By Eric Anderson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 30, 1998

Not your average manic Monday

Ever since a little known writer/director named Quentin Tarantino brought the world a masterpiece known as "Pulp Fiction" a little over four years ago, it seems the whole world has since gone out and tried to find success through the eye of a camera. It's no secret -the independent film industry is booming.

With more screenings and festivals than ever before, the demand for short films is on the rise. Places like The Loft, the Screening Room and even our own Gallagher Theatre have all dabbled in the showing of indie films. Starting Monday, you can add Club Congress to the list, with the beginning of Multimedia Mondays, a project put together by Club Congress and Upstairs Film.

Featuring short movies and live music, Multimedia Monday will be held at Club Congress every Monday throughout the summer, with the first night serving as a benefit for The Upstairs Theater Co., a local not-for-profit organization and parent company of Upstairs Film.

"It's a really good chance for local filmmakers to get their stuff shown regularly," said Michael Toubassi, managing director of The Upstairs Theater Co.

Toubassi and three other former and current UA students started The Upstairs Theater Co. in 1994 in Tucson, after coming up with the idea in 1991. Now one of the few film companies in town, Toubassi said the idea behind the creation of the company was to make the industry open to everyone, providing an avenue for local film makers to show their stuff. Toubassi hopes with the creation of Multimedia Mondays, filmmakers will now have even more opportunities and inspiration to bring their works to the public.

"It just seemed that recently, the UA Media Arts Department wasn't doing as many screenings as before. There's a lot of people around Tucson doing films and sometimes their movie will only get one screening through the department, and if you don't get it done in time, which has become an increasing problem, it might not get shown at all," said Toubassi, who came up with the idea for Multimedia Mondays a few months ago.

For the first Monday, four films will be shown, starting at 8 p.m., all of which were shot in Tucson or Nogales, and all of which have a connection to Upstairs Film in some way. The first film, "Open 'til Three," was written and directed by Ari Lieberman, one of Upstairs' founding fathers. Produced by Carol Knorr, this 20-minute film chronicles a late night diner where the customers get more than they bargained for.

"The Displaced," the night's second film, is an exploratory documentary concerning refugees and political asylum, directed and edited by Stephanie Lucas and co-produced by Amnesty International and Upstairs Film.

While the third movie of the evening was not written, directed or produced by anyone from Upstairs Film, "Kerouac Kafe" does include several cameo appearances from members of the company, including Toubassi, Lieberman and current UA student Evan Andrews, appearing as beatnik waiters in this surrealistic adventure through a bizarre cafe where the waiters fight the '50s chicks. Done in 1995, Toubassi admits "Kerouac Kafe" gave them all an infectious bite of the movie bug, and ultimately served as their surrogate stepping stone into the movie-making business.

"Number 13," directed by Toubassi and produced by Melinda Ritter, is scheduled to be the final movie of the evening. This "slice-of-life comedy," which features a cameo from Upstairs' artistic director and co-founder Anthony Runfola, focuses on living and working in the Southwest, following a man as he makes his way through the barrio.

"It's the kind of movie where both kids and adults could watch, and they would both take very different messages from it," said Toubassi of his "Number 13," which has already received a good response after appearing in the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, held March.

Following the screenings of the four films, there will be live music, provided by four bands, including Al Perry & the Cattle, the Osgoods, Creosote and the band formerly known as StarCrunch, all of whom offered up their services after attending a previous Upstairs production. However, the bands' participation do not stop there: Al Perry has a cameo in an upcoming film titled "Harvest" and Creosote might be on the soundtrack for the film. Although Upstairs Film selected these four bands, Club Congress will do most of the band booking for the rest of the summer.

As far as future projects for Toubassi and Upstairs Film, the approximately 20-minute drama/suspense "Harvest" is in the works. It's a dark, gritty film that plays on an evening of misfortunes that happen when boy meets girl. Toubassi is hoping to complete "Harvest" by August, after that he says it is bound for festivals and the desks of numerous agents in Los Angeles. Toubassi also added he would like to do a feature length film sometime in the next couple of years.

The first Multimedia Monday will be held May 4 at Hotel Congress. Show times begin at 8 p.m. and admission is $5 at the door. Phone 622-8848 for more information.