Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with this week's sweet selection of solid shorts! Below you'll find a rather fun mix featuring films that have just about nothing to do with one another. We've got a scare fest with cannibals, a badass future film, films that dabble into the raw emotions of relationships, and an insanely well done pole dancing bit that will have you adjusting your preconceptions (assuming you have them to begin with). What each of these projects do have in common is a desire to tell a story, and they exist only because a person felt the need to tell it. While I can't imagine every short I'm able to feature here on SATURDAY SHORTS is going to be a hit with every person out there, my gut tells me that if you're here - you're open and willing to check out something new. To me, AICN is an ever changing beast of a site, perhaps there's a scoop here or there or there's a singular writer you agree with and want to check out their thoughts on XYZ... at its core, this site's all about the love of film and that's hopefully on full display today with this smörgåsbord of indie shorts. Regardless of what type of films you're typically into, I implore to click play on each of the below stories as you never know... perhaps one of these is the film that turns you on to a whole genre (or Filmmaker)!
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!
MORDEO
TRT: 2:07
Let's get the most gruesome flick out of the way first, eh? Writer/Director Ben Sottack has our first tale, a tale of cannibalism and a warning to stay out of the woods! "A gory, backwoods horror short about the dangerous side effects of cannibalism." MORDEO has been featured on Crypt TV's page, an entity I find myself hearing more and more about daily. Ben's no stranger to SATURDAY SHORTS, as we've seen his WHO'S AFRAID OF THE OCTOPUS MAN? a while back. The man's talented and as such, I'd suggest you check out his website and see what else he's been up to!
THE SURVIVOR
TRT: 11:53
Our next short comes to us via the short's Writer/Executive Producer Mark Renshaw. This is the third short of Mark's (and his partners at Saga Flight) we've had here, and his first science fiction film to date! If you missed NO MORE TOMORROWS or SURRENDER, then I'd suggest you give them a view! "In a post-apocalyptic world where the air is toxic to breathe and oxygen is a precious resource, a young boy embarks on a perilous supply run to obtain water and medicine for his ailing mother. With just his toy robot as a companion on his journey, he faces many obstacles, but the real danger is waiting for him back home." Not only this this a standalone short, but it also serves as a proof of concept for a TV show Renshaw is writing called THE NEARSCAPE. Listen, I like what Renshaw does and would be happy to see where NEARSCAPE goes - and if you're at all curious yourself, then check out the film's Facebook Page or official website for more info!
The Survivor from Saga Flight on Vimeo.
ULTRA BLEU
TRT: 19:36
Next up is a phenomenal film from Nick Neon, a drama set in Seoul that's currently prepping to become a feature! "ULTRA BLEU tells the story of Jim Park for the first 24 hours after a violent break up with his ex-boyfriend and how a chance meeting with a stranger reveals deeper issues he must confront." The film's played numerous film fests around the globe and proves an interesting look into a world I personally know little about, but don't need to as the film is pretty tight in its own right. The themse represented in ULTRA BLEU are universal, and in the hands of Neon, is something worth watching! His first feature, FEAR EATS THE SEOUL, is currently being recut into a web series. If you like what you see, then be sure to check out the film's website, Facebook Page, or Nick's website. You can also follow Nick on Instagram (@NickyNeon).
Ultra Bleu - Short Film (2017) from Nick Neon on Vimeo.
BARNEY STRONG
TRT: 27:45
Next up is a film from Famous Oldie, the folks who brought us WOODS BASEBALL and BEAR BINKO'S BINKO'S BEAR MACE. Here we have "a dramatic quirky comedy about a young door to door salesman and his older colleagues on the road." The film premiered at the Lone Star Film festival in Ft. Worth and has just recently hit the internet. If you enjoy the film and want to see some interesting behind the scenes tidbits, then click over to their website and check it out!
Barney Strong from Famous Oldie on Vimeo.
SPIN DREAMS
TRT: 2:38
Our last short of the week comes to us via Talkbacker "cjohnston." Director Francesco Calabrese set out to remind folks (in a very straightforward and compact way) that the art of pole dancing isn't just one reserved for strip clubs. "Images in popular culture still relegate pole dancing to the status of provocative ornament. The perception is not that of an athlete, rather of a calendar girl or sexual fantasy. While I didn’t intend to shame its sexualized form, I wanted to show the sacrifice, commitment, and determination required to become a top-ranked competitive pole dancer.” Calabrese succeeds in his quest to show a different perspective with SPIN DREAMS and says things with visuals that are hard to describe with words. Classy work indeed. Be sure to check out more of Calabrese's work on on his Vimeo Page!
SPIN DREAMS from Francesco Calabrese on Vimeo.
BOOM! I hope you ladies and gents had some fun with the films above - I know I did. I hope to see you folks next weekend with another selection of shorts. I have no clue what next week's lineup will look like, so if you've got a film - shoot it my way! I love seeing new work from across the globe, so whatever you budget/skill/etc... level is, I'd like to check it out. In the mean time, feel free to check out past articles:
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
SATURDAY SHORTS 2015
SATURDAY SHORTS 2016
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)
Gravy; The Girlfriend Game; Cavern; The Horror; I'm a Homeless Princess (3/11/17)
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
