path was finding a vocalist. Alvarez says that Nightmare in the Twilight’s original vocalist “wasn’t too into the band.”

“He’d wander off on his own,” Alvarez elaborates during our phone interview. “He’d have random guys hop up with him while he was performing, and they weren’t really any good at all. We realized we needed somebody serious.”

As it turns out, family ties would create the strong bond the band needed from its vocalist. Enter Estrada, who needed some convincing from his big brother before he decided to give it a go.

“He’d always been into vocals,” Trejo says. “It was the main thing he’d heard in metal, the first thing he’d notice in any band were the highs, lows and the mids. One day I heard him in his room practicing, and I was like, ‘He’s getting pretty good.’ We did a show without a vocalist and had a couple of guys come up and do vocals, which really didn’t turn out the way we thought it was going to. We had another show coming up, and we wanted to be more legit about it. I hit him [Estrada] up and said, ‘You’ve got to try it. You’ve got to come do these vocals.’”

With their frontman situation taken care of, the band didn’t waste much time getting into the studio. Nightmare in the Twilight released their first EP in August 2009, The Big Sexy EP, which was engineered by Martyrdom’s Phil Waters.

“He wasn’t the coolest guy, but he recorded us and did a decent job,” Alvarez says. While the situation may not have been ideal, both he and Trejo agree that it was a good learning experience for the band.

“We did learn about recording,” Alvarez says. “We started learning about how to fix our tone better, how to keep timing, what we should and shouldn’t do in the recording studio, not waste time. It was a good attempt at a demo for a band that started that year.”

“The main thing that it taught me to never try to do a split demo with a band that’s not really sure what they’re going to be doing,” Trejo adds. “We tried to do a split demo with one of our friend’s bands, and it just totally fell through, took too long in recording. So that definitely taught me to be well-rehearsed before you come into the studio, because time is money.”

Nightmare in the Twilight took this past experience into the studio this time around to create what is a more polished product. The band’s self-titled LP was recorded with Bob Swanson at Mayhemeness Recording Studios in Sacramento. Trejo says that focused preparation was a big part of their approach heading into the studio this time around.

“The main thing was we went in there well-rehearsed,” he explains. “We knew what we wanted and when we wanted it. Some songs had little changes, but it was never ‘how are we going to pull this off?’

“Last time in the studio was more jamming, and this time, we found an exact tempo of what we were going by,” Trejo, who was really looking to push the tempo of each song on the LP, continues. “We were very well structured about how fast we were going to be and where everything was going to be placed.”

Alvarez believes that the more structured approach also arose from multi-tracking the guitars this time around.

“Our demo was just two guitars, and it didn’t sound that great in certain parts when one guitar would cut out and wait for the other one to do the riff,” he says. “We did more layering of the guitar work so it sounds more full. It’s entirely together instead of parts coming off and on.”

The album contains songs that also appear on The Big Sexy EP, but have undergone major overhauls. For example, “The Young and the Restless” (which is a tad sluggish on the EP with an ill-fated jazzy breakdown toward the end of the track) explodes on Nightmare in the Twilight; even the jazzy bit pops with the crisp snap of Trejo’s drums behind palpitating guitars before erupting into the death metal fury that is the band’s signature.

“Our old EP was pretty decent, but we were still new at the time,” Alvarez says. “A lot of off-timing on the guitars, a lot of errors. We’ve changed up so much since we recorded those back in 2009. When we came into the studio this year, it was more like, let’s finalize these and make a perfect version.” Alvarez also adds that the songs on the LP that have been salvaged from the eight-track EP feature rewritten lyrics.

The band’s lyrics, though they may be difficult to discern to the casual listener, stem from a variety of places and are a true collaboration between the band members. Nightmares–hence the band’s name–play into many of the lyrics Alvarez wrote, along with those by the band’s old guitar player Joey Garnica. Alavarez says that he also examines death and dying in the words that he writes, as well as tackling existential questions like what comes after death. Songs such as these could probably be considered consistent with the band’s genre; however, then there are songs like “Chicken Sauce,” which tells the tale of a man who’s driven crazy after eating sauce from McDonald’s.

“We don’t try to come off as a comedy band, but we have a little comedic side to us,” Alvarez says. “We’re not like this uptight, big badass metal band or something like that. We like to show people that we’re not crazy.”

Nightmare in the Twilight is still in the dawn of its young career, and for the moment, though they take their music seriously, it would seem from our conversation that the band is first and foremost looking to have fun and make music they enjoy. And unlike the menu items available at the fast food chain that inadvertently sparked their formation, Nightmare in the Twilight is hoping to make music that isn’t so plastic in its sameness.

“There are a lot of bands in the Sacramento area, I’m not naming names, but they don’t try to write music for themselves,” Alvarez says. “They try to write music for a crowd, and usually the songs sound the same every time. We usually try to write music we really enjoy. I believe all of us are influenced by a lot of different styles, so the way it comes out not every song is the same.”

Hella Metal Fest will hit the Crest Theatre, 12 bands strong, on Oct. 1. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door, and can be purchased through Tickets.com. Go to Hellametalfest.com for full lineup information and to find links to buy tickets. Nightmare in the Twilight’s self-titled full-length debut will be available starting Oct. 1. The band’s The Big Sexy EP is available for free download at Nightmareinthetwilight.bandcamp.com.

The Sacramento Film & Music Festival – Opening Night

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011 – Crest Theatre, Sacramento

The Sacramento Film and Music Festival celebrated its 12th season beginning last Wednesday at the historic Crest Theatre and ending Sunday, Aug. 21. Patrons were entertained well into the evening with music and film screenings; plus, this year, an additional twist was provided by The Sacramento Bee’s Fashion Challenge to kick off the opening night events.

This was the first year the SFMF introduced SummerFest, with WinterFest taking place last January. Singer/songwriter Autumn Sky dressed appropriately for the evening’s festivities performing in a sparkling silver bolero, accompanied by her snazzy-dressed two-man band. Sky and her boys entertained film and music enthusiasts with her soothing yet powerful vocals while showcasing her acoustic guitar skills, stomping her feet as she strummed along to the music. Pizza Rock served and sliced complimentary pies for hungry guests, which paired well with the endless amounts of Sierra Nevada Summerfest brew that was served in the Crest’s mini bar. However, no one should ever have to pay $5.25 for a room-temperature beer–just saying.

Before the film screenings began, there was the expected sponsorship thank yous and unscripted microphone jibber-jabber, followed by a small awards ceremony in which Cecile Mouette Downs, co-founder and director of the Sacramento French Film Festival, was awarded the 2011 Film Arts Service Award. Downs previously worked for the Film Department of the French Embassy in New York City and last year received the Arts Executive of the Year Award from the Sacramento Arts and Business Council.

Directly following Downs’ achievement was the red carpet-inspired fashion challenge. Local designers put their sewing expertise to the test by creating garments made from a peculiar medium–newspaper. Project Runway, anyone? Models worked the catwalk, or stage for that matter, each woman getting into the character her garment demanded. Some women chose the stiff, robotic walk, while othwers channeled their inner Harajuku girl while wearing their print-heavy threads. The couture created from mere newspaper and a bit of fabric by all local designers was quite impressive. Some dresses were obviously stiff as if ironed flat and doused in starch, but there were some red carpet-worthy fashions that showed texture and color, and one designer even made shorts.

After the booming runway music was silenced and the models disappeared backstage, the evening took a more serious turn with the screening of Sé Merry Doyle’s feature documentary, Jimmy Murakami Non-Alien. Murakami, an award-winning animator, director and artist, was one of 18,000 Japanese Americans who were forced into the Northern California Tule Lake internment camp. The film showed Murakami’s deep anger for the government’s prejudice against Japanese Americans and documented his pilgrimage back to Tule Lake. The film was both powerful and moving, a must see. The SFMF continued into the weekend showing narrative features such as The Corridor and Charlie’s Closet, and ended the festival with international short films from Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and more.

Opening night at the SFMF ended the way any great evening celebrating the arts should, with an after party hosted at District 30, who let all from the festival in at no cost. But it wouldn’t be the SFMF without ending the four-day festivities with yet another huge after party hosted by Parlare Euro–which leads me to believe those who put in all the hard work to make these festivals possible know how to party, and they know how to do it right. I concur with their style. Cheers.

Heavy music fans, mark your calendars for what may be the best lineup of Northern California metal bands in a long, long time. Hella Metal Fest will take place on Oct. 1 at Crest Theatre and Submerge could not be more excited to be a sponsor of this monstrous concert. The lineup includes: A Holy Ghost Revival (pictured), Amongst the Undead, At the Crossroads, Jack Ketch, Journal, Memento Mori, Nightmare in the Twilight, Out for Blood, Taunis Year One, The Antioch Synopsis, The Kennedy Veil and The Soothing Sound of Flight. These are arguably 12 of the North State’s most promising, talented metal bands, and tickets are just $12 pre-sale and $15 at the door. Keep an eye on Hellametalfest.com and right here in these pages for more details as they are announced.

Left and Loose in the Lot is a hilarious locally produced comedy about two stoner security guards who witness a murder while working the night shift at a parking garage, which throws a serious damper on their night that just seems to go from bad to worse. Starring local talent Waynee Wayne, host of KSFM 102.5’s morning show and Demetrius Dedmon, also a 102.5 DJ, the Lot was shot entirely in Sacramento and Folsom. Also featured in the film is Hollywood actor/producer Christopher Michael Holley, who has worked alongside Joe Carnahan, Kevin Spacey, Edward Norton and Jeremy Piven on such films as Pride and Glory, 21, Smokin’ Aces and more. The Lot is also the first film from writer/producer Dawn Dais, a Sacramento native and best-selling author, so there is no denying the amount of local talent behind the making of this film. The official press release says the Lot is “Harold and Kumar meets Bad Boys,” and based on the film’s trailer we would say that is a pretty accurate description. Toss in Half Baked and How High and you’re almost spot-on. The entire cast and crew, along with some other special guests, will be at Crest Theatre (1013 K Street) in Sacramento, on Friday, Aug. 5 for a red carpet event starting at 6:30 p.m. There will also be a film screening, which is technically the “world premier” of the Lot, at 7:30 p.m. For more information about the film, to view the trailer and to purchase tickets to the premier for just $5, visit Leftandloose.com.