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Ex-Hippies and Smartasses: Underground Comedy Shorts from the 1960s and ‘70s

April 4, 2023

Grand Illusion Cinema
Seattle, WA

Part of the Grand Illusion Cinema’s year-long 16mm Centennial celebration

Comedy shorts from the art house and underground cinema circuits of the 1960s and 1970s, all on 16mm film. A mix of favorites and forgotten gems, including the screen debuts of several future stars, these independently produced films are hilarious examples of the last gasp of the theatrical comic short.

You’ll see spoofs of Ingmar Bergman and a certain sci-fi blockbuster; social satires on relationships, gender roles, and middle class somnambulism; skewerings of narcissistic losers (including a strangely familiar emotionally damaged president); and more. By turns zany and subtle, intellectual and goofy, stoned and straight laced — and usually with a political subtext — these shorts are sure to leave you laughing.

Poster for Underground Comedy Shorts from the 1960s and '70s (Apr. 2023)