BOOTBOX008 | Region-Free (DVD)

Title: Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy (1981)

Alternate Title: Gosti iz galaksije

Genre: Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi

Plot Synopsis: Robert, a science fiction writer, discovers he has the ability to materialize his thoughts into reality. This newfound power brings to life a trio of alien androids—Andra and the children, Targo and Ulu—from his latest novel. As these extraterrestrial beings integrate into his life, chaos ensues, straining his relationship with his girlfriend, Biba, and disrupting their seaside community. The situation escalates further when a monstrous creature, Mumu, also born from Robert’s imagination, begins to wreak havoc. The film explores themes of creativity, unintended consequences, and the blurred lines between fiction and reality.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Dušan Vukotić
• Writers: Miloš Macourek, Dušan Vukotić
• Cast:
  • Žarko Potočnjak as Robert
  • Lucie Žulová as Biba
  • Ksenia Prohaska as Andra
  • Rene Bitorajac as Targo
  • Jasminka Alić as Ulu
  • Ljubiša Samardžić as Toni

IMDb Link: Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy (1981)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Lou (rhymes with wow!) – ★★★★½ “Visitors from the (Arkana) Galaxy is a wildly imaginative and playful tale about a science-fiction author who discovers that he can make his thoughts materialize, merely by thinking it.”

2. PT99 – ★★★ “If this happened to me I’d probably just get pegged. 6/10”

3. Blake Bergman “Various Spaghetti” – ★★★★½ “The film itself is a co-produced effort between Yugoslavia and what was at the time, Czechoslovakia… Vukotic, himself, born of Yugoslavian origin held a respective candor towards fantastical animation.”

Meta Description: “Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy” (1981), directed by Dušan Vukotić, is a Yugoslav-Czechoslovak comedy-horror sci-fi film about Robert, a writer whose imagination brings alien androids and a monstrous creature to life, leading to chaos in his personal life and community.

Title: Dirty (1993)

Genre: Short, Horror

Plot Synopsis:
Inspired by and loosely based on the introduction to Georges Bataille’s Blue of Noon, Dirty portrays the descent of a woman named Dirty into degradation. Despite her affluence, she becomes helpless in the hands of those she sought to patronize. The film shifts perspectives, allowing viewers to experience the protagonist’s view of herself and how the world perceives her.

Cast and Crew:

• Directors: Tessa Hughes-Freeland, Annabel Lee
• Writer: Georges Bataille (novel)
• Cast:
  • Marti Blue as Dirty
  • David Huberman as Man in Elevator
  • Jennifer Kabat as Maid
  • Joe Budenhoozer as Barman
  • Brigitte Engler as Barfly

IMDb Link:
Dirty (1993)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. dogfacedboy – ★★★☆☆
   “Accurate title. Watch here.”

2. ☥ skylar ☥ – ★★★★☆
   “Tessa Hughes-Freeland and Annabel Lee have crafted the ideal transgression daydream, or nightmare, depending on who you are!”

3. shaun – ★★★★☆
   “Felt kinda Lynchian? Very camp feel to it and the total opposite to the edginess of Tessa’s collaboration with Tom Turner, Rat Trap.”

Meta Description:
Dirty (1993), directed by Tessa Hughes-Freeland and Annabel Lee, is a short horror film loosely based on Georges Bataille’s Blue of Noon, exploring a woman’s descent into degradation and the shifting perceptions of her identity.

Plot Synopsis: Each September, Bolot Tagaev and his family engage in a centuries-old tradition of harvesting walnuts in one of the oldest walnut forests in Kyrgyzstan. Director Zaheed Mawani captures their seasonal routines, highlighting delicate moments such as a child interacting with a snake and the careful handling of walnut sacks. The film also delves into the rich tapestry of myths and legends associated with the forest, shared around nightly fires, adding a mythic dimension to their way of life.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Zaheed Mawani
• Cinematography: Sebastián Hiriart
• Editors: Andrea Bussmann, Zaheed Mawani

IMDb Link: Harvest Moon (2018)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Avirup – “To get a peek into a place, people and life like this, it always is something special..”

2. Dustin Baker – “Simple and sweet, showing a small sliver of a family’s life in a corner of the world rarely shown. The older and more stressed I become, the more I appreciate these little windows into the world that I become ever more boxed out of…”

Meta Description: “Harvest Moon” (2018) is a poignant documentary by Zaheed Mawani that chronicles the annual walnut harvest of Bolot Tagaev’s family in Kyrgyzstan. The film offers an intimate glimpse into their traditions, daily interactions, and the rich folklore that binds their community.