Film freak-out! by MATTHEW HAYS When local filmmaker Mitch Davis returned to Montreal from Europe last week, he was both exhausted and relieved. It seems his trip to Paris, where he was invited to present his short film Divided Into Zero, was marred by complaints to the French morality squad claiming that the film was kiddie porn. Not so, reports Davis. The 30-minute film, in fact, is an astonishing, dream-like portrait of the psychic makeup of a child killer. Some of the images are disturbing, for sure, including one glimpse of the crucifixion of a young girl. But none of the images are sexual, at least not that I can see. One young woman who attended L'Étrange Festival, where Davis's film screened, apparently didn't agree. She phoned the police and a child pornography watchdog group and complained, very loudly, that the film contained an image of an old man masturbating into the face of the girl as she was crucified. (There's no such image in the film.) Police arrived at the cinema and demanded that Fest director Frederick Temps set up a private screening for them. They interviewed him for several hours about who Davis was and if indeed he was a legitimate filmmaker or some sort of sordid pornographer. They left satisfied that the 16-year-old complainant had simply misinterpreted the film. Divided Into Zero then went on to win one of three public prizes at the festival, a coup for Davis. "They gave me as much room in the program as they did for Harmony Korine's Julien Donkey-boy," says Davis. "Obviously, they really liked it, which is really cool." The Parisian award isn't the only thing Davis has to celebrate. Divided Into Zero already won the Jury Prize at the prestigious Chicago Underground Film Festival last year, as well as being banned in both Britain and New Zealand for its explicit content. And Davis says he's been getting some extreme responses to the film's imagery. "The main character is into self-mutilation. So after screenings, people were coming up to me and showing me their scars." What flattery! Davis, who moonlights as a programmer at Fantasia and Cinéma du Parc, also produced the local feature Subconscious Cruelty (directed by Karim Hussain), which will have its world premiere in Spain next month. There are further congratulations in order to another young Montreal filmmaker. When the 31st annual Canadian Student Film and Video Festival--which runs concurrently with the World Film Fest--came to a close 10 days ago, there was a pleasant reward for Montreal high school student Seth Mendelson. The St. George's High School attendee walked away with the top prize for his film, What to Do, winning the Kodak Grand Prix and $5,000 in equipment. And that's really something, considering he was competing against university students from the top film schools across the country. The jury underlined the director's creativity and versatility in their judgment, stating they hoped their prize would "push his talent even further." Kudos to you, kiddo. COMMENTS: mhays@mtl-mirror.com