Hello, my dear friends!

This is your friendly Airhorn newsletter coming to you with something a little different. On Sunday, DJ BBGUN and I are throwing a movie marathon at Newtown Community Centre dedicated to the works of Matt Farley and Motern Media. It is Airhorn affiliated in its organisation, venue, and vibe and I think Airhorn fans would really love Matt Farley's work. In fact, his film Magic Spot was a direct influence on Foghorn, so much so that we had a viewing party of it early in Foghorn's production, to help inspire us (and cos the movie is a hoot).

And so, I'd like to invite you to the marathon and introduce you to the incredible, inspiring world of Motern Media.

check out this sweet poster drawn by DJ BBGUN!

First off, Marathon Deets!

The marathon starts at 10am, Sunday the 24th at the Newtown Community Centre. Admission is Koha.

The movies are not linear, though do comment on each other in interesting ways. You can hop in and out as you please. You can watch one, watch two, watch all. It's all good! This is not an endurance test.

We are going to have a live Q&A with Matt Farley from his home in Massachusetts, at 11:30am.

There will (likely) be a coffee milk station, also koha.

Now what is Motern Media?! And who is Matt Farley?!

Motern is a deep collection of films, music, and books all helmed by Matt Farley, an artist living in New England (the north east of the United States). The films are written by him and usually directed by Charlie Roxburgh.

The films are a testament to friendship and creativity. They are radically low-budget, shot around their homes and hometown, and using mostly their friends and family as actors. They have the feel of a childhood backyard film made into a proper feature. However, these films are densely plotted and beautifully written, with an intentional and totally unique comedy spirit throughout.

Matt Farley and Charlie Roxburgh (called affectionately "Charley and Farley") started making films while in college. Matt is incredibly prolific and follows a spirit of "just make it and share it!". He's literally the most prolific songwriter on earth (having released 26,000 songs) alongside his 20 feature films. In 2007, they tried to do a wide release of their film Freaky Farley, submitting it to multiple festivals and getting rejected by each one. Instead of being discouraged, they kept saving up to make more feature films--releasing a new full-length film every couple of years, each one seen by maybe a dozen people.

It wasn't until 2016 or 2017 that people outside of Motern's circle of friends, and some true film freaks, started to notice these films and their charm and beauty spread via word of mouth and some passionate reviews from critics. Matt Farley's films are still relatively unknown, but the people who do know his work cherish them. He is a true cult artist, where his fanbase is extremely small, but devoted--making podcasts and writing books discussing his work, or running fests and marathons across the world to celebrate them...or making their own films and art inspired by Farley's radical creative spirit.

It is hard to describe the exactly quality of a Motern Media film. They are low-budget, each one made for a few thousand dollars. They are all shot around his New England home, or literally in his home. They are often horror-themed, looking like an old 80's horror film you'd stumble upon in the middle of the night. He uses, almost exclusively, his family and friends as the actors. Most of them have no formal training, the scripts are loquacious and dense, and shot with few takes. So there is an immediate "so bad it's good" quality to the films, where you see folks barely making it through their lines with a stilted, but sincere, delivery. This quality is misleading, though. There is a beautiful shift that happens when watching when you realize you are no longer watching it ironically, that you are sincerely invested in the character and story of this film. Not only that, but you realize that every laugh has been intentional, every joke landed exactly as Farley and Charley intended. Even the acting is purposefully directed, using the constraints of their cast to the advantage, adding to the singular, purposeful texture of the films.

I am speaking kinda high-faluting, but what I'm trying to say is these are films that are proudly scrappy and homemade, but made with incredible care and heart. The look and limitations are an artistic choice, and used to great comic effect. These movies are all crowd-pleasers. They are a delight to watch with a group, all discovering a new favourite filmmaker together.

Not only that, but as you watch the whole filmography, they together form this beautiful and powerful statement. They star a repertory of family and friends, that you watch age across these films. You are watching artists enter middle age still in obscurity, but still creating beautiful work with their friends because art needs to be made. Because they've had no outside interference through studios or hollywood trends, the films develop their own shaggy timing and strange logic, repeated references and allusions, and a style of dialogue and plot that you can't find anywhere else. No film feels fully done, they are all part of a continual collaborative process among friends, an act of love and support of a hometown and from the hometown.

So the arc of watching this films will make you laugh, ironically, then laugh sincerely, then get emotional semi-ironically, then get real emotional sincerely, and then make you want to tell all your friends about them through a marathon held at the Newtown Community Centre.

I don't feel I am giving them proper intro. Here is a nice video essay about his films. Put it on while making dinner!

And here is a nice series about his music and philosophy, made by an Australian musician:

Lessons From A Middle Class Artist - YouTube

Over ten days, Anthony becomes a song-spamming apprentice, learning how to make a buck off music in the age of streaming from novelty musician Matt Farley. C...

But the best way to understand these one-of-a-kind films is to just watch them! With friends! Like you can do this Sunday! If you do feel like coming out, I would recommend coming in the morning cos there'll be coffee but also so you can be in the crowd during the Q&A. To be honest, we really just want him to see a bit of a crowd when he calls in, because he deserves it!

Anyway, that is all! I'll talk to you soon about canonical Airhorn things!

Best, ZACH!