the mystery of the pink flamingo

Raindance Film Festival 2020: Roundup

Raindance Film Festival has ended and I can’t believe that this is not my first but second festival. I have managed to watch 7 films that are proof that indie films are still thriving and exciting as ever. Having viewed a selection of films from different countries that explore a variety of topics from identity struggles to death row to flamingos. There really was a film for everyone on my watch list. Admittedly, I would have watched a couple more but my birthday fell right in the middle and I gave myself a couple of days off hence the lower final film count. However, what I did manage to watch were fine examples of filmmaking that is intuitive and creative with the directors all utilising their resources brilliantly.

From my first film The Eagle’s Nest to the last, Ella es Cristina, Raindance has exceeded my expectations and all of the films felt poignant and relevant exploring very real issues that affect the world today. After looking at the list, I knew Nuclear was one I had to watch for its Welsh connections as well as Ella es Cristina as it was directed by the man who co-wrote A Fantastic Woman. I didn’t know what any of the films were about going in which made it an even more exciting experience.

As with my London Film Festival Roundup (which you can read here), I thought I would pick my personal winners. Now, bear in mind I only watched 7 films but all 7 proved to be amazing contenders in each category and it was still really hard to decide.

Here are the Smaller Pictures Winners of Raindance Film Festival:

Best Picture – Ella es Cristina

Best Director – Catherine Linstrum for Nuclear

Best Leading Actor – Andriy Lidagovskiy for My Thoughts Are Silent

Best Leading Actress – Mariana Derderián for Ella es Cristina

Best Supporting Actor – George Mackay for Nuclear

Best Supporting Actress – Felicity Asseh for The Eagle’s Nest

Best Original Screenplay – Gonzalo Maza for Ella es Cristina

Best Debut Screenplay –Antonio Lukich for My Thoughts Are Silent

Best Documentary Feature – The State of Texas vs Melissa

Best Original Score – Cristobal Carvajal for Ella es Cristina

Best Cinematography – Arsene Romuald Mvondo for The Eagle’s Nest

Best Editing – Yago Muñiz for The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo

Best Production Design – Carly Larson for Under My Skin

Best Costume Design – Nicole Capasso for Under My Skin

Best Hair and Makeup – KC Mussman for Under My Skin

Being able to review films for Raindance has been another highlight of my year and a huge step for this site. Having the chance to watch such amazing films is always a treat and to be accepted as press for one of my favourite festivals is something I won’t forget.

So that’s my Raindance Film Festival Roundup done and dusted. I highly recommend giving the films I reviewed a watch. All of them were so different and unique, I hope to catch them again in the future. Let me know your thoughts on my reviews and if you had the chance to watch the films.

As ever, here are the reviews I wrote for Raindance Film Festival if you would like to read them:

The Eagle’s Nest

Ella es Cristina

My Thoughts Are Silent

The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo

Nuclear

The State of Texas vs Melissa

Under My Skin

Raindance Film Festival 2020: The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo

Getting back to my Raindance viewing after a few days off, the next film on my list is a documentary that immediately grabbed my interest. The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo follows an eccentric sound engineer, Rigo Pex, who begins to see pink flamingos everywhere and wants to get to the bottom of what it all means. Directed by Javier Polo, The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo is as vivid and fearless as the subject it seeks to discuss. Combining many mediums such as animation, art, music and film, the documentary is a culmination of how the pink flamingo became a symbol for those who wish to live freely. The pink flamingo is representative of kitsch and a cheapness that also belies a culture of bad taste and boundary pushing. What emerges from the film is how different people have taken figurative and literal inspiration from the flamingo and how this affects their life and shaped their identity. Just like the documentary’s interviewees, Pex begins to welcome the prospect of a new identity that opens new doors to professional and personal fulfillment.

The documentary itself subverts the traditional tropes. Dramatises itself with an ominous unseen narrator who questions Pex at various points, there are times when the lines are blurred between documentary and feature. Pex himself becomes a sort of fictionalised character as his journey reflects those found in feature films. Opening with a dream sequence in which Pex is pecked by a flamingo and is clearly bothered that the reoccurring presence of the animal in his life, so much so that he feels as though it is blocking him in some way. What his venture teaches him is that rather than blocking him, the pink flamingo is actually a door to discover more about its symbolic significance and what it means to people and ultimately to himself.

On his journey, Pex begins to switch his predominantly black wardrobe for more colourful attire and becomes happier in his outlook on life and in himself. The pink flamingo becomes an emblem for something more. As he records the sounds he encounters, he finds himself finding purpose for this sounds and mixes some together to create a piece that expresses his new identity. Featuring interviews with artists, musicians and filmmakers among other professions, The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo becomes a discussion piece on what it means to be kitsch and live an alternative lifestyle that refuses to conform to societal norms. Among my favourite interviews was one with the legendary John Waters. Known for his controversial filmography including the notorious 1972 film Pink Flamingos which features iconic drag queen, Divine, Waters explains his thought process and why it is important to express the bad taste to clash with the good taste that society favours. A brilliant takeaway from this discussion was that his passion to be controversial and in bad taste comes from his upbringing with parents who raised with him good taste. This upbringing provided him the rules that he would seek to break throughout his career.

What struck me through this film is how important sound is. A huge part of Pex’s initial personality is his passion for his work as a sound engineer. He records sounds from every street in his town and stores them systematically without knowing what purpose they will serve. As he travels around America, the sounds he records begin to merge and come together like a puzzle piece in Pex’s mind. By becoming more comfortable in how he presents himself and allowing himself to be pushed out of his comfort zone, we see his musical venture begin to take shape also. The second half of the film following the construction of an initial beat that grows into a musical piece played at the end that aligns with a sequence showcasing Pex’s journey to a world of colour and kitsch. The sounds of the journey making the documentary a sensory experience and creating a synesthesia effect.

Overall, The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo is a great look into how identity is an ongoing journey rather than something that is fully formed and stagnant. Using Pex as a way into this quirky lifestyle that looks at how the flamingo has been a literal and figurative inspiration to many throughout the decades allows the audience to believe in Pex’s evolution as he begins to shift in his outlook.

The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo is showing at Raindance Film Festival 2020.