Other animation to be shown includes:

• Sunset to Sunset by Kent Hayward, about a walk across LA (that’s right – a WALK in LA!)
• and the aforementioned Demiurge, both Friday night, Aug. 13th.

On Saturday, Aug. 14th, even more great animation includes:

• The fantastic The Magnitude of the Continental Divides by Christopher Coleman;
• Phillip the Safety Egg by Mike Owens (looks straight out of Adult Swim);
• The Empress by Lyle Pisio (an Absolute MUST SEE for all animation connoisseurs);
• Billionaire by Antonio Figueroa, about a game cataloging the roots of our economic collapse;
• Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer by Andrew Jones, not an animated movie per se, but featuring notable CGI while Frank and the world’s best reporter, Holly Malone, hallucinate;
• and finally Goodnight Harvey, with some animation bidding a less than fond farewell to a formerly beloved childhood Muppets — sorry, “Muppos” — icon.

So bring a friend, bring a chair to enjoy the movies and see you there!

We’re screening a full-length feature called “Dynamite Swine” (facebook) by Mark Poisella, a rollicking action movie/buddy flick/poker movie that defies description but just works. This is the second year in a row we’ve opened with a feature film, and you seriously won’t see anything like this anywhere else.

We are preceding it with one of the best shorts I’ve ever seen (and I don’t say that lightly), “With Anchovies… Without Mamma” (facebook, trailer, website) an amazing mockumentary (by Brooklyn’s Thomas Justino) about pizza and revenge.

The moviemakers describe it as “an investigative look at love, loss, pizza and the depth of circumstance.” Whatever that means, it is incredibly tight — the acting and script are terrific, it’s hilariously funny, and it keeps you entertained until the only thing left in the box is a grease stain and that little plastic table. Want mustaches? It’s got mustaches, and people who sound like they’re from Jersey.

Anyway, I’m just babbling now, but you’ll really enjoy Saturday, August 7th’s opening night. Don’t forget, it’s the Brainwash *Drive-in Bike-in Walk-in* Movie Festival, so you can come in on two wheels or four — or, just use the very convenient West Oakland BART station (less than a block away).

Buy tickets at TicketWeb and RSVP on Facebook.

The show will be August 7th, 13th, and 14th at the Mandela Village Arts Center, 1357 5th St., in Oakland, 9 pm each night, $10 each. Find out more about the festival!

1st Prize: “MXD MSG” by Jeffrey Durkin
2nd GRAND Prize: “Mister Coffey” by Mark Thimijan
3rd Prize: “EXIT:ALLEY” by Robin Smyth
4th Prize: “The Collection” by Keren Albala
5th Prize: “Gypsy Crepes” by Count Lear Bunda
Brainwash First Feature: “Dr. S Battles the Sex-Crazed Reefer Zombies: The Movie” by Bryan Ortiz
Audience Choice Award: “Stalk Much?” by Bill Baykan

The last was finally tabulated from the thousands and thousands of paper ballots (chads hanging all over the place) so that you, the loyal reader, would finally know the truth about the 2009 Brainwash Movie Festival.

The truth is, it’s all over, so watch this space for our call for entries! Become a fan on Facebook (not that we’ve done much with that in a while) to keep up. Soon we’ll relaunch our email list as well.

We are proud to announce a terrific line-up of short independent movies at this year’s 15th Annual Brainwash Drive-in Bike-in Walk-in Movie Festival, to be held in Oakland on Friday, July 31st and Saturday, August 1st, 2009. [Buy advance tickets on TicketWeb.]

Congratulations to our moviemakers and a sincere thanks to all who submitted their movies! We plan to “hold over” certain other movies submitted this year, including a couple of Very Brainwash Features^TM, for further shows, so stay tuned!

In other words, if your movie did not make the main festival, it may still screen later in the year.

And now the program:

MXD MSG: Watch the trailer for MXD MSG on the Breadtruck Films website

Gypsy Crepes: Watch the trailer for Gypsy Crepes on Facebook

We liked these movies a lot! Watch for more links to some of the movies from this year’s upcoming festival.