A new couple are about to get romantic when they are interrupted by the guy's future self.

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(NSFW) A young couple has a big plan to spice up their love life when their friend, Holly, comes over for dinner.

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A young boy falls for his older brother's girlfriend.

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Christopher Gray has been in love with Stacey for quite some time, and no amount of lemonade can cool his desire. Meanwhile, Barry Flint has just bought his son a five-foot python from the pet store.

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2065. The entire planet is hit by the effects of climate change. One of the few places that remain habitable is Antarctica, where big corporations have built private cities. Hebe and Ciro get back together again. She is looking for love. He is searching for his own identity.

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A woman reflects on the effects and implications of time throughout the course of her life.

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Dinosaurs have invaded Earth but neither Tommy nor Stacey care anymore, now that they’ve met each other. They escape the war, but whether they dive to the bottom of the ocean or fly to Outer Space, conflict always seems to find a way into their lives.

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Gordon, a dimwitted but sweet man with pure intentions, follows some bad advice and tries to impress the woman of his dreams by scaring the daylights out of her.

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While waiting to board his flight to America, Augusto Ramirez remembers the three biggest regrets of his life.

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Having pretty much hijacked my post on Samuel Abrahams’ excellent short documentary OFFLINE DATING to wax lyrical on my own personal views on the ever-changing landscape of communication and connections, I thought it was only fair to give the director some space on Short of the Week to talk about the themes and filmmaking on show in his hugely engaging film. If you’ve watched the film, like me you’ll probably be filled with questions about how this social experiment came to be, with all the questions you’d potentially want answering floating through our minds, we quizzed the BAFTA nominated writer/director on his inspiration, shooting style and lessons learned:

OFFLINE DATING is one of those concepts that seems so simple and so relevant, it’s hard to believe it hasn’t been done before, how did the premise for the film originate?

Recently, I noticed that so many of my single mates had become hooked on swiping left or right, on apps like Tinder, Happn, and Bumble. These apps have become the default way to meet people – but where does that leave the good old fashioned way? Have we lost our confidence, or are we just not interested anymore? I wanted to explore what could happen, in one weekend, if we invested more time and energy into meeting new people – in real life.

“In many ways I see it as an online film about offline dating”.

What were you personally looking to achieve with the film?

I’d been working on various other ideas about the differences between virtual and actual life, but this one just clicked. One evening, Tom and I were discussing him being newly single, whilst downloading Happn on his phone. We started talking about the difference between the “us” we present online and the “us” that exists in real life. That night, the idea of making a part-documentary/part-social experiment, exploring what we had been talking about, hit me. The next day I pitched the idea of OFFLINE DATING to Tom, to see if he’d be interested in collaborating. Three days later we were filming, and now four weeks later, the film is finished. Part of the idea was to get back to my documentary roots, pick up the camera and shoot the film myself. I hadn’t shot something myself for five or six years, so I wanted to challenge myself with this project.

The intention of this film was to launch initially online, which we did 2 days ago. In many ways I see it as an online film about offline dating. But I’d love to screen the film at a few festivals later in the year.

“With this project I wanted to make something much more immediate and instinctive.”

For such an “off-the-cuff” type of shoot, the film has a surprisingly polished aesthetic – what was your approach to the filming of the piece and what can you tell us about the equipment used?

I hired a Black Magic, a set of prime lenses and a camera rig to shoulder mount the thing…which took some getting used to – I’m used to shooting obs docs with big heavy tv camera’s, but the black magic is a tiny strange looking little box, that you have to bulk up in order to use it like a proper camera. Having focused more on drama/commercials for the past five years, I’ve become much more used to crafting each shot. My other shorts, CONNECT and HOLD ON ME, were heavily designed, with each shot, and the action taking place, being deliberately composed and choreographed. It’s often the same with commercials, where you have such a short amount of time to tell a story, each frame counts, so you prep every single detail. I love working like this. But with this project I wanted to make something much more immediate and instinctive. To use the craft and discipline I’ve learnt but in a more visceral and immersive way. Taking on the job of shooting, whilst directing was a lot of fun. My intention was to give the film a lot of energy, I wanted the camera to always be moving, pulling in and out of focus, which is a really tough thing to do when shooting observational material as you don’t want to miss that key moment, because you were looking at the wrong thing. The key, and this is something the first director I worked with taught me, you have to listen. It’s all about listening to what is happening, what they are saying, what they are not saying, and then quickly react and predict where the story is going, so you know how to cover the scene.

For the first day shooting it was just Tom and myself, which was tough. For the second day, I had two assistants helping out on sound with a boom mic and release forms etc. Keeping the crew to an absolute minimum was key in being able to move quickly and capture more authentic and intimate interactions.

The edit was a big part of the job. I worked with Chris McKay (at Cut & Run) who cut both my other shorts and has cut lots of my commercials. We locked ourselves in his suite for two and a half weeks. Chris, who is incredibly patient, did a fantastic job of whittling down our 6 hours of rushes to a tight 6 minutes. It’s in the edit where Chris and I really found the most suitable arc for the narrative. There was a lot of exploration.

“It’s romantic and has a very positive message and so I wanted the camera, and the way in which it sees the world to reflect this”.

Even though it must have been completely apparent your were making a film, OFFLINE DATING has a very natural and unobtrusive feel to it – with such a personal theme to the film, how did you attempt to stay inconspicuous whilst filming and was this something you felt was important for the film to be a success?

The approach was almost the opposite of a hidden camera shoot. You couldn’t miss me! I wanted it to have authenticity, but not the secret filming kind, which to me would have been more creepy. What interests me more is having the camera immersed in the situation. The reality is, it’s a social experiment of some kind, I’m here filming my friend trying to find a date. I didn’t want to hide from that. The reaction from people was of course varied, but by being honest about what we’re doing straight away, meant that people very quickly lose themselves in the whole experience. Tom and I didn’t give people a chance to over think it. With the right approach, within 2 minutes I could have the camera right up in their face and as long as they were engaged in the experience/with Tom, and what we were trying to do, then they were very comfortable and would open up.

Having a heightened filmic reality to the film was key for me. It’s romantic and has a very positive message and so I wanted the camera, and the way in which it sees the world to reflect this.

I think this is a film that everyone who watches will be able to relate to and take something from – but I was wondering what you took from the experience – both as a filmmaker and as a member of society (not that those two things are separate!)?

What I learnt is that there are so many people out there who feel exactly the same way about wanting less of a virtual life and more of a real life.

One of the most rewarding aspects of making this film was to be reminded that, if you put yourself out there and invest time and energy in meeting new people in real life, you’ll be amazed at the positive reaction you get. As a result of approaching strangers all weekend, we met so many kind, funny, open and generous people, who just like us, were all looking to enjoy the spontaneity of a real encounter, and possibly make a new connection.

More importantly though, how did Tom find the experience? Did he manage to make any meaningful connections and get any further dates?

Ha – well, let’s just say, unfortunately Tom didn’t find the one, but this was just one weekend! He loved meeting all those new people and I believe is in touch with a few of them (ironically probably on social media). I don’t know. He is still looking for love, and is very much out there. Yesterday he told me that he cycled past a girl on a bike going in the other direction, she really caught his eye, and instead of doing nothing about it and having to deal with that annoying ‘what if?’ that lingers, he cycled after her, struck up conversation at the traffic lights, asked her out for a coffee. Think they’ve been on a date now too. So I think the experience of filming this was great for him because he dealt with so much rejection that he soon became numb to it, and then built confidence from this.

What are you working on now?

I am developing another short film that I’m really excited about. It’s about the power dynamics between a couple, but with a Sci-fi twist. The script is in a really great place and I have two great actors lined up for it. Hopefully we’ll be shooting soon. And I’m developing a few feature ideas that explore similar ideas and themes to OFFLINE DATING.

You can keep updated with Samuel’s work on his website, show OFFLINE DATING some Facebook love or welcome the director to the world of Twitter (he’s just recently joined). Alternatively, if you’d like a more personal interaction with Samuel, you can find him on Tinder, Happn or Bumble.

When it comes to storytelling, one of the tried and tested techniques for making your audience identify and connect with your narrative, is making it somewhat relatable to their lives. And when it comes to accessible topics – they don’t come much more identifiable than romance. Unless you’re still young, desire and passion will have been something you’ve experienced and something that probably plays a huge part in your life. Hoping to capture that buzz of meeting someone special for the first time and sharing a connection, Samuel Abrahams’ OFFLINE DATING is the tale of a single man who challenged himself to find his next date without the help of the internet.

Samuels’ film is all about connections and if the synopsis (and title) of his previous short, the BAFTA nominated CONNECT, is anything to go by, this is a topic close to his heart. Somewhat of a social experiment, OFFLINE DATING isn’t just a film about that most prominent of dilemmas in the lives of the majority of unattached individuals – how to make a connection with a potential life partner – it’s also a film about the ever-changing ways in which we connect with the people around us. Although the film focuses specifically on dating, the general theme of the short is one that surrounds how the internet has changed the ways we communicate with other people and it’s a timely reminder of the importance of face-to-face interaction. In an age where the prominence of mobile devices means we’re “online” and able to communicate with others whenever we choose, Abrahams’ film aligns with an ever-increasing view that this readily available connection is only making us more disconnected to the physical world. With my working life centred around the internet (I teach online journalism along with writing for Short of the Week & Directors Notes) it might seem somewhat detrimental for me to agree with this perspective – but it’s something I’ve given great consideration in recent times and it’s hard to really disagree with this analysis. Those seeking face-to-face connections can of course still find it, but it’s hard to deny that the availability of the internet is changing how we interact – and as a father, that’s something that I have to admit concerns me slightly.

As someone who has been in a relationship for well over a decade, the thought of single-life and the realities of the ever-changing dating scene are worlds as alien to me as those often dreamt up in the minds of the best science-fiction writers. Despite the idea of bachelorhood being an altogether foreign one in my present life, the one thing you never forget, however long you’ve been in a relationship, is that magical moment of meeting someone for a first time. We’ve all got (or will have) that story of how we met our significant other for the first time (although sometimes it’s a little fuzzy due to alcohol consumption!) and the story of how a couple met, must be one of the most asked questions at dinner-parties and social gatherings all across the world. Tapping into that memorable moment most of us will experience at least once in our lifetime – when hearts begin to flutter, temperatures raise and you feel that incomparable chemistry with someone – OFFLINE DATING’s somewhat wandering storytelling approach has that truly magical transportive power to make you either drift away and recall meetings of the past or envision future romantic connections and it’s really this meditative quality that truly makes Abrahams’ film such a special watch.

When discussing OFFLINE DATING with the team here at Short of the Week, the cynic in me brought up the question of how “real” a film like this truly is – but as a fellow team member so perfectly stated…does it really matter? If it (or some parts of it) were staged, then does that dilute the message of the film? In a way, if this was a staged-drama, then we would be saluting the director for the natural and engaging delivery of the piece and delighting in the success of its utterly-convincing “mockumentary” style. But it isn’t a work of fiction – it’s a well-observed, unobtrusive documentary that just needs to be enjoyed for exactly what it is – a heart-warming film we should all be able to relate to.

Find out more about OFFLINE DATING, its director Samuel Abrahams and what he’s working on next in our interview with the filmmaker.

Although we have featured documentaries that deal with autism before, it’s rare to find a narrative short that deals with the condition as honestly as Rachel Israel’s Keep the Change. An intimate character piece/romance centering on two autistic individuals, Israel’s film is a tender portrayal of a man and a woman longing for acceptance.

“Authentic” is the operative word for this film, as it all as just feels so effortless and unstaged. The story focuses on David—a man with high-functioning autism—and the connection he forms with Sarah, a young autistic woman who is less self-conscious of her condition. What results is both characters meeting somewhere in the middle, with David being forced to confront the realities of who he really is as opposed to the playboy he aspires to be. All of this is accomplished in a fluid, authentic (see, there’s that word again) cinematic fashion. There’s an inherent poignancy to watching David do his best to attempt to hide that which he knows makes him an outcast. He tells dirty jokes, he wears cool clothes and sunglasses—anything to mask the blinking “autism sign” that figuratively hangs around his neck.

Brandon Polansky, who plays David and is friends with director Rachel Israel, served as real-life inspiration for the film, which Israel crafted as an MFA student at Columbia. As Israel recounts, “Four years ago when Brandon met his love at a group for people on the autistic spectrum, I wondered how he would handle a real relationship. I remember back when Brandon introduced his girlfriend to his family, someone jokingly called her ‘weird’ because of her disability. I watch Brandon soak that up. He finally responded, ‘I like that she’s weird. I’m weird too.’ In taking care of someone for the first time, Brandon stopped hiding his disabilities. As I became an advisor to Brandon in his new relationship, I realized I was witnessing a great love story.”

Relying on non-professional actors (Polansky and Samantha Elisofon), Keep the Change never feels blunt or inorganic. This isn’t an “issue” film about a medical condition. The characters act how real people would act—they make mistakes, say awkward and inappropriate things. In an interview with Film School Shorts director Israel relates, “It was important to me that our film not sanitize these characters just because they have disabilities. I find such portrayals offensive to people with disabilities. They are not saints just because of a disability. They are flawed and human.”

The film’s ending is especially powerful because it’s one of the only moments where the two characters are communicating non-verbally. Both David and and Sarah talk non-stop, so the end sequence is simultaneously sweet and heart-breaking with its lack of words. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the “show, don’t tell” mantra that is a classic tenet of good filmmaking.

The next step? After four years of story collaboration with her neurodiverse cast, Israel is ready to turn her film into a feature. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in mid-August. Israel is currently in the midst of a big crowdfunding push to raise funds. If you enjoyed Keep the Change and are interested in seeing more authentic stories about autism on screen, you can support the film via their Seed and Spark page. And, of course, you can follow the film both on facebook and twitter.

A truly cinematic moment stitches character and audience together. They are seamless, silent and often unexpected. All great short films have at least one, and I Feel Stupid’s ending demonstrates it to marvelous effect.

The film is a nuanced and sharp-witted look at small-town teenage boredom and the unexpected cruelties it yields. Our main character is Lein, an inexperienced 15 year-old, who spends her days with her platonic friend Robby and her pet pigeons. But everything changes when her older friend Amber comes for a visit.

Pastreich is a born director; her craft here is polished to the point of invisibility. This is a filmmaker who understands that the looks between dialogue are far more important than the dialogue itself. Just one example; in a scene about five minutes into the film, we see Robby give a curious look to Amber. It’s a subtle shift of interest, one that gives birth to the main conflict of the film. It’s the kind of detail too often overlooked by emerging filmmakers, but which perfectly captures a shifting power dynamic.

This confident direction is backed by a stellar team of collaborators. I Feel Stupid’s script is written by Ana Lily Amirpour, best known as the director of the Sundance breakout A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Its seamless transitions come from AGWHAAN’s editor Alex O’Flinn. Finally, its elegant photography was done by Dagmar Weaver Madsen, who shot the SXSW breakout hit 10,000 KM. Together with Pastreich they weave the subtle magic that courses through the piece.

Perhaps most impressive for this reviewer is the film’s clear understanding of teenage power dynamics. In an insecure teenage world, Amber’s unforced confidence makes her a minor deity. She will undoubtedly cast Lein off at the next possible opportunity, but man, doesn’t it feel good to be loved by the cool kid, if only for a little bit?

Pastreich is currently hard at work on her first feature length documentary Untitled Pigeon Project (formerly Birdmen), which follows three men in south central Los Angeles and their passion for Pigeons. The project was inspired by her work on I Feel Stupid, and was a participant in the Film Independent Documentary Lab. 

We were first entranced by Simon Cottee’s gorgeous animation style when we featured his film, The Wedding, way back in 2013. Now, two years later, Mr. Cottee returns with The Duck, a poetic, visually stunning adaptation of Ben Loory’s story of the same name. Armed with Kickstarter backing and additional funding from Screen Australia, Cottee provides more of his signature watercolor style to convey a heartfelt, melancholic narrative. The visuals alone make this film striking—each frame like a painting that you would want to hang over your couch—but, it’s also an emotional journey: a parable for love, loss, and moving on.

The literal events of the film are quite simple. As the plot synopsis suggests our protagonist is a duck who is in love with a rock—an inanimate object that is incapable of loving him back. So, with the help of new friends, he sets out on a journey to throw it off a cliff that may or may not exist.

But, the film is also quite allegorical. You could parse the deeper meaning of the plot in any number of ways. For me personally, I took it as metaphor that one must work through his/her emotional baggage in order to see the opportunities right in front of oneself. In the case of the film, this is centered on the connection between the protagonist and the female duck. With the weight of the rock physically destroyed, he is able to see what was there all along.

The simple idea of a love or obsession towards something that feels unappreciated or impossible and the process of taking any action, whether it good or bad, to free yourself from it.

Cottee puts it far more eloquently. Communicating via e-mail, he writes: “I obviously related to the narrative, and it’s fairy tale qualities make it pretty universal for all of our respective baggage. The simple idea of a love or obsession towards something that feels unappreciated or impossible and the process of taking any action, whether it good or bad, to free yourself from it.”

I’ve already gushed over the visuals of this film quite a bit—but I’m especially taken with the design of the ducks. Their geometric shapes are a wonderful contrast to the beautifully composed, organic landscapes and backgrounds. This is complemented by a highly emotional score by Grammy nominated composer Austin Wintory (the music might be a bit heavy-handed for some…but I was absorbed by it).

Even with support from both the Kickstarter campaign and Screen Australia, the film took quite awhile for Cottee to put together. As he relates, “I used TVPaint animation software and sat in my bedroom for 1.5 years and slowly lost my mind (in a fun way). I had some assistance towards the end with the colouring from my animation buddy Toma Ward and the voice actors were local Brisbane writers, friends and lazily myself.”

Cottee’s 2D animation process is quite intensive—he never reuses a frame of animation and draws full, fresh bodies even for lip sync.  I think the hard work shows through, giving The Duck a look and feel that surpasses so many other short animations that have flooded online nowadays.

As for what’s next, Cottee states: “I’m now living in Montreal working with animator Malcolm Sutherland on all kinds of crazy things. I plan on starting my 3rd film next year so I guess I might see you all in another… 3 years or something.” Whatever it is, Mr. Cottee, we’re sure it will be worth the wait.

There’s no doubt that both “found footage” films and sci-fi teasers are severely played out in the short form. It’s a crowded field out there! But, leave it to director Neil Harvey—an Aussie talent who turned our heads a few years back with his archival footage/faux documentary about artificial intelligence, Robbie—to bring some much needed life to both of these respective niche genres.

With Detroit 2029, Harvey gives us something that is difficult to describe—it’s a stylistically arresting cocktail of archival clips, “found” footage, and narration that manages to explore some heady sci-fi concepts and world-building. It would be a hefty load for a feature film to carry, but a short? Well, let’s just say Harvey manages to wield all his tools deftly—giving us just enough “meat” to make this film stand on its own, but also leaving things open to a point where a feature version seems warranted. In other words, a perfect teaser.

For just a 7 minute film, it seems much longer (I actually mean that in good way). There’s a lot of rich ideas present here—from the nature of time to the preservation of one’s consciousness. These aren’t “new” ideas persay, but they are presented in a new fashion, giving life to what has long been drained by science fiction convention. The framework of the film—a distorted, hacked “thought log” of a military mission gone awry—is surprisingly engaging. It gives the film a sense of reality and immediacy; as a viewer you readily buy into the artifice. And, as the narrative evolves, you also form an emotional connection with the protagonist, elite soldier Tony Demayo. Like Robbie before it, Harvey’s real skill as a filmmaker is his ability to make us care about the flurry of edits and clips on screen. There’s a heart present in this film that pushes Detroit 2029 beyond just the science fiction concepts.

With this entry, it’s clear that Robbie wasn’t a fluke—Harvey is definitely a unique voice to reckon with in the sci-fi arena. Feature ambitions are obviously on deck. Let’s see if Mr. Harvey can indeed soar. Currently, repped by IAM Entertainment, we’re excited to see what he produces next.

Trying to capture the essence of life on film always feels like one of those impossible tasks – like trying to capture sunlight in a jar or deleting a U2 album from iTunes. Many have tried, most recently noteworthy directors Terence Malick and Richard Linklater, few have succeeded. The latest filmmaker to take an ambitious stab at capturing a slice of humanity (in this instance focusing on “growing-up”) in all its 4k glory is Mishka Kornai, with his 16-minute short Growth.

“Growing older is like a line because it never stops.”

As a fairly new member to the parenthood club, Kornai’s film feels like it’s doing what all us parents desperately try to do on a daily basis – capture the rapid growth of our children as they transform right before our eyes. Aiming to explore ‘the complexity, subtlety, and beauty of growing up’, Growth follows its subjects (75+ “unique” individuals) as they discuss their own personal theories on the aging process – from the innocence of youth to the fragilities of life.

Shot entirely from an overhead perspective, though this approach has already been seen in recent shorts Me & You and God View, Kornai’s use of this shooting technique feels like an apt and well-considered approach to his narrative. Whilst Jack Tew’s film used the unusual point-of-view to catalogue key moments in the relationship of a young couple and Billy Lumby’s short used it to place his audience in the mindset of his troubled protagonist, Kornai’s birds-eye camera view has an altogether different effect – the one of making you feel like a celestial being, looking down from the heavens above. Creating his striking cinematography by mounting his camera to either a crane or drone, Growth’s observational feel means his documentary not only takes on an impartial tone, but also makes you, as the viewer, feel as if you taken on the role of scientist watching organisms under a microscope – something that had obviously crossed the director’s mind when creating his film. “It struck me how similar different forms of growth are when viewed from above”, says Kornia in an interview on dolby.com, “urban expansion mirrors the growth of microorganisms. The patterns of blood vessels are almost identical to the flowing forms of rivers and tributaries. Even the distribution of city lights looks just like the veins of a leaf when seen from space”.

Though the filmmaker admits the shooting style came with its problems (long set-ups), it seems the positives of this approach, far outweighed the negatives – “The subjects we were shooting forgot all about the camera above them and so acted extremely naturally” says Kornia, “In fact, my crew and I tried to remain out of sight as often as possible; we used a wireless monitor and observed from afar….And for viewers, I find that the from-above perspective tends to make people more objective. When you see a person’s face onscreen, your subconscious tends to take over, drawing your attention to their race, their age, their physical appearance, and so on. When you’re viewing people from above, this new perspective helps eliminate opportunities for preconceptions and judgments. Viewers tell me they can easily place themselves in the scene they’re watching.”

If you’re a regular to Short of the Week, but don’t recognise the name Mishka Kornai, you might be surprised to learn you’ve probably seen his work before. Although his directorial work might be new to you, you may have seen his cinematography talents on show in our previously featured shorts Expo and Straight Down Low and with a string of Vimeo Staff Picked music videos and high profile commercials also in his back catalogue, Kornai is a filmmaker whose stock is rapidly rising. Be sure to keep up-to-date with his work at his website, or view some of his other work on his Vimeo page.

Los Angeles is the home of nice weather and big ole’ Hollywood dreams. It’s also the home of complete and utter bullsh*t. It’s a known stereotype that the City of Angels is full of phonies—people faking it until they actual make it, a land of sycophants and flatterers. But, even if you’re not embroiled in the morass of the entertainment industry, Jordan Firstman’s Sold. is bound to connect to you on some level. After all, don’t we all know people like this?

We were first introduced to Mr. Firstman’s work last year with The Disgustings, a cringe-inducing, LGBT festival darling about awful people saying awful things. And, with Sold. you can definitely sense some similar thematic and comedic roots. The humor is, again, cringe-inducing and awkward, but, whereas in The Disgustings we were just watching horrible people be horrible (something that grated on me personally), in Sold. there’s at least a sense of empathy for our pitiful protagonist, Neil (albeit, small). His neediness is so pathetic that it almost becomes endearing. He doesn’t need a script sale—he just wants someone to talk to, and even then, he can’t stop talking about what Hollywood culture has conditioned him to focus on. That in and of itself is an oddly heartbreaking message—people are people, and amidst all the schmoozing and cocktail parties, we really just need someone to love us back. Can a brother get a hug?

This isn’t the type of a film will that work for everyone. It adopts a similar structure and meandering pace as another SotW pick from this year, Funnel. But, like Funnel, it’s a film with a defined beginning, middle, and end, and the character of Neil (played by Firstman himself) is well-realized enough that he feels like more than just a caricature (even though he is definitely based on L.A. caricatures).

Firstman really is a triple-threat with a strong comedic voice—based on the style he has established with  Sold. and his previous work, we imagine he’ll be approached to direct bigger and more defined projects in the very near future. We just hope he has practiced his elevator pitch. 

Fresh from a high profile festival tour earlier in 2015, that saw his film play Annecy, Sundance & SXSW, Ryan Gillis has today released mysterious animated short film Palm Rot online. Created as his thesis film at the University of Southern California, Gillis’ 8-minute animation is a short with a strong visual style and a compelling narrative that feels as distinct and original as it is immersive.

“It was hard going, not the smartest way to write but it was fun.”

There’s a real cinematic feel to Palm Rot and it’s one of those films you could also easily imagine being just as successful as a live-action piece (although it would probably need quite a bit of FX work). However, whilst it’s hard not to be impressed with Gillis’ aesthetic, it’s in the story that this short really grips its viewers. With no real backstory provided, Palm Rot’s ambiguous narrative appears to never really be concerned with providing answers, but instead uses a somewhat vague storytelling approach to really leave its viewers intrigue bubbling and analysis (of what is actually happening) open. Eager to find out more about how his plot originated, Short of the Week spoke to Gillis to discover the source of Palm Rot’s storyline – “I was really struggling to write my thesis when the time came”, the director admits, “all I knew was that I wanted it to be set in my home-state of Florida, and I wanted it to have all of Florida’s hot, trashy beauty. I poured through old sketchbooks and notes, just putting different images together and seeing what kind of narrative it generated. It was hard going, not the smartest way to write but it was fun. I ended up settling on a story set around this yellow crate full of jars my brother once brought home from work. They were used to send flies into space and I always loved them. So I hammered away at this idea for a while – taking it down a million different paths until I had what I consider to be the only ‘aha-moment’ of the whole production: Rocket Palms. Ever since I moved to California I was sort of fixated on these palm trees that shed their fronds like coats around the trunk. It gives them a really distinctive silhouette, and they always looked like rockets to me. I never knew what to do with the idea until Palm Rot. Now I had the final shot of the film – a palm farm lifting off the ground, flying towards the moon – and the rest of the story fell into place.”

“I actually animated almost every shot in the order that they occur in the film.”

With his concept now formed, Gillis could now get to work bringing his tale of unexplained explosions and airborne Arecaceae to life. Taking a year and a half to complete, from coming-up with the concept to exporting the final piece, the director describes the 18-month process as “pretty solid labor”. “It took me 4 months to figure out what the film was going to be – and a month to storyboard it”, says Gillis, “I broke down a shot-list, made a schedule, and started animating. I animated on a 13″ cintiq in Photoshop, illustrated the backgrounds on paper, then composited everything in After Effects…I actually animated almost every shot in the order that they occur in the film. That puts a year of daily practice in between the first and last shots. I’m not sure anyone else can notice but it’s interesting for me to see a year of progress pass by in 8-minutes”. If you want to know more about the creation of Palm Rot, be sure to check out Gillis’ extensive production blog and animatic.

Currently storyboarding on a new Disney TV Animation called Pickle and Peanut, Gillis is also working on a new short, with fellow SotW alum Miguel Jiron, which he describes as “about chickens and exorcism and should be pretty weird!” – if their previous films are anything to go by, this will be a collaboration certainly worth keeping an eye on.

The fishbowl atmosphere of prisons have always provided an interesting filmic environment, and their tendency to be a hotbed for drama, violence and transcendence have captivated the cinematic imagination for decades. In this short documentary, Director Theodore Collatos strips everything back to the natural theme of the prison experience – quite simply, the concept of ‘doing time’. 

In cinema-verité style, we’re invited to eavesdrop into conversations taking place across three cells. Collatos’s technique of allowing us to hear the subjects’ voices (before seeing them onscreen) builds a sense of immersion, placing us as an invisible voyeur within the prison. The static positioning of the camera draws attention to facial nuances, movements, pacing and gestures that significantly enhance the dialogue. 

Time is actually a scene that didn’t make it into Collatos’s feature film Dipso, about a man who gets released from prison then attempts to reunite with his family and follow his dream of being a stand-up comedian. Collatos was compelled to cut the material into a short film, mainly because “I think the prison system is in major crisis and it troubles me how this country has made a prison-for-profit model out of our citizens. My hope was to explore the humanity of the prisoners rather than an exploitative, ‘Cops’ styled representation of people”. His approach is to construct stories in a documentary fashion, whereby the story is found in the editing in order to keep the film fresh and most of the conversations are improvised by the subjects. “The two Caucasian inmates had a more specific direction in mind as I wanted to explore the fact that the prison system houses many people who really should be in a mental health care facility and not in prison. The other pairings of inmates, I wanted to hear where their thoughts would go first before making a specific direction. I used an observational style because I wanted a freedom to occur with the non-actors and I think if you’re filming real close and in peoples faces, its more likely that you’ll affect their performance. I try and create an environment where people can speak freely and express themselves in any way they feel fit”. 

One could criticize Time on a narrative basis for not having a solid story arc with a beginning, middle and end, however the simplicity of the premise and the shoot, and the prevailing sense of drifting in and out of another world succeed in making the film strangely compelling. 

Theodore is currently working on four new projects; Tormenting the Hen a suspense film set in rural Massachusetts starring Theodore Bouloukos, a documentary set in Brazil, a feature satire about the marriage between two affluent 1% people and a short called Albatross, also based on the main character’s living circumstances.

Cutting his teeth on CollegeHumor Originals and other assorted, well-known sketch-comedy outlets, director/writer Paul Briganti is a voice to be reckoned with in the world of internet video. He’s a filmmaker with an impressive resume with credits ranging from Comedy Central to the Onion. And, now, he brings his South by Southwest selected film, Donald and Jess, to the hungry internet masses. Thank you, Paul. I’ll take seconds.

Funny and well-performed, Donald and Jess is a simple film—but that’s what makes me admire it so much. A single location, three actors, and an ill-placed sense of machismo make for a low-key, well-crafted comedic ride. It’s an interesting reversal on the “everyman hero” concept, wherein a schlubby plumber attempts to fight for a girl he’s just fallen for to disastrous results.

I’ve mentioned before how difficult it is to break down the minutiae of why comedy “works.” In the case of Brigante’s films (and the actors he utilizes), much of it comes down to perfect timing and line-reading. This short isn’t “joke-filled” and I’d imagine that on paper it might not even be all that hilarious. But, the way things are said and when they are recited just coalesces everything into a delectable joke-smoothie.

But, the comedy isn’t purely verbal either—some of the best punchlines are visual gags. This isn’t slapstick so to speak, but it’s hard to deny Briganti has a way of capturing a punchline within a frame. There’s a certain comedic joy in watching a Prius reverse in order for the driver to get out and start a fight. It’s this kind of directorial finesse that gives Donald and Jess it’s well-deserved acclaim. Moreover, despite the comedic shenanigans, there is still empathy present in this film. The characters are grounded and “real” enough that the whole thing doesn’t become an over-the-top improv “riff-off” where characters just stand around shouting at one another. To put it simply, we care about Ronald…*ahem*…Donald.

The acting, of course, is top notch. The film stars up and comers, Stephanie Allynne, Adam Lustick, and George Basil. It’s also beautifully lensed by cinematographer Matt Garrett. Obviously, we’re keen to check out more of Mr. Briganti’s work. And, unsurprisingly, he has a lot coming down to the pipe. He will be producing and directing two different shows for both MTV and TruTv, both of which are being put together through the production company Big Breakfast.

For more info on Paul Briganti and his assorted cinematic adventures, be sure to visit his website.