Adam Barnick
E-Insiders

Kansas 1, Hollywood 0

Director Steve Balderson of Dikenga Films works out of a small office in Wamego, Kansas, yet is able to attract major Hollywood talent to his films and enhance their production value tenfold by relying on a do-it-yourself mindset. His first two films, Pep Squad (a pitch-black high school satire) and Firecracker (a Tennessee Williams meets Hitchcock emotional epic) were made in the Midwest under his control; yet doing things his own way doesn’t mean the bureaucracy of the film business doesn’t try to kick him in the vitals on occasion. When the roadblocks appear Balderson simply reinvents his process and continues on the same journey he’s been doing, even if taking a difficult, different road to get there. And that’s what’s at the core of his previous documentary WAMEGO and its companion piece, WAMEGO STRIKES BACK. Far from being a PR stunt for his work, they’re meant to reinforce the idea of artists staying true to themselves, successfully creating their work in new ways as opposed to bowing down to the monolithic standard.

Feeling much more ‘open’ than the previous chapter, which documented Firecracker’s making through the Balderson family’s (and the town’s) resources, Wamego Strikes Back is about sending that film into the world and finding out that the easy part was the production. Or at least the only area where you can exert at least SOME control over the process. (or is it?) We open at the film’s Raindance premiere in London, where a fire alarm or bomb threat delays his screening, and then the picture and sound quality of the projection rollercoasters in quality.

Despite that, Firecracker creates huge festival buzz over subsequent months and wins a handful of awards, along with raves from Roger Ebert; and many of the independent studios initially circle it only to back away when they see it doesn’t fit in with their “indie” slate of Hollywood films with tinier budgets. Undaunted, Steve releases the film himself in a cross-country tour in Landmark Theaters, as an ‘event’ which creates even more buzz. And that’s when we see that the frustration never stops (the eventual distribution company’s marketing department wants to push it as a grade-Z gorefest with hilariously lurid poster art; all that’s missing from the graphic they come up with is an ingénue in a bikini).

Karen Black contributes a great interview that reinforces the themes of the documentary, and Eric Sherman (motion picture consultant and actor in Balderson’s PEP SQUAD) articulates the way business is often done in Hollywood, why the turnover of executives is so common and high, and how few understood rules there are in the movie business.

Engaging, funny and painful, yet never depicted as a laundry list of problems, we watch the Balderson clan get the financial runaround from the same company that the producers of Crash had to sue in order to be paid (nobody is safe!). Is it less exasperating than dealing with sales reps who can’t remember your film’s name? It’s a miracle nobody ends up with a head of grey hair by the end credits.

Steve’s script for his next medium-budget film, a holiday comedy, immediately attracts a healthy list of famous comedy actors to it; and yet when financiers line up to take meetings with Balderson (a surreal scene has him in Chicago cooking for mysterious unseen investors, and finding their bongs in the kitchen cupboard), he’s given the irrational barriers that many filmmakers go through; “Your last film was ‘dark’ so how could you direct a comedy?” Etc.

Inspired by the current DIY trend being employed by legendary artists in cinema, such as David Lynch self-distributing Inland Empire to great success, or George Lucas wanting to make dozens of low-budget films instead of one 100 million dollar epic, Steve drops the current film’s plan for now, seeing how a movie every 6 or so years doesn’t constitute a healthy outflow of art.. which leads to him renewing his purpose of doing more intimate film projects completely on his own. His first venture into this no-excuses DIY realm yields PHONE SEX, an “art installation” documentary consisting of visual collages paired with artists and celebrities’ voice-overs answering one single question as they see fit: “What is Sexy?”

A thoughtful question you’ll hear that could work in a similar exhibit would be “What is independent?” Balderson knows he is and what that means to him; and reinforces that with each decision he makes. There’s no ONE right way to make a movie, and you have to keep your own integrity on the journey, and not worry about other’s reactions or being admired. Aside from a distracting yet funny use of the infamous “Huckabees Tirade” YouTube clips (given as an example of a ‘typical Hollywood set’ where the director screams and curses at everyone), its purpose is clear, follow your own path and purpose and take responsibility for it.

The only thing I’d have preferred to see at the end was Balderson on the set of one of his upcoming DIY motion pictures (which intend to keep the caliber of cast and production despite skeletal resources), at peace and immersed in the creative process, instead of simply in a good state after making that decision.

But if we did, we couldn’t have Wamego: The Final Chapter could we?

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