Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with this week's fun selection of short films you might not have seen yet, but really ought to check out. The bulk of these were sent in from the filmmakers themselves, save for the last one. This week is full of laughs, action, and a little bit of twistedness. (Though let's be honest here... this is SATURDAY SHORTS, so you know you're going to see something twisted...) Each film below is interesting in its own way. Each had their own set of circumstances with how they were made = budget, time frame, actor availability, etc... So it's just interesting to know that while each of the films are fun and watchable, they all had interesting issues or things they had to work around to tell their story. Hopefully you fine folks dig the films and all the hard work that went into each one. Though I'm beyond down to read your thoughts and opinions in the talkbacks below. In fact, it's not uncommon for the filmmakers to lurk around and cheap out what folks thought of their work. I will say however if you're only commenting to be ugly or hateful... you're simply not welcome here. This place is a film loving space in the heart of AICN that's intended to showcase badasses who bust their butts to tell a story (and post it online for the world to see - for free!), so if your initial thought is "Muahaha, another Talkback I can troll" - I'd politely ask you to refrain. At any rate, hopefully that tangent didn't bring the party down as we've got one hell of a show for you today. Let's kick this shindig off!
Go grab yourself some popcorn, lock your kids in a closet, kill the lights, relax and check out this little weekly film fest we've got ourselves here:
LEONARD IN SLOW MOTION
TRT: 9:08
To kick this week off right we've got a familiar face we all love. Martin Starr of PARTY DOWN and FREAKS AND GEEKS is Leonard, a man stuck with a rather unique disablity. Director Pete Livolsi blends awkward comedy with stunning technique in these nine minutes. There are moments of "how'd they do that?" sprinkled around a rather simple premise. It's great. It's funny. It's trippy. I can dig it. "Martin Starr is Leonard, a man who exists entirely in slow motion, struggling through life in the regular speed world. When he learns his office crush is getting transferred out of state, he decides he must somehow become regular speed to win her heart before she leaves town for good." If you like what you see, then get your butt over to Pete's website and check out what else the guy's got!
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND
TRT: 6:59
Our next film is a bloody love letter to MAD MAX from director Mike Testin. Mike's typically known for being a solid Director of Photography as you can tell from his IMDB page. He actaully just shot his first feature (as director) called DEMENTIA, starring Gene Jones and Kristina Klebe. I'm curious to check that film out, but in the mean time we've got this short to hold us over. It's the story of a few women who think they've found the last "good" man alive. Fun make up. Nice landscapes. Good stuff.
A Good Man is Hard to Find from Mike Testin on Vimeo.
THE BAKER
TRT: 3:00
Graham Neale's got our next story, a film shot in only six hours for a short horror competition in the UK with a budget of £200. "I decided I wanted to make the brightest and most colourful horror film I could. Hence The Baker, a bright happy man who loves his job and opens the door to the darkness for just a brief moment to see what will happen." For more from Graham - go check out his website and have your mind blown.
The Baker from Graham Neale on Vimeo.
CERTIFIED
TRT: 8:26
Dear jeebus is this a funny one... Luke Guidici's hit pretty much the best film fests with our next short, a lovely period piece with a dash of "WTF?" "In 1950's rural America, a postman's first day takes a terrifying turn when a precocious young girl tells him of her family's horrible tragedy." If you think the short is half as fun as I do, then perhaps you should think about following Luke on Twitter @LukeGuidici to see what he's currently up to.
Certified from Luke Guidici on Vimeo.
CHLOE
TRT: 5:55
Here's a rarity, a film that was not sent in by the creative team who built the short, but by a person who caught the film and sent it my way. The fact that I'm screening this as the last short of the week pretty much shows how cruel a human I can be at times. I kid of course, but holy hell is this a gut punch. I might just be a sucker for dogs in film - (why I couldn't handle JOHN WICK/THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT/ect...), but John Wikstrom's created a pretty gnarly short that's too *ruff* to simply ignore. (The short deserves your attention more than my silly puns, it's good.) It's got a unique perspective that we don't see often.
Chloe from John Wikstrom on Vimeo.
Okay folks, that's it for this week. I'll catch you all a week from now with a handful of other short films I think you might want to check out. In the mean time, check out some past SATURDAY SHORTS below or head over to my new column, MEET THE CREW where I casually chat with creative folks behind the scenes (no directors allowed) about what exactly they do that helps give us our favorite stories.
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
The Off Season; Why Does My Girlfriend Text So Much?; Landscape; The Magician (1/3/15)
Atropa; Good Conduct; Ulla; Blackouts; Pizza And Bullets (1/10/15)
Vicki; Strange Thing; Kill The K-Cup; The Grandson; The Dark Walk Backward (1/24/15)
If you have a short and think it belongs here or are on the fence about whether to send it in, please do send it in - I'd love to see what you've put together. I've already seen hundreds of fresh new filmmakers' shorts and like any good addict, I need more!
Shoot me an email at "Mike@aintitcool.com"
In the subject line include:
“SHORTS” + “Your film’s name” + “The film’s genre”
Then, in the body of the email, please include a synopsis of the film and any contact information you might think I need or would want published. The more info you send my way, the more info there is to put with your short.
Please don’t feel the need to submit multiple times.
Remember, the filmmakers might still be in the audience, so feel free to share your thoughts in Talkbacks below. (JUST DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE). I picked them, so you know I think highly of all of these, but how about you fine folks? How'd you like 'em?
BY THE WAY: If you've had a short featured here, that means that I personally am a fan of your work, so feel free to shoot me any kind of news on new projects/films/whatever. I can't say I'll be able to help or in what capacity, but I'm interested in your work and am always down to see more! (Keep making cool stuff, everyone!)
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
