About 18 months ago a total stranger asked that I come to a Ridgewood apartment and watch a movie. This suggests the start of a profoundly unappetizing Penthouse letter; instead it’s how I saw Adrian Anderson and Patrick Gray’s lo-fi, highbrow comedy Pomp & Circumstance. It was clear the duo had wisely carved their niche: shot on 16mm (but not in the annoying way), filled with literary references and digressions (but not in the please-notice-we’ve-read-books manner), and incredibly brief in runtime. A feedback session begat a new cut to which I gave the proper thumbs-up while––admittedly––wondering if another human being would ever lay eyes upon it.
Lo and behold, Pomp & Circumstance is birthed: Anderson and Gray’s film will have nationwide screenings (see below) before landing on NoBudge later this summer. Ahead of these sundry premieres we’re pleased to exclusively debut the trailer, soundtracked by Film Stage contributor Matthew Allan’s Star 80 and featuring a quote (not offered at gunpoint!) from yours truly.
Here’s the synopsis: “This freewheeling, episodic lo-fi comedy pays tribute to youthful ennui in a world where originality feels elusive. In Burlington, Vermont, three soon-to-be-graduates––Charlie, an unconventional romantic, Thomas, an obsessed poet, and Marie, a budding documentarian become entangled in an absurd plot involving their professor, running for mayor. Shot entirely on 16mm film, this debut serves as a loving but sarcastic homage to 60s underground cinema and 90s indies.”
Find the preview and poster below:
7/18 – Worcester MA – Cinema-Worcester Park View Room
7/19 – Kansas City, MO – Stray Cat Film Center
7/30 – Sacramento, CA – The Dreamland Cinema
8/21 – Philadelphia – Bryn Mawr Film Center
8/22 – Los Angeles, CA – WHAMMY!
9/19 – Hartford, CT – Cinestudio
