Says Be Phat Motel, “The year since [the shoot] has been one of the strangest of our lives… We almost think we shouldn't release the video in case it leads to more trouble. It would be a hell of a shame after everything we've been through, though.” The band's sentiments are similar, following a shoot that saw them under constant military surveillance. “We were blindfolded and driven to an unknown location. We just thought ‘Is this what artists have to do to get attention'?”
The story is revealed in a short featurette by Holden and DB Caulfield of manmakefire, recently relocated to Cape Town. The 11-month delay was chiefly the result of Be Phat Motel's supposedly poor handling of ‘sensitive materials'. “We signed documents to say we wouldn't reveal certain things, and we didn't show them. But we still had officials in the edit telling us to take this shot out and that shot out. Every second day you're getting calls from someone with an American accent.”
Robocalypse: Making Mama Know Nothing "Paranoia" from Be Phat Motel on Vimeo.
Despite the experience, Be Phat Motel has continued development on a slate of features and various commercial projects in recent months. But though all involved might be keener to pretend the production never happened, both the Mamas and the Motel agree that the video turned out well. “We are happy with it. It was hard but it was probably worth it. Obviously, people who make war machines don't make movies…”
Mama Know Nothing: Paranoia (35mm) goes online this month at www.bephatmotel.com.
manmakefire's Robocalypse: Making Paranoia is online now on YouTube, Vimeo http://vimeo.com/4767097 and Facebook Groups: Friend of Be Phat Motel. Keep an eye on the group for updates.
