By Dinah Cardin
We tracked down Harrod Blank in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he said he was working on getting a bigger engine into his Camera Van. This was fitting, since Blank will be bringing AUTOMORPHOSIS to SFF 2010, a film about the eccentrics, visionaries and just plain folks who have transformed their autos into artworks.
Harrod is planning to attend with his father, Les Blank, the well-known filmmaker who has three films in the festival.
Q: Have you been to Salem before? If not, what are your expectations?
A: Never been to Salem before but it sounds intriguing. Know about the lore of the witch trials etc. and have heard it is artsy, so sounds good. I wonder if there will still be snow by then?!!!
(Oh and one of the subjects in the film, Rick McKinney with”Duke,” grew up there.)
Q: What will it be like to attend a film festival with your father?
A: It’s always fun to go anywhere with my father as things happen. As for us both having films in a festival, that is cool and hasn’t happened before.
Some people tell me they can see his influence clearly in my film. And now that he drives an art car, things have really turned full circle!
Q: What drew you to the subject matter of art cars?
A: It’s my second film on the subject of Art Cars — but this one is deeper than the first. I focused on the essence of character and how the car is used to help define us to others. I will never get tired of interesting characters. That’s really why I made another film on the subject — the characters are amazing.
It’s not really about cars — more about being oneself and doing it for real, not virtually on Facebook. When you drive an art car, everywhere you go, you are showing the world something about you and you as the driver are part of the performance. There is no escape and no anonymity as long as you are associated with the vehicle, so it can be quite intense.
Q: What is your favorite thing about attending film festivals?
A: I like the influx of new ideas, new people, new subjects, all in a new place to have an enlightening experience. Looking forward to it!
AUTOMORPHOSIS screens in the main theater Sunday, Feb. 28 at 1:40 p.m.
I’ve seen Automorphosis at previous screenings. It’s wonderful!