Pranksters' paradise
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Kidnapper Films are out to steal your mind
by MICHAEL CITROME
Kidnapper Films is like the Wu-Tang Clan of guerilla filmmaking. "Except we're not hip hoppers, we're filmmakers," explains founding member Matt Silver. "We're a fairly big crew, but it works to our advantage."
There are 10 members in all, aged 19-21, based around the core group of Matt Silver, Darren Curtis, Jared Curtis, Bobby Shore, Robb Jamieson and Dan Haber. It all started with an idea from online zine uPath.com. "I was working for uPath. They wanted me to go to the opening of The Beach and cause trouble." So Silver and co-founder Darren Curtis took a video camera and claimed to be from the official Leonardo DiCaprio fan Web site, assembling a video get-well card for the star, supposedly suffering from a bronchial infection. They made it into a movie.
The uPath people loved it so much that they wanted more, so Kidnapper Films was born, with Silver and crew putting a cinéma verité spin on the mockumentary formula. "We put together a crack team of prank experts. What we want to do is a mix of narrative stories, where we take prank footage and make it into a movie."
The group's recent triumph was Camel-Toe Project, a 20-minute film about "a team of shitty breakdancers. It's really the story of the triumph of the human spirit. It's this year's Schindler's List," says a smirking Silver.
The inept breakers rock the cardboard all over Montreal, to mostly shocked crowds. It's sort of Spinal Tap meets Beat Street. The full video, which launched at Tokyo Bar last fall, is available on their site, www.kidnapperfilms.com.
The next project from Kidnapper Films is a documentary called Handlebar Halloween. "We go trick or treating with handlebar moustaches, a six of beer and cigarettes. We ask people if we can spend the night because we just got fired and we need a warm place to stay." The Kidnappers are also planning an exhibit at Luba Lounge in the next few months. Check their Web site for updated details.
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