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It’s the end of the world as we know it and no-one feels fine in Soda Jerk’s latest multi-layered cinematic remix, which sassily swipes at deepfakes and Trumpism.
Punk art filmmakers Soda Jerk (Terror Nullius) layer and manipulate hundreds of film samples into furiously funny narratives that comment on the burning issues that collectively keep us up at night. In Hello Dankness, they trace the toppling of the US empire and the worrying unravelling of reality, drawing a dizzying line from the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016 through to COVID lockdowns and rampant conspiracy theories, all via snippets of Wayne’s World, The ’Burbs and American Beauty as well as excerpts from contemporary queer art history and Reddit culture.
Having its international debut at this year’s Berlinale, this subversive incursion into the cinematic archives presents a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable insight into our increasingly turbulent times. Far from offering a dry video essay on moral decline, Soda Jerk lead us on a laugh-inducing voyage through our favourite films, anarchically lampooning the rise of fake news while cheekily reimagining Tom Hanks and Bruce Dern as feuding neighbours spitballing across the political divide.
“A triumph … Pop culture’s infinite cycle always spits out and reassembles content; [in Hello Dankness] the process is explicit, amplified, and turbocharged.” – The Guardian
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Directors Soda Jerk will be in attendance for the screenings on Friday 4 and Tuesday 8 August. They will also appear in the free MIFF Talks event Eyes on America: From Documentary to Satire & In Between on Saturday 5 August.
