Hello ladies and gentlemen, your pal Muldoon here with a fun selection of shorts I think you might want to check out! Hopefully you're able to kick your feet up and relax a bit with each of the below films. I'm actually in the middle of SXSW madness, not as any sort of press person, but as a guy who just wants to sit and enjoy a bunch of movies! So while it's pretty cool to share the stories below, I don't believe this year I'll be sharing any reviews or interviews from the fest, which actually has me rather excited - pressure's off! In fact, it's feeling more and more as if I'll just keep to SATURDAY SHORTS for the time being, for what it's worth - given I don't do SATURDAY SHORTS for any amount of money - I do it because I love seeing what cool stuff is out there, and Harry is cool enough to let me. I also know how damn hard it is to actually create something, much less get it out into the world for audiences! (Unfortunately I've yet to come across any opportunities to cash in my reputation for any fun trips or bags of cash, so I have to continue being sincere with every word I write on this site!) SATURDAY SHORTS has been a lovely experience that I hope has brightened up your day or turned you on to a new talent... or simply just brought something cool into your world. I've made a handful of friends in the 5 years of the column and that in itself is pretty nifty. Ramblings aside, I really am excited about today's lineup and hope you all are able to soak each one in! Let's kick this shindig off, eh?
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!
GRAVY
TRT: 7:50
Director Mike Postalakis is here to kick the doors off, along with Rich Fulcher and Matt Walsh! "Two old friends meet for a late night rumination on life, death and condiments." Postalakis has created a film that has me yearning to hear more from his two leads. This film is literally seven minutes of watching two men talk while eating, but hot damn if isn't well executed. It's a solid script, performed by two kickass actors - I can't wait to see what Mike does next. If you like what you see, then head over to Mike's Vimeo page and catch up on his other solid shorts!
GRAVY from mike postalakis on Vimeo.
THE GIRLFRIEND GAME (Mature)
TRT: 14:41
Armen Antranikian has our next film, from a screenplay by Nick Antosca, that might have you questioning what you think you're cool with, in regards to your significant other. "An erotic thriller about a twisted game a couple plays at bars, until one night, things get out of hand. The story takes us onto a nightmarish, psychosexual journey, and gradually, the true nature of their relationship comes to light." I feel the moral of this tale is "Don't be an asshole," though feel that's nowhere near doing the film justice. It's a must watch thriller that preaches the "be careful what you wish for" vibe. Check out more of Armen's work on his Vimeo Page!
The Girlfriend Game from Armen Antranikian on Vimeo.
CAVERN
TRT: 24:00
Director Dave Sims of Astrobleme Films has our next film, an experimental drama set in the Mojave desert! "Cavern is a haunting short film about survival, alienation and redemption set in the remote Mojave desert." This one takes its time, while giving us shot after shot of gorgeous views and solid performances with practically no dialog. Check out more of Dave's work over on his Astrobleme Films website and if you're curious about the film's lead, think about checking out her music!
Cavern- A short film from Dave Sims - Astrobleme Films on Vimeo.
THE HORROR
TRT: 1:05
Our next short is very much short indeed. With a run time of a minute, there's not much on the surface level as far as a story. It's short, sweet, and looks insanely cool. Filmmaker David King went old school with this stop motion animation, utilizing projects, paper, and even a water tank to get bring this short to life. I'm a sucker for strong visuals and this certainly has that. I'd very much enjoy seeing this world explored in any fashion or form. Check out more of King's work on his Vimeo Page!
The Horror from David King on Vimeo.
I'M A HOMELESS PRINCESS
TRT: 4:10
Our last video of the day is here to wrap us out on a high note. The folks at XVP Comedy have created a parody of a video that went viral weeks (months? years?) back. I've seen the original video, in which two rich kids share their experiences of moving to a city, an evil city, then fleeing... though in full reality, their issues were brought on by themselves and their fears didn't seem to have any ground. I've googled around in hopes of linking to tha original, but alas "Millenials complaining about things" has come up empty! I kid, but for real - I can't find that original video and have no doubt it's right under my nose. What I do know, is XVP did a stellar job poking fun at it. In full disclosure, at the old age of 30... I still can't get behind the jump-cut "talking at the camera" style videos that fill the gutters of Youtube. "Get off my lawn!" I know, but there's just something about that style of video that I find just gross. At any rate, it's always a treat to see what the XVP Comedy folks are up to and I look forward to seeing what they roast next! Check out their Youtube page for more!
BOOM! That's it for this week, ladies and gents! I hope to see you all next week with more films. If you're in Austin for SXSW and want to meet up for booze and talkin' movies, get at me! If you're in a short-film-watching mood, then click around the links below and watch how my syntax has only gotten worse over the years!
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" (2/6/16)
Blurry; American Virgin; Azarkant; The Homing Bird; Sex, Lies, And Terminators (2/13/16)
Connected; Terry And Brenda; Fuck Buddies; Audrey; BigHead Walking Dead Parody (2/20/16)
Absence; The Adept; MAT ZO - "Sinful;" Dreamco; Hoot (3/12/16)
Pop Music; Tumble Dry Low; Rooms; Promise; Darth Maul: Apprentice (3/19/16)
Status Update; Kafka's Little Fable; Ghoster; I Got Your Nose; Creature Feature (4/2/16)
Steve; The Good Survivor; Field of Screams; Mirrored; Jack Edwards - "Falling In Love" (4/16/16)
Rest Stop; The Technician; Romp; Who's There?; If Joke & Harley Quinn Were A Normal Couple (4/23/16)
Trial; Star Struck; Color TV, No Vacancy; Notifications On; One Sunny Day (5/14/16)
You Are Not Alone; Giraffe Soup; Brother; Bury Tomorrow - "Last Light"; Rain (5/21/16)
The Group; The Trap; The Echo of Small Things; Alison Blaire - "The Sight of Sound"; James (5/28/16)
Blinking Lights; Dédalo; Invisible; Identity Crisis (6/25/16)
Schackled; Miss Nobody; I Hate Mondays; Jefferson; Mary's Passion (7/2/16)
Swap; Ghostbusters: All Manned Up Edition; The Invisible Man; Sleep Tight; Defining Fay (7/10/16)
Carl; Flat Tire; Loree's Crazy 'Bout Kittens; Chum Zone II: Shark Fin Soup; Archetype (7/16/16)
The Chaplain; Bump CLassique; The Listener; Timelike; Fantasy Hospital Episode 4 (7/23/16)
Trial Run; Thick Air; First Date From Hell; Rise; God, Me And The Salty Peanuts; Graves (7/30/16)
Deathly; The Hope You Promised Love; Surrender; Crumb; Deep 6 (8/6/16)
Broadhurst "Take Me Down;" Prungen; The Paris Syndrome; Foxed!; Ecstacy Boulevard (8/14/16)
Heartburns' a Killer; Draft Eight; Versus; Chainsaw; Injustice For All (8/20/16)
Sebastian; Where You Are; Xenos; The Line; Sand Boys (8/27/16)
Long-Term Parking; House Of Straw; You Won't Regret That Tattoo; Invasion Day; Forever (9/17/16)
Best Friends; Nae Parasan; My First Day; Slaps; Merry Gentlemen (10/1/16)
Otherhalf; Red Curtains; The Great Break-Up Contest; Pioneer; Seven Rules (10/8/16)
Frank And The Zombie Girl; Spooky Club; o negative; Zelos; The Moonlight Man; Sweet 16 (10/29/16)
Red; Larry Gone Demon; Visitors Parking; Grave Dangers; Intruder (11/6/16)
Chomper; Hoshino; Boniato; On Sunday; Darkness of Night (11/12/16)
Where The Shadows Fall; The Girlfriend; Friendlies; The First Men; Toc Toc (11/19/16)
Pizza Delivery; Forever's Gonna Start Tonight; Epoch; Points Of Origin; Knack! (1/7/17)
Capes; Out Of The Family; Noodles; The Great Orecto; Orphans Of Ash Concept Trailer (1/14/17)
Dr. Gordz; Gleep-Glorp & Lasertag; Mindgame; Quad Diamond; From Below; Killer Queen (1/22/17)
Never Tear Us Apart; Hushy Bye; American Pride; The Restless; 2031 (2/4/17)
Wifey Redux; Whale Valley; Have Had; When The Saints (2/12/17)
The Man From Death; Tail; Whispers Among Wolves; Thing One "Nice Wife" (2/25/17)
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
