Project Trident returns to the Cambridge Film Festival for the third consecutive year, with a very special selection of the dark, the weird and the downright riduculous - films so new, so revolutionary, that some of them are still in a state of feverish production as we write. That is the beauty of Tridentfest!

What we can say is that therell certainly be a selection of films from Ryd Cook, Thom Dobbin, Christian Lapidge, Simon Panrucker, Johnboy Davis, Tom Martin, Andrej Sosnowski and Carl Peck. And, in addition to the customary extravaganza of strange, homemade B-Movies - with the usual interactive Q&As from the filmmakers themselves - Tridentfest 2011 also features the world premiere of THE PURPLE FIEND!

Directed by Trident alumnus Carl Peck - a year and a half in the making and surrounded by a fever of hype (it says here) - this 30 minute mini epic promises to "smash boundaries and blow minds to smithereens". On new years eve dapper chums Professor Laminut and Googy are celebrating, but when their evil nemesis Count Viper crashes the party they must use all their cunning and zeal if they are to save the world by the stroke of midnight. This globe-spanning tale follows Professor Laminut and Googy on their quest to find the "sacred Colocolo of Porabolus" - a holy relic though by society to have been lost in the midst of time...

Was it all worth those months of fake blood, real sweat and occasional tears? Come and find out at Tridentfest 2011.

Reviews Add a review

21 September 2011

clare leczycki wrote

This night blew my mind. What I love about Trident is how they take being silly very seriously. The standard of films has really developed over the last year, and I love seeing each of the film makers creating their own styles. Go Project Trident.

20 September 2011

Will wrote

Self indulgent, ego-centric and like being on the outside of a rather exclusive boys' (and girls') club, TRIDENTFEST 2011 was an unusual night to say the least. As one of the events that I regretted missing in 2010, TRIDENTFEST was on my priority list for this year's festival. I certainly wasn't disappointed by the content, although perhaps felt a little left out.

Short films from the likes of Carl Peck, Thom Dobbin and the fantastically irreverent Poo Brothers left me in fits of laughter time after time. The directors came across as Peter Pan film students who never quite grew up, experimenting with special effects, very orange stage blood and a lavish use of Adobe After Effects. A fist through a face, the sinking of the Titanic and a grown man in a cat suit left me in no doubt that this was a film to be enjoyed for its own sake. Even the more serious and sentimental "Thrown" was spattered with a surreal and witty sense of humour that had the audience chuckling away until long after midnight.

My personal favorite of the night was "Regal Squatting" from The Poo Brothers. This was a 1 minute, single joke film which we found out during the Q&A was created by two grown men who had consumed a little too much bubbly at a friend's wedding.

The climax of the night came with the world premiere of "The Purple Fiend", an epic 30 minute extravaganza paying homage to everything from Sherlock Holmes to Kung Fu, B-Horror and Comic Books. This film, although great fun and impressively produced, came across as one big in-joke. Funny to watch, but still rather self-centred.

Ultimately I enjoyed the event, but would have preferred it to be more inclusive, particularly as at least half of the audience were normal ticket buying customers and not part of the extended clique that is Project Trident.

19 September 2011

Tiago Morelli wrote

I wanted to write a little bit about each film, which were all amazing (especially that cat and Jakie Chan), but I was completely blown away by the sheer power of brutal awesomeness that is THE PURPLE FIEND.
If you enjoy some good 'ol fashioned we-know-better-tricks-than-what-money-can-by kick-ass film making, I highly recommend that you to watch this.
THE PURPLE FIEND takes you on a tremendous journey of humour and excitement, resulting in an über-experience of ridiculousness and ingenuity, evoking a perpetuate urge to laugh that is only interrupted by the pay-off scenes that paralyse faces... staring... gobfounded.

19 September 2011

Thomas Hayes wrote

Brilliant collection of shorts and ramblings, culminating in the truly wonderful PURPLE FIEND.

Christian Lapidge stood out as a great compere, enganging and enjoyably witty throughout the showing. There was a loveable DIY, slightly chaotic feel to the evening but the audience (who all seemed to know each other) were hugely supportive of the Project boys throughout.

Having encountered them for the first time at Watersprite film festival early in the year, I anticipated TRIDENTFEST being filled with more of the somewhat surreal, splatteriffic fare that I had encountered then. However I was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful, moving short 'Thrown' by Ryd Cook, which for me was the stand-out film of the collection.
THE PURPLE FIEND was obviously brilliant - wonderful comic acting, ingenious effects and a score of all original songs by the magnificent Carl Peck, who truly stole the show.

I was delighted to find that the catalogue of their work will be available online for my viewing pleasure, and I will definitely recommend it to friends.

My only slight qualm was with the number of somewhat self indulgent 'in jokes' between crew and audience members, which left my friends and I somewhat in the dark and seemed a little unprofessional. That said, everyone seemed to be having a great time so who am I to complain.

Definitely looking forward to TRIDENTFEST 2012 (and maybe a sequel to THE PURPLE FIEND?)! 9/10