As
the film opens, however, we find there is trouble in paradise. The
National Park Service ("Big Park" to the locals) is trying
to ban vehicles and overnight campers from the beach, which effectively
prohibits surf-fishing and discourages the tourists from stopping
in town. What begins as an engaging portrait of an eccentric northern
Californian small town rapidly shifts into a document of people
struggling against bureaucratic oppression to hang on to their homes
and livelihoods. It's quirky and funny, but at the same time it
leaves you feeling depressed. It makes you acutely aware of our
government's power to bend you over a stump and plunge a broomstick
into your proverbial rectum. It's fucking brilliant.
(48 minutes, 2001)
Jensen Rufe is also the creative
force behind three other documentaries:
In The
Ugliest Fountain in the World (Without a Doubt),
the only film in his body of work shot on film and in black and
white, Rufe is on a personal crusade to improve or remove the ugly,
barely functioning fountain in the HSU Art quad. After hitting the
campus library newspaper archives, the filmmaker learns that this
structure was originally a flower planter before university movers
and shakers decided (for no particular reason, apparently) to install
a hoopty set of pipes and sprinklers, thus converting it into a
fountain. Subsequent decades of student press editorials reveal
that the fountain has always been loathed and ridiculed.
Rufe organizes a well publisized, but poorly attended rally protesting
the fountain's existence, which leads to a meeting with (then) HSU
president, Alistair McCrone. McCrone states repeatedly that he'd
be "delighted" if something were done about the fountain,
and forecasts decisive action within "a year or a year and
a half" - but of course nothing is ever done. By the film's
end, and to this day, despite President McCrone's verbal commitment,
the hideous thing lives on. Like Orick, this short , but sweet film
is testimony to the all too frequent ineffectiveness of grass roots
movements trying to change our world for the better.
(14 minutes, 1998)
In Search of the Famous
Hoosier Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich,
again in collaboration with Steve Love, is an homage to an enormous
sandwich. I'm talking fucking BIG: a slab of breaded pork 12 to
18 inches in diameter, sandwiched between two halves of a burger
bun - a clash of proportions remiscent of a tiny, tiny dog attempting
to copulate with a big, big dog. This protein and fat rich delicacy
is only found in Rufe's home state of Indiana. I do not recommend
you watch this movie on an empty stomach. I am not the world's biggest
pork fan, but shortly after popping the tape in my VCR, my saliva
glands were dripping like a leaky faucet.
(15 minutes, 27 seconds, 1998)
The Fuse
(a Rock and Roll Documentary). Ah, The Fuse...
I was not familiar with this mod punk band, nor its songs, before
viewing this documentary. I am actually quite an ignoramus when
it comes to punk music. At first glance, F-1, F-2, F-3 and F-4,
the four all-male members of The Fuse seem like total morons, esecially
when they speak-or ramble rather-philosophically. They are so deep,
they're not. If you know what I mean... But the more I listened
to them, the funnier they got. Until I began to suspect they were
actually comic geniuses. Maybe unintentionally.
"The Fuse and Booze" is a phrase you'll hear them utter
again and again. These guys love their liquor. For one of the film's
interview sessions, they sit on some bleachers and swallow crate
after crate of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Hefty bottles of hard alcohol
are guzzled prior to shows. "Sober is for practice!" the
band members proclaim, and by the time their set begins these jokers
are good and tanked. Spectators who get too close are liable to
be biffed by a musical instrument, accidentally on purpose. The
drummer will swing his sticks extra far if he sees an opportunity
to beam someone upside the head. In fact, half the charm of these
shows is watching these plastered musicians try to cause injury
to anyone within reach.
"What we lack in talent, we make up for in style," F-1
explains, ironing his white-collared shirt backstage. "Style
is substance!"
I don't know quite what to make of this band. But by the end of
Jensen Rufe's movie, I found them oddly endearing. I know I probably
seem condescending when I say that. So, I'm a square. Fuck you too.
But these guys came into my home (via the magic of video) and I
enjoyed their company. Thank you, Mr. Rufe.
(24 minutes, 2002)
Departing from the world of
documentary
film, The Cutters: "Out Tonight"
is one of Rufe's ventures into the world of music video. It's one
of those music videos where most of the footage is different angles
of the band performing live. There are many, many star-wipes. The
best bits are shots of band members, or sometimes people in the
audience, filmed in night-vision so their eyes look like they're
glowing, and tinted red. A tiny caption appears on these shots:
SATAN. For some reason this is really, really funny - to me, at
any rate.
These
movies can be rented at Video Experience and are essential viewing
for anyone who resides in Humboldt County. Orick and The
Ugliest Fountain in the World are two of my favorite documentaries
ever. Jensen Rufe is a swell guy, and I got to interview him by
email not too long ago:
Jon Olsen: An interview has to start somewhere, so...where are you
from?
Jensen
Rufe: My family is from Indiana. I grew up there and in Chicago,
then moved out to California at age 9. Been living here ever since.
JO:
What got you interested in filmmaking? How old were you when you
first became conscious of such an interest?
JR:
I've always been interested in art, particularly media-type art...magazines,
videos, film, music. Music is probably my first love, and will probably
be my last love. But in general, media-related art is always what
I've been most attracted to, which is why I majored in Mass Communications
at UCLA. But it wasn't until the tail end of my time there that
I took a documentary class, and I fell for that art form. Coming
up to Humboldt to major in film for my Master's degree was a good
way to learn that craft. And since then, I've really tried to absorb
every aspect of what goes into making an interesting documentary
or non-fiction piece of film or video art.
JO:
How did you come to HSU?
JR:
I applied to six graduate schools for film. I sent applications
to all the "Big Boys" such as USC, NYU, UCLA, etc. And
a friend told me: "Our friend Paolo Davanzo is in graduate
school at Humboldt State and loves it. You should apply there."
Well, as it turns out and as fate would have it, I applied there,
and HSU was the only school that accepted me. Paolo has turned out
to be one of my best friends (in fact, we currently play in a band
together in Los Angeles. We're called The Natural Lights and will
probably be in Arcata 4th of July weekend). And, of course, HSU
turned out to be the perfect place to go to school, thanks in large
part to some great instructors and fellow students.
JO:
What motivated you to become a documentary filmmaker?
JR:
A History of Documentary class at UCLA (where I did my undergraduate
college) really sparked my interest and made me realize that documentaries
don't have to be boring; they can be informative and entertaining
at the same time, which was something I never realized. I had always
viewed documentaries as no more than a "boring" and "informational"
and "educational" form of media.
JO:
Can you name any specific documentaries that inspired you?
JR:
Thin Blue Line by Errol Morris, Gimme Shelter
by the Maysles brothers, Don't Look Back by D.A. Pennebaker,
Roger and Me by Michael Moore, and Sherman's March
by Ross McElwee were a few of the movies from that class which stood
out.
JO:
What attracts you to your films' subjects?
JR:
Well, I guess I first must initially find the subject interesting,
then I have to figure out if there's a way to make the audience
find that subject interesting, as well. Because if only I find it
interesting, people won't like the film, and I genuinely want people
to like my movies.
JO:
Do you ever feel like you have so many ideas for subject material
that it's hard to choose what project to focus on?
JR: Lots of ideas is a good thing, as long as you can stop and focus
on one. More so, lately, I feel like I don't have enough of my own
time to work on those ideas. I'm too busy with work.
JO: Do you like to work on one film at a time, or do you prefer
to have more than one pot boiling?
JR:
I don't mind having two projects going on at once. I think it's
kind of a good thing actually, because if you get sick of one project,
you can move over to the other.
JO:
Do you work on your films that way?
JR:
I was working on the fountain and tenderloin at the same time (shot
the fountain in the Spring of '98, shot the tenderloin in the Summer
of '98, edited the fountain in the fall of '98 and edited the tenderloin
in the early winter of '98). I would work on one for a bit, then
put it away for awhile, and I actually liked that feeling very much.
I think it's a good idea to have your fingers in two pies at once,
because if you get sick of one or hit a brick wall in the editing
process (which I often do), then you can ditch it for a bit and
dive head first into the other project.
JO:
Why documentaries and not narrative films?
JR:
Narratives involve trying to coax a "performance" out
of an actor, which is something I have no experience with. I think
I'd be pretty good at it--having done a little bit of narrative
directing for class projects at HSU--but thus far, the opportunity
to direct a narrative film has never presented itself.
JO:
Do you have any desire to eventually work in the narrative medium?
JR:
Yes, although it's more out of curiosity than due to an overwhelming
desire to enter that world.
JO:
My knowledge of your work includes: Orick, Ugliest
Fountain in the World, Famous Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich,
The Fuse, and that Cutters music video. Have you made any
films besides those, before or since?
JR:
I did a Sin Men video, which turned out pretty good--using the "wrapped
around your finger" technique of having the band lip sync to
a very, very sped up version of the song, then slowing the tape
down to the normal speed so that their lips move properly in sync
to the music, but while in slow motion!
JO:
What inspired you to make Orick?
JR:
Initially, we were attracted to the strangeness of the town; it
is sort of a Twin Peaksy town, when you look at it. So our original
intent was to make a slice-of-life documentary about this strange
town, but ultimately, it became more about their battle against
"The Park," because that's all the Orick townspeople talk
about.
JO:
Sandwich?
JR:
I always loved that sandwich and was also intrigued by my inability
to find it anywhere outside of the Indiana borders. So, I thought
it would make for an interesting documentary to go back and meet
the odd Hoosier people who purvey the sandwich.
JO:
The Fuse?
JR:
I saw them play a couple times live after we moved back down here
to L.A., and I found them very interesting. I knew they would be
compelling subjects, so I approached them as a complete stranger
and asked them if they'd be interested in having someone do a documentary
about them, and they agreed. Even before I saw them, I knew that
my next movie was going to be music-related, because I would love
to make music documentaries for a living.
JO:
Ugliest Fountain?
JR:
I think my dad somewhat inspired that one. He was flabbergasted
that such an ugly fountain could exist on our campus art quad (compared
to a very lovely fountain at his Alma Mater, Indiana), and soon
after he made fun of our fountain, I decided to tackle its history
and make a movie about it and my efforts to get the fountain destroyed
or renovated.
JO:
As far as you know, did (former HSU President) Alistair McCrone
ever see The Ugliest Fountain in the World after it was
finished? Did he have any comments about it?
JR:
While I was making the film, he used to "check in" every
now and then to inquire about receiving a copy. After I finally
finished it and had sent a copy to him, he stopped calling and never
offered any feedback. I presume he didn't like it.
JO:
Ugliest Fountain is the only documentary of yours that
was shot on film instead of video. What film gauge was it shot on?
16 or Super8?
JR:
16mm black and white negative film. It was edited the old fashioned
way--on a film flatbed editing system.
JO:
What are your thoughts on the whole "film vs. video" debate?
JR:
Video is too cheap to even warrant a debate; sure, film looks better,
but you can do videos for hundreds of dollars. You can't do sync
sound films for anything less than thousands of dollars. Case closed
(unless you're rich and can afford film).
JO:
Does it bother you at all that the Humboldt International Film Festival
doesn't accept video work?
JR:
No. That's kind of the "charm" of Humboldt's film program...that
they still emphasize film the old fashioned way. However, for the
"Local Filmmakers Night," which is a fund-raiser held
at the Minor Theatre for the Humboldt International Film Festival,
they might think about accepting and screening videos.
JO:
Where are these films available besides Video Experience in Humboldt
County? Can they be rented anywhere else? Can they be purchased
anywhere?
JR:
They can be rented and/or purchased at Video Experience in Arcata
and Eureka, and if Video Experience is out of them, people can email
me for copies at jensenfilms@aol.com or jensenfilms@adelphia.net
(I'm temporarily out of Orick videos-- we're hoping soon
to have a DVD of Orick).
JO:
Have your films been sent to festivals?
JR:
Yes, they've done pretty well at festivals, particularly the fountain
and sandwich movies, which basically paid for themselves from the
award money I recieved. And through the festival circuit, various
PBS affiliates purchased the rights to broadcast them, which also
put a little bit of very welcome money into my wallet.
JO:
Have any of your films found distribution of any kind? (Not counting
Humboldt video stores of course.)
JR:
Nope. I've tried my damndest to get them distributed, but have never
been able to. Perhaps once I get them all onto a DVD, it will become
more likely that I can find someone to "put them out there,"
so to speak.
JO: At least two of your films (Orick and Tenderloin
Sandwich) were done in collaboration with Steve Love. Tell me
a bit about him.
JR:
Steve was a fellow graduate at HSU, and through the years we became
very good friends. We have similar senses of humor and spend much
of our time together laughing hysterically at each other's jokes,
and that makes for a pretty good collaborative team. In fact, Steve
was just the Best Man at my Vegas wedding. He lives in Torrance,
CA and works as a substitute teacher while working various freelance
jobs in the film and TV industry.
JO:
I understand you became the Humboldt County Film Commissioner in
1999, and were, for a time, responsible for attracting the film
industry to Humboldt.
JR:
I worked for the Humboldt Convention and Visitors Bureau for about
three very enjoyable years as their Film Commissioner. Basically,
each day, I worked with location scouts and producers to either
encourage them to come up and shoot in Humboldt, or once they had
decided to come up, to assist them to make sure they had maps, directions,
production guides and access to the many crewmembers and resources
Eureka and Humboldt has to offer. Most of the film business we attracted
was in the form of commercials, although we did get a few TV shows
and films along the way, including Castlerock's The Majestic,
which utterly tanked at the box office (it was the biggest financial
flop of 2001. Ouch!). Not our fault!
JO:
Do you think attracting film industry dollars could end up keeping
Humboldt's dwindling economy alive, or at least circling the drain
a little longer?
JR:
You know, someone or some entity in Humboldt with some money should
have purchased Samoa or Bridgeville (when they were on the market)
and turned them into full-time film friendly locations. That would
have sparked some Hollywood activity up North to help jump-start
the local economy, I'll bet.
JO:
What kind of work are you doing today?
JR:
I've been moving from show to show as an editor, most recently USA
Network's stab at American Idol, a country music version
of Idol called Nashville Star. I traveled around
the U.S.A. for a few months recording the raw material, then ended
up in Nashvile for a month as an editor.
JO: How did you graduate from student films to industry grunt work?
JR:
Basically, it's not too hard to get grunt work, since there are
so many jobs in Los Angeles. It's the process of getting a good
job which is much harder, and I'm not sure I'm there yet.
JO:
Have you had time, lately, to work on personal projects? Has personal
work become more challenging?
JR:
Steve and I are working on a travelogue style TV pilot, which uses
unused footage from our Orick movie and Tenderloin
project. These should be done in a few months. With so much time
devoted to work, I'm finding it a lot harder to work on my own projects.
But basically, Steve and I are hoping to be able to do what we've
done as amateurs, but on a professional level...sort of like a Gen
X Charles Kuralt type show which celebrates the underbelly of fringe
America. The show is tentatively titled Steve and Jensen's America.
We'll see what happens with that.
JO:
What's in your immediate future?
JR:
Very, very good question.
JO:
Is there a proverbial mountain peak you hope to reach, or do you
simply want to go for an interesting ride through life?
JR:
So far, I do these documentaries on my own, pretty much out of my
own pocket. If I could do these things professionally, that would
be the proverbial "mountain peak." Unfortunately for me,
I'm one of many hundreds of thousands of people down here in Los
Angeles who wants to do the same thing, so it's going to take some
time. We'll see...
