Victoria punk film in demand
PREVIEW
What: Somewhere to Go: Punk Victoria When: Saturday, 7 p.m. Where: The Roxy, 2657 Quadra St. Tickets: Sold out Despite having no formal training and little previous experience, Victoria filmmaker Paulina Ortlieb had no trouble finding an audience for her debut featurelength documentary, Somewhere to Go: Punk Victoria.
Tickets to the film’s première, at the Roxy Theatre on Saturday, have been sold out for more than a month. The demand is so high that Ortlieb is already making plans to screen the film a second time at a later date, perhaps with live bands involved. “I never expected this,” she said. “But it’s a nice problem to have.”
The film’s appeal is not limited to punk fans in the city, either. After submitting an advance cut of her film to several indie film festivals, Ortlieb said she received an overwhelming response from programmers, in addition to a screening request from one of the oldest cinemas in Germany.
The film documents the genesis of punk rock in Victoria. Archival footage and artwork is given context by interviews with more than 30 local artists, among them the crux of Victoria’s punk movement — Nomeansno, Infamous Scientists, Dayglo Abortions and the Neos.
An earlier version of the film was submitted as part of Ortlieb’s master’s degree project at the University of Victoria. “I passed with exception, which I was really surprised about,” she said with a laugh. “But [my professors] loved it.”
She wanted to shorten the final cut and screen it for the public, but was at a crossroads. The film — which Ortlieb funded herself — took her five years to complete. After a while, Ortlieb felt like she had lost the script, so to speak. She wore so many hats on the project, from director and writer to producer and editor, that keeping a clear focus proved difficult. “It was a one-woman show for many, many years.”
She decided to show the film privately to long-serving members of the local punk community, in part to gauge their interest. For the most part, she was looking for advice on how to finish the film.
The feedback was refreshingly positive, Ortlieb said. She also received help during the latter stages from Steve Bailey of the Neos and Rob Nesbitt of BUM, two champions of Victoria’s punk community who eventually became her associate producers.
Ortlieb said they volunteered untold hours helping shape her vision, and ordered cuts when necessary. “I don’t know what I would done without them. I am forever in their debt. I may not have released the film at all.”
Ortlieb, who played bass in local bands Budokan, the Vinaigrettes and the McGillicuddys, was close to many of the subjects she interviewed — but not too close (“I wouldn’t call myself an insider, but I wasn’t an outsider, either,” she said.)
That was a key factor, especially for a documentary loaded with passionate advocates. Interviews often turned personal, she said.
“‘Punk rock changed my life’ — that was the main theme I kept hearing. I heard that so many times. There are enduring qualities that people have picked up on by being involved in punk rock, and carry with them to this day.”
Themes such as alienation and the impact of art were central to her university thesis, the Importance of Counter-Culture in Art and Life. Ortlieb was overjoyed to discover that the role punk rock played in the lives of Victoria teenagers and 20-somethings was along the same lines — and its significance had not ebbed over decades.
While the ages of her onscreen subjects varied, they had one thing in common. “Punk rock was really frowned upon by a lot of people, from police to parents. But it made such a positive impact on these young kids’ lives — a real, enduring impact.
“A lot of these kids didn’t really fit in, and they were misfits. Punk rock was a place where they could be themselves.”