Curt McDowell

It Came from Kuchar is the definitive, feature documentary about the legendary, underground filmmaking twins, the Kuchar brothers. George and Mike Kuchar have inspired two generations of filmmakers, actors, musicians, and artists with their zany, "no budget" films and with their uniquely enchanting spirits.

The comings and goings of the late underground filmmaker, Curt McDowell—and the people and activities that came and went along with him—are the themes that run through this existential diary of daily life. McDowell was dying from AIDS-related illnesses during the production of the diary. “An elegy for McDowell, the videowork captures Kuchar’s mournful remembrances of his long-lasting friendship with the young filmmaker. But it also has the inquisitive charm, perverse humor, and quirky candor that places Kuchar’s visual expressions in a gritty niche all their own.”

A shady motel manager becomes obsessed with a neglected wife.

"This film is about depression, although it's not that depressing. I suppose it has a message of faith and hope in it ... it does for me .... But then again my interest may not match yours. It was shot in San Francisco and in Central Oklahoma with a cast of one man and four women. Crushing emotions are indulged in against a massive meteorological background that brings inspiration and terror to the characters involved."

"...WORDS was a Curt McDowell work covering the gamut of cinematic profanity."

An hour-long saga of Mick Terrific, rock 'n' roll star, and the cast of 50 he encounters on his search for "Mr. Wonderful." “PEED INTO THE WIND smears across the screen like one of those dirty underground comic books. It’s loaded with a lot of big scenes and unusual looking people that make this epic resemble a clogged toilet. Unfortunately, since several of the performers were not as loyal as Ainslie Pryor and John Thomas, the plot is difficult to follow but in no way hinders the sewer-like sequences. It’s quite enjoyable and possesses the releasing power of an enema.” –George Kuchar. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.

A continuous dissolve of 87 male and female nudes. "The film's fascination lies with the suspense of that magic moment, halfway between two persons, when the dissolve technique produces composite figures, oftentimes hermaphroditic, that inspires awe for the mystery of the human form." - B. Ruby Rich, Chicago Art Institute

Symphony for a Sinner (1979) was a long, lavishly photographed color film generally considered the magnum opus of the class productions.

A documentary portrait of filmmaker George Kuchar conducting a tour of his apartment where he displays memorabilia and his toys which were used for props.

"Just as outrageous is Curt McDowell's CONFESSIONS. McDowell, a graduate student at San Francisco Art Institute, opens his film with a confession to his mother and father, listing in exhausting detail his sins of the flesh."

Barbara Hammer’s Audience is a fascinating deep cut from the director’s prodigious filmography. Relatively raw in its design, this 16mm diary of audience reactions at retrospectives of Hammer’s work in San Francisco, London, Toronto, and Montreal in the early 1980s bears none of the distinctive visual flourishes and essayistic form one usually finds in her filmmaking. Today, Audience serves as an invaluable historical archive, providing quick but complex portraits of lesbian scenes in different cities and countries: the San Francisco women are bold and raucous, treating Hammer like a celebrity; the London crowd more reserved and tentative; the Canadians politely critical after initial hesitation. It also functions as a testament to the power of Hammer herself as a figure of lesbian culture, showing how fully she engages audiences to incite new forms of discourse about representation.

Two brothers are stood up and lament through song. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.

A musical about an unhappy couple and the man that stands between them. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.

A man, his dog, and the regions they inhabited, each leaving his own distinctive mark on the landscape. Not even time can wash away the residue of what they left behind.

"In Xmas 1986, George Kuchar’s mother Stella has come to stay with him for the holidays. After a series of dinners with friends, Stella’s repeated discussions about her shingles and Kuchar’s ominous film-noirish narration, Kuchar rescues the morale of a dinner party gone bad thanks to an undercooked ham by presenting his hosts with a very memorable holiday gift." – Kyle Riley

A musical for the whole family. A rural operette starring Ainslie Pryor and Geore Kuchar, told through song and rhme.

Ainslie Pryor in two miniature dramas, utilizing wind sound effects, canned laughter, and "I Love Lucy" lighting.

A comedy for the people of liberated cities about the tragedy of small town imprisonment. A ten-minute dialogue of nephew and uncle during which so little is said that all is revealed. Visually, all action is shown that will ever occur. Starring Mom, Dad, Grandma McDowell, Aunt Rachael, Uncle Paul, Melinda, Marce, and the rest of the family.

The film that caused Sheri Millbradt to lose 40 pounds.

Muffled, inaudible sound and no image to speak of make this one a real crowd pleaser.

Ted Davis is everyone's favorte Master of Ceremonies for the following performances: Peckernose Act, The Cooking and the Washing Act, Spin Your Little Clothes Off Act, Tea Break, The Spinning Nuns, Balancing Prick Act, The Dirty Hummers, Spanish Dancer Act, The Whora, Picking a Winner, The Poop Chute Act, Waiting and Worrying Nude Act, The Tapping Tennis, The Disappearing Milk and Sandwich Act, The Flower Magician, Fart Chorus, The Whirlwinds, The Paper Bags on the Heads Act, The Belly Dance, Cheek to Cheek, Head Job Act, Tweeting Prick Act, Fanny Dancer, Back Words Act, Betsy the Cussing Doll, And… The Singing Twat

From filmmaker Zachary Youngblood (Deep Tango) comes Little Showoffs, an intimate study of the sexual fantasies of real people, brought to the screen. From the surreal, to the highly personal, Little Showoffs explores the range of erotic desire through six vignettes framed by and starring the actual people who conceived them.

"San Francisco based Curt McDowell has always been a pioneer in sexual frankness, but his new film, LOADS, goes far beyond his earlier all-out efforts and puts such big-time dabblers in eroticism as Bernardo Bertolucci and Nagisa Oshima decidedly in the shade." - David Ehrenstein, Los Angeles Herald Examiner

An eccentric and alcoholic widow hosts a motley assortment of travelers - four men, three women and one gorilla - who arrive one eventful night to get out of a torrential rainstorm.

Memories of Eve's childhood torment slowly give way to the optimism of young adulthood, and a chance at happiness with successful DJ Frank Paradise, but everything changes in a near-fatal instant when a car crash leaves her disfigured. While her new face emerges and her scars start to heal, the chains of conformity begin to strain as she learns the value of overcoming her deep-rooted guilt and repression.