Hello ladies and gentlemen, your pal Muldoon here with an incredible lineup of shorts you might want to check out. Each Saturday I typically screen five films and for some reason this week my inbox has genuinely been on fire with great film after great film. (Something in the air?) Below are a few shorts I've been following casually online for the last few months that have just become available online, as well as a few films that I had no clue existed until the filmmakers emailed me. It's an honest mix of great visuals, rich stories, and a dash of humor - perfect for a lazy Saturday/Sunday. If you are a filmmaker and you've sent me a short in the last week, but don't see it here and 5,000% feel it belongs here - relájate - chances are it will be up next week. When this sporadic influx in submissions happens, my instant reaction is "share them all this weekend!," but then I catch myself and realize if I did... it'd be cheating them all a little bit as realistically it's more difficult for folks to slice out two hours of viewing on a weekend vs just one. We're all busy and it's important to me that each week when you watch what films I'm able to share, that you give them each a fair shake. It's true, some are more polished than others. Some scream "planning, financing, and a large crew" while others are "we did this in one day" and filled with unfiltered talent. Whatever the case, this week's selection has reminded me of how cool this thing we've got here is - a forum for fun films from filmmakers in the AICN audience. So let's jumo right on in!
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:
BLINK
TRT: 18:43
Boom! Right out of the gate we've got an incredibly visceral film from visionary director (and comic book artist) Diego Latorre. You might remember a few years back when I posted the teaser for this short and in the time since it has screened at a wide array of fantastic festivals around the world. The film's just utterly bizarre and filled with gorgeous imagery that utilizes every inch/pixel of the frame. I'm a fan and can't wait to see what Diego does next.
BLINK from Diego Latorre on Vimeo.
SAFARI HEAT
TRT: 5:21
Directors Antti Laakso and Simo Ruotsalainen have our next short, a stop-motion masterpiece, a slice of 80's cop dramas set in Cape Town. The animation is stunning, honest artistry in the flesh (clay?), and with a fun storyline to back up the nice visuals... I love it! It's pure imagination one frame at a time. "They Came For Our Minerals. Denny must choose his side as key witness in the biggest court case in Cape Town history."
Safari Heat from antti laakso on Vimeo.
HIPSTA SHIT by Timmy Trumpet & Chardy ft The Bondi Hipsters
TRT: 4:17
Next up, an insane music video from director Dan Reisinger. As an Austinite, you can't walk a block without catching some trustfund kid with a handlebar mustache, tight pants, a mocha latte in one hand, and a collection of vinyl records in the other. Okay, that might be a stretch, but hipsters... they're everywhere, and chances are they where there before location X was cool. Dan Reisinger's provided the perfectly playful fantasy of those out there with violent tendencies or those who get annoyed when interacting with hipsters. This video is so right up my alley. It's fun. It's fresh. It's kind of like Lonely Island, but a little darker, and it's catchy... "Have you got anything gluten free" will be burned into my ears for the next week. Fair warning, this is definitely NSFW (violence, nudity, and drug use).
NSFW HIPSTA SHIT by Timmy Trumpet & Chardy ft The Bondi Hipsters from Director DANIEL REISINGER on Vimeo.
FOR ANNABELLE
TRT: 4:48
Up next is a morbidly good film from Peter Mackie. "A lovelorn writer pens his suicide letter and hangs himself. What happens next is a cruel twist of fate. Shot on 35mm." It's monotone, calculated, and beutifully shot - all while dancing around a horrendous premise. Suicide is not funny. Peter's short digs into the tragedy of the concept of taking ones own life while taking a step back from the inherently seriousness of it all. Fair warning, this film might punch you in the kidney emotionally. Solid job, Peter.
FOR ANNABELLE from Peter Mackie on Vimeo.
THE CLOSET
TRT: 2:29
To close us out for the week we've got a short from Erin Gould and Minimum Wage Entertainment. This short was actually created for the Project Greenlight competition, a show I'm very much down with (something that invites creativity). With not-so-subtle nods left and right to Spielberg, Gould captures an energy that feels cinematic/larger than life with just himself, a camera, and his family. Utlimately, this short is just fun. Check out Erin's website if you want to see more from the guy!
THE CLOSET from Minimum Wage Entertainment on Vimeo.
Okay ladies and gents, that's it for this week. I'm absolutely certain next week will be incredible, so until then "Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!" Check out any link below to be transported back in time to a land of kickass shorts you might have missed.
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)
Grand Zero; Gummi; Dave Ruins Wedding; Andras Ostrom - Massive Sonata; Thoughts (9/5/15)
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
