Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with this week's selection of stellar shorts. It's certainly been quite a week, and one that has reminded me how cool it is to get to feature so many quality films here on SATURDAY SHORTS. We're all film fans here and likely click around to a few sites to get our daily fix of movie news, reviews, or otherwise. I for one can't stand the snark of a lot of bloggers and have never really understood the need to crap on a movie or a filmmaker. With me it's pretty simple - if you see something cool or a filmmaker that's doing neat things, shout it from the roof tops and tell your friends - flip side - if you catch a film you're not really into, why spend the energy to be a jerk about it? Kevin Smith for example, the man's made a ton of excellent films and has made a few that I'm not really into, but what's the purpose of attacking the guy? A handful of folks have seemingly made it their life's ambition to take him down, but why? Michael Bay, Uwe Boll... I'm trying to think of other folks who catch crap and while I can understand "Their films aren't my cup of tea." Genuinely bad movies are meant to be forgotten, not promoted with snark to get a few more clicks. I make no claims of being a professional film blogger myself, clearly (I mean "What's syntax?"), but when I post something, it means I care about it for some reason or another. SATURDAY SHORTS is a place that I've thoroughly enjoyed each week, as it's not about snark or whining about how an armchair quarter back "would have done it better," it's a place for dudes and dudettes to kick their feet up and jump into exciting tales at their finger tips. Each film below has something special and was created not by a person's need to judge, but by their need to create. Sincere hats off to the films below and to each and every film that passes through here. Hopefully SATURDAY SHORTS keeps bringing fresh films in front of your eyes as it's near and dear to this guy. Enough chit chat, let's get this party on the road!
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!
RABBIT
TRT: 15:00
Director Matt Richards has our first film of the day, an incredibly well shot short with solid acting and depth to boot. "Abandoned by his parents and harboring a grim family secret a damaged young teen is faced with a difficult choice when he brings his foreign girlfriend into the family home. " If you enjoy the film, think about checking out more of Matt's work on his Vimeo Page or click over to the film's IMDB!
Rabbit - Short Film (2014) from Matt Richards on Vimeo.
iBUDDY 2.0
TRT: 7:23
Writer/Director Anthony Fung has our next film, a project wrapped around a 48 film competition this past year. "In the tradition of a Black Mirror episode, a couple found being torn apart and trapped by their daily addictions. It happens to be an artificial intelligence companion." If you dig the music, then think about clicking over to musician Alexander Julius Wright's website!
SELKIE
TRT: 13:56
Up next is a film from Simon Booth, featuring a beautiful creature and a little bit of death! "Inspired by a Celtic myth, 'Selkie' is a haunting adult fairy tale, set in an ancient time. When a fisherman finds a Selkie skin on the beach, he thinks his prayers have been answered.. Taking it home, a beautiful naked woman arrives at his house. She wants her skin back. But he has other ideas.. After a lifetime of enslavement, her patience runs out." If you're curious to see more from the film's lead, then click over to Actress Emily Booth's Youtube Page!
BALLOONFEST
TRT: 6:34
Ready for a genuinely interested doc on a balloon celebration from the 80's? Sounds bizarre, almost begs the question of "Why?" Well damn it, Nathan Truesdell will show you! "In September 1986, the city of Cleveland attempted to set a special record: the simultaneous launch of 1.5 million balloons. But fate intervened, and the result was both crazier and more tragic than anyone could have imagined." For more info on the film, check out its Facebook Page!
Balloonfest from Topic on Vimeo.
YANG
TRT: 7:34
Let's go out on a bang, with YANG from Director Vonne Patiag! "A woman attempts a prayer circle to rid a household of a witch’s dark curse, but an encounter with evil will forever leave its mark on her." Patiag set out to create something a little old school, utilizing technques from decades passed. "Yang was crafted as a classical horror film, so all effects were done in camera, using techniques available to the first practitioners of cinema. Even our fades to black were achieved by shooting through black fabric and pulling focus." Do yourself the solid of seeing what else Patiag is up to, by checking out his Vimeo Page!
Yang from Vonne Patiag on Vimeo.
KAPOW! There we have it, ladies and gents. I hope you folks caught a film or five that you enjoyed! I'll see you all next week with another set of shorts! In the mean time, feel free to click around 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)
Mordeo; The Survivor; Ultra Bleu; Barney Strong; Spin Dreams (8/19/17)
Seam; The Spirit Machine; Embers And Dust; The Lucid Engine; Ecstasy; The Good Time Girls (8/26/17)
Stoneheart; Bobo; Frostbite; Goblin Queen; Second Date; Yin & Yang (9/2/17)
Solo; Cold Shivers; Vanity Project; Bunny New Girl; Dominos Trouble (9/10/17)
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