Hello ladies and gentlemen, your pal Muldoon here this wonderful weekend with a slew of solid shorts to share. With DEADPOOL blowing up the cinemas and the reality that ZOOLANDER 2 is a real thing that's watchable (despite it perhaps not being for everyone), there's enough love at the movies to hide away from the Valentine Cheer! I mean quite honestly, I never thought we'd be getting either of those films, and as the Studio Execs out there try mercilessly to turn a trick with some familiar franchises, inviting audiences back to see something they've already seen before - but with a facelift - it's cool to stop and realize that there are original films out there. In reality, the cheaper your film is (or "the less you need to earn back" I should say) the more creative you're allowed to be. You don't need a SAVE THE CAT structure to have a cool film, just an interesting idea and a passion to go after it, balls to the wall. Whether your tastes align with mine or not, passion is one thing that's consistently on display here at SATURDAY SHORTS, from all different sorts of people across the globe. So let's get this part underway!
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:
BLURRY
TRT: 7:10
To set this weekend off on the right track, we've got a film written, directed, and animated by Anthony Falleroni. BLURRY has played and numerous festivals and won a handful of awards, so it's great to finally have the film available online! "An imaginative, creative woman sees the world unlike anyone else, but when her visions become too distracting, she has her imagination removed. After the procedure, her entire perspective on life and herself changes... but for the better?" Like what you see? Then check out Falleroni's Vimeo Page to see more of what the guy has to offer (hint, there's a T Rex in there).
Blurry from Anthony Falleroni on Vimeo.
AMERICAN VIRGIN
TRT: 16:37
Next up, a film about a 17 year old trying to sell her virginity in order to pay for a college summer program. With a super quick (and paraphrased) synopsis like that you might be thinking "Muldoon! That sounds horrendous! Is this a drama?" No! It's a charming as hell film with hilarity sprinkled throughout its 17 minute runtime. Written and Directed by Tamzin Merchant of , the film stars Maddie Nichols and Cam Owen as two cousins... one of which is trying to sell their body to get an education. The short follows Nichols's "Allie" as she goes about trying to sell herself, meeting bizarre folks along the way. If you enjoy what Merchant and Co-Producer cam Owen did here, then keep an eye out for their next films: AMERICAN PRIDE and JULIET REMEMBERED.
AMERICAN VIRGIN MOVIE from Camzin Productions on Vimeo.
AZARKANT
TRT: 8:25
Ready for a tonal shift? Perhaps a science fiction action base flick set in outerspace that includes loads of wild visuals and splashes of action? Good, because that's what Andrey Klimov has in store for us. The man's a machine, writing/directing/modeling/rigging/texturing/lighting (essentially everyhting visual) thefilm himself. "A huge spaceship that get lost on the edge of the universe. Within which everything is dead, and has sunk into oblivion. People have died and no one will tell you what happened here. Only the old robot, pilot who is also long dead, continues to patrol the endless corridors and execute the last command of his pilot. But one day, the door of the old space ships open again...." If you're a fan of the film, then fly over to its website and then on to Klimov's!
THE HOMING BIRD
TRT: 10:50
Ready for yet another genre gear shift? Good. Up next is a family drama from SATURDAY SHORTS alumnus Graham Neale. You may remember Neale's past two times here, with THE BAKER and THE COLOUR OF HER EYES. Neale's latest film has less terror and more raw emotion. It's definitely not something to miss! "Johnny has to deal with his dad leaving again. His emotions manifest themselves in the release of the family's pigeons. Will the pigeons and dad find their way home?" For more info on the man and what all he's up to - head over to his website and poke around!
The Homing Bird from Graham Neale on Vimeo.
SEX, LIES, AND TERMINATORS
TRT: 13:33
To wrap us out, Timothy Mather has our last short for the week, essentially a "what if" that involves turning TERMINATOR into a romantic drama. "At it’s core you have a valley girl, Sarah (Jordan Jansen) caught in a love triangle between the T-800 (James Dohrety) and the T-1000 (Ryan Johnson) where both, instead of trying to murder her, want to seduce her and quietly disrupt and win the war with man."
And Boom goes the dynamite, folks! That's it for this week's lineup of shorts, and I certainly hope you found a film or two that rocked your world or took you to some other place... Feel more than free to check out any of links below to past SATURDAY SHORTS articles. I can't say for sure if all of the embeds are still live, but what I can count on are awesome shorts (and tpyos galore!).
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
SATURDAY SHORTS 2015
Hank & Honey: A Holiday Horror; Black Christmas; Grammy; Pick Ups (1/2/16)
Lilitu; Auld Lang Syne; Chronoshred; Ash Vs. Lobo Vs. The DC Undead (1/9/16)
Believe; The Dragon's Blade; Native Immigration; The Problem With Friends (1/23/16)
Harbinger; Hyperthermia; The Chickening; Head (1/30/16)
Erebus; Boldly Gone; Cupcakes; City In Crisis; Vandalaze "Great Big Things" (2/6/15)
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
