Ward on the Street: As indie as film gets

It's Los Angeles. Everyone's got a movie. Hearing someone in L.A. mention a film they're editing or a script they're noodling with is as commonplace a Detroiter talking about a car factory. Not long ago, my dentist pitched me a movie concept, and asked me to get him some press. If I didn't have a hose in my mouth and an open molar, I would have grabbed my purse and walked out of his office.

So when a new acquaintance by the name of Billygoat talked about "Dioscuri," an art film he was working on, it didn't surprise me. He's an earthy manchild who lives in a rustic, illegal loft near downtown, and is constantly toiling on a painting or a plaster cast of someone's face. I liked him immediately.

For the last two years, he's morphed a single painting little by little, frame by frame, and taken thousands of photographs to stitch together a stop-motion short of staggering complexity. Then he projects the film on a sheet, dons a snake helmet and plays a live, original score on a harp, keyboards, accordion, and glockenspiel—accompanied by his partner Nick Woolley, who saws away at a bass with a violin bow.

(Woolley and Billygoat: they're weird but we like them. Credit: Sonya Bowman)

They turned down a slot for the prestigious Flux screenings at the Hammer, opting to premiere it modestly at Mr. T's Bowl last Friday. After a breathtaking 17 minutes of imagery, delicately haunting music, and a standing ovation, I've never been so happy not to live in Detroit. (Sorry, Scott T. Sterling. Go Red Wings.)

Check Billygoat's Myspace for upcoming screenings. For the moment, it looks like a few houseparties are serving as venues, but you never know when that may change. Below, a snippet from the show, as shot from the audience: