Hello ladies and gentlemen, your pal Muldoon here with this week's picks - five short films from all over that are sure to rock your world. I hope you all are at home, relaxed, and ready for a nice long weekend filled with BBQ. If you're looking to relax and lose yourself in a few "out there" shorts, then you've come to the right place. Each week I'm lucky enough to screen a handful of short films from all over the world with unique visions and insane sitautions. 99% of the time I'm emailed a given film directly from the short's creator - how cool is that? While I understand the role of a PR company sending out a blanket email to see which bloggers out there will bite, it really is a pretty cool reminder of how grounded most of the films here are. These are films that came about by passion and vigor, not sponsored or given budgets from an outside source. What you see here each week is a kickass reminder that if you've got a cool idea for a film - act on it and go make something. As long as I'm around, I hope to continue to bring you inspired shorts each week, an open forum of filmmakers and folks who just want to watch movies. There are no behind-the-scenes programming politics, duration limitations, or specific genres your film has fall into here - I just want to see great stories from untapped creatives. Each Saturday we get to check out a selection of budding talent, something slightly unfiltered. That's exactly what I've got lined up today, an onslaught of insanity. (I'm talking "fish with legs" style crazy.) So let's cut the jibber-jabber and start watching a few films, 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:
GRAND ZERO
TRT: 13:59
To kick this week off right, we've got an incredible film from Kevin Oeser that perfectly desrcibes what "is not a pyramid scheme." The performances across the board are top notch, and you just might recognized a few faces. Oeser's GRAND ZERO premiered at this year's Cinequest and has been a beast of a short on the festival circuit, so it's great to finally get to screen it here for the AICN audience. "It's not a cult. It's America. A family man returns to his hometown to discover that he's the last person in town who's not part of a legendary pyramid scheme. And everyone-- EVERYONE-- wants him in." If you want to know more about Kevin, then fly over to his super densely packed website or perhaps check out the producer's site.
GRAND ZERO from Kevin Oeser on Vimeo.
GUMMI
TRT: 3:51
Next up is not a film for the kiddos, unless of course they've got incredible issues and your parenting skills are a bit questionable. Andre Albrecht has a film so head-scratchingly cool that it's hard to describe, while giving it the respect it deserves. "A young couple making love to each other. As the heat grows the lovers forget the world around them. But their love is ill-fated. An accident overshadows their intimate togetherness." Okay, okay... that synopsis sounds alright, but then realize this: "the main characters are love dolls." What plays below is four minutes of a well shot, artistically pornish love story with a beautiful score. Andre's one of those directors I'll be keeping an eye out for in the future. This silly idea could easily be fumbled in execution, but Andre seemed to navigate that tightrope of silly and something with substance. I'm a fan. Check out his website if you want to see what else he's got going on.
Gummi - short film from Andre Albrecht on Vimeo.
DAVE RUINS WEDDING
TRT: 2:16
Fergal Costello has our next film, a quick and fun short that reminds us never to invite Orcs to a wedding. (Orcist!) With a style similar to CLOVERFIELD, Fergal does a damn good job of shoving us into an awkward celebration via a wedding style behind the scenes video. It's raw, rough, and ultimately will leave you shaking your head (in a good way!). Dave is kind of an ass.
Andras Ostrom - MASSIVE SONATA
TRT: 4:26
Here we've got a music video that's packed with strange visuals. Straight from the writer/director/musician Andra Ostrom himself: “MASSIVE SONATA is based on Piano No. Sonata 23 by Ludwig van Beethoven. The music video features Ostrom in 18th century costume as he plays and dances his way through modern Los Angeles, searching for the girl from his dreams." It's fun and fanciful. Be sure to check out Ostrom's website if you are curious about his films and his music!
THOUGHTS
TRT: 1:38
Director Derek Milton, co-writer Mike Katz, and lead actor Cook Wayne have our last film of the week. It's a great short to leave you with, something to think about. It's weird as hell and oddly relatable, a film about inner-dialog. Be sure to check out Derek's Vimeo page to see what else he's got up his sleeves.
THOUGHTS from Derek Milton on Vimeo.
BAM! That's it for this week's selection of fun short films. I'll see you folks next week with another handful of great flicks. Hopefully you enjoyed these as much as I did. Remember, if you've got an idea that you're dying to make - there's nothing stopping you. Borrow a camera, plan it out, and shoot the hell out of it! Have a great week and a safe Labor Day!
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
The Off Season; Why Does My Girlfriend Text So Much?; Landscape; The Magician (1/3/15)
Atropa; Good Conduct; Ulla; Blackouts; Pizza And Bullets (1/10/15)
Vicki; Strange Thing; Kill The K-Cup; The Grandson; The Dark Walk Backward (1/24/15)
Leonard In Slow Motion; A Good Man Is Hard To Findl The Baker; Certified; Chloe (1/31/15)
Old/New; Alexia; The Beating; Temblor; Royal Blood "Out of the Black" (2/7/15)
Hibernation; Good Morning; Refrigerator; Bar Talk; A Lady & A Robot (2/15/15)
Fish Friend; The Outer Darkness (Part 1); Bus Stop; Don't Look There; Valentine (2/21/15)
The Gold Sparrow; The Brain Hack; Blood Drinker; Meet Your Maker; Al Pacino As Han Solo (2/28/15)
The Pavement; Breathe; The Black Rock Mountain; Plain Clothes; Whispers (3/7/15)
Sequence; Teasers; Static; I do; Point Of Interest (3/14/15)
Moonwatch; Robert's Circle; Tongues; No more Tomorrows; Slit (3/22/15)
Terminal; Windscreenwiperman; Ringo; Sunglasses; Sundays (3.28.15)
Trunk Troubels; The Last Time I Saw Richard; One Thousand Years; Tourists; Tides Of Change (4/4/15)
Moments; SBCR | The Grid; If One Plays Music; One In A Million; Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 4 (4/11/15)
Burnt Grass; Manicorn; Dear Friend; L'invitation Au Voyage (4/18/15)
Bad Guy #2; State Zero; No Help; Attack of the Brainsuckers; Super Mario Taken (5/23/15)
Predator: Dark Ages; Imprints; Back To The Fuhrer; Crime And Punishment (5/30/15)
Frames; Crow Hand; Streamline; Good Treatment; Remains; Scorpion Vs. Jason (6/6/15)
Dollar Night; A Modern Marriage; Hideaway; Jurassic World Trailer Parody (6/13/15)
Waterborne; Gotcher; Bloomers; Savage | Like Michael Jackson; A Killer Of Men (6/21/15)
The White Wolf; What You Can Burn; Pedal; Domestic Protocol; Grady Franey - Safe Word (6/27/15)
Meltdown; Blood From A Stone; The Gate; Memorize; Abe; The Visitant (7/4/15)
The Lamp; Time To Kill; Woodchuck City; A Good Fish; The Untrained (7/25/15)
Night Before The Morning Sun; Exit Strategy; DEADline Dawn; Derby City Rollergirls (8/22/15)
Whistle; Becoming; City In Crisis; Las Cosas Raras (8/29/15)
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
