Mindbenders

Running time: N/A

Besides being one of the most popular features of Cinequest, just what are Mindbenders? Twisting and turning through plot and image, they usually don't wind up where you think they are going. They puzzle and toy, distort and disturb and usually result in the question, "What the...?".Examples include the Argentinian Juana, which takes you through the artist's mindscape, a la Maya Deren. Katie Koskenmaki's The Windigo, like the Blair Witch films, shows just how terrifying the woods can be with mere tent fabric for walls. Director Lee Lanier (Millennium Bug, Cinequest '99) presents Mirror, the latest digital frenzy from the artists at Pacific Digital Images. Mike Stamm's macabre Ashes to Ashes dwells on death and a couple who relish going from funeral to funeral. Dreamer, from Raymond Spiess, takes a Native American elder on a nightmare journey from 1629 AD to our present. Australian M. Frank brings two waking dreams, out of body experiences that happen on the sidewalk (The Autist) or are induced by a hospital ward (Purgatory.)