Filmmaker Joe Swanberg's Boxing Match With A Critic

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 28, 2012 3:20PM

It wasn't exactly the Thrilla in Manilla, more like Accostin' in Austin. Joe Swanberg and Devin Faraci met up at Fantastic Fest to exchange words and blows as part of a lively debate, one that's been going on in one form or another for decades: Are filmmakers like Swanberg fearless, path-seeking artists who get dumped on by armchair layabouts such as Faraci, or are they merely self-indulgent mumblemouths being rightfully called out on their BS by critical thinkers?

Though we've interviewed Swanberg, we've found it all but impossible to keep up with his output. David Hudson famously wrote about the fact that he's made ten films in two years, a pace that would make even Fassbinder envious. Since last year he's actually been offering his movies on a subscription basis through Factory 25 (The Zone is next in line) and most recently contributed to the new horror anthology V/H/S which is currently available on demand and will get a theatrical release in October.

But he has his detractors. Matt Singer at Indiewire recorded exactly what went down at Fantastic Fest's annual Fantastic Debates when Badass Digest film critic Faraci gave Swanberg a piece of his mind:

I think that young filmmakers out there working hard should be supported. They should have places like Fantastic Fest, to come and show the work they're doing. It doesn't mean that every thought they've ever had has to become a 65 minute motion picture. Here's the thing though: at the end of the day, I think making movies isn't just about getting your friends together and turning a camera on. It's about creating something that speaks to people, something that has a soul, something that has narrative. I think you need to have one of these things: amazing craft, amazing script, amazing actors. At this point, when Kevin Smith is beating you in all three of those, I don't know what to say.

Faraci may have a point. But for us his credibility took a huge hit when he absurdly suggested that John Cassavetes did not use scripts for his films, a zombie myth. Faraci should know better.

For his part Swanberg ably defended his method of working and that of other indie filmmakers:

Mostly, I'm out there doing it Devin. I'm making movies. I'm getting my friends together, with no money. We're going out there, we're doing it. We're putting ourselves on the line for shitheads like you to take cheap shots from behind your computer ... And I think that, unfortunately, when you use your voice to try to squash people who are young, who are just coming up, who are still figuring out the kind of filmmaker they want to be, the kinds of films they want to make, all you're doing is discouraging creative people from becoming who they are ... I think you have a lot to learn. I'm excited for you to learn it. Mostly I'm excited to put the gloves on and beat the shit out of you.

And that's exactly what he did; in the words of Singer: "Swanberg absolutely annihilated Faraci. First he knocked out his contact lens, then he knocked him down on at least three separate occasions. It wasn't technically a bloodbath -- since as far as I could see there was no blood -- but it was ugly all the same."