Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with this week's selection of short film fun. Hopefully you're just about one third into a lovely three-day weekend (or assuming you're not in the US - are having a badass weekend regardless). As BBQ fills the air, blockbusters fill the megaplexes, and the temperatures continue to rise - summer is here and it brings with it the perfect relaxed setting to have fun, to explore the outdoors, to eat a snow cone, or hang around the house soaking up as much A/C as possible and watching badass short films from around the planet. I've got no snow cones, but I do have a handful of short films I think you ought to check out. Below we have Grindhouse style faux trailers, loads of ass-kicking action, and some images that will haunt your dreams (or happily linger with you for weeks, sickos). We have a lineup of all sorts of films today, so if you're got roughly 45 minutes to yourself - then do yourself the solid of giving each one a look. As always, each of the shorts below were made by a team of passionate folks who likely put in a lot of effort to bring their stories to life - so full screen each one, crank the volume up, and give each short your eyes for a bit. The best and worst thing about shorts is that... they're short. If you're thinking within the first minute "this might not be for me..." well, wait a few more and the film will likely be over, having just a little bit more time to twist and turn and win you over. On the flipside, I've found hundreds of short films that have hooked me and won me over within their short run time that have left me dying to see more. Since I've got no clue how many folks are out there in the AICN audience, or what each and every person's tastes are - I just hope you have fun here and get the opportunity to see a film you just wouldn't have otherwise. So let's jump on into this cinematic fiesta, 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!
SHACKLED
TRT: 11:08
Boom! Our first film of the day stars Khaleesi herself, Emilia Clarke, in a film from Director/Producer Nour Wazzi. "Held captive by a circus, Malu is frantically rescued from her shackles by her husband. As she waits anxiously in the darkness for her chance to escape, a disturbing truth she's hidden away seeps back in." SHACKLED is a gorgeously shot (Cinematography by Sam Care), creepy, and impressive film that deserves an audience as big as it's lead's acting capabilities. I'm a huge fan and can't wait to see what more Wazzi chooses to create! To get more info on the film and from the production company, check out the short's Facebook Page as well as the Facebook Page for Panacea Productions!
Shackled from Nour Wazzi on Vimeo.
MISS NOBODY
TRT: 14:47
Next up is a film that features a scorned assassin on the hunt for revenge! Adam Hodge brings us an intense 14 minutes of awesomeness starring Gia Franzia and Jim Nieb. The film very much feels like a slice of late 80's action pie, though stays in the present perfectly as it doesn't dip a little too much into cheese territory. Hodge made the film as a proof of concept for a much, much larger feature version - so hopefully he gets that opportunity! If you like what you see, then be sure to check out Hodge's Up In A Tree Films Youtube Page!
I HATE MONDAYS
TRT: 12:37
SATURDAY SHORTS alumnus Matt Glass (GOOD MORNING and CITADEL) is back with his latest film, a "strange dark office comedy thing" that feels like a cartoon that was shoved into the real world, a funny and colorful flick that keeps your eyes glued to it from start to finish. "Stanley Edwards has a bad day at work, where Mondays never end." Matt wrote the film, created its music, and co-directed it along with Jordan Wayne Long. Matt is as talented as his films are bizarre, so be sure to check out his website and see what else the guy's got going on!
JEFFERSON
TRT: 2:40
Jon Kovel has our next bit of chaos, a Gridhouse style trailer a la THANKSGIVING featuring a zombie Thomas Jefferson. "A zombie Thomas Jefferson rises from the grave and slaughters a bunch of un-patriotic teenage punks." Sounds about right. Kovel's creation is part of Eli Roth's Crypt TV station/channel/thing on Facebook. I've had the opportunity to feature quite a few of the Crypt TV shorts here and hope to continue as there's an enormous wealth of talent that circles around that page, an array of folks from all over who are just as demented in some form or fashion as Roth.
MARY'S PASSION
TRT: 1:57
To finish us off, let's check out a film that's a little... sacrilegious. My religious/spiritual thoughts practically follow the words of Bill and Ted, and don't go much deeper, so I'm a little cloudy on what's kosher to poke fun at and what is off the table. Filmmakers Yael Messing and Asaf Geva seem to have a healthy bit of humor (or are just twisted individuals with talent) as their short is like a Pixar flick that happily flies off the rails. "An innocent nun enters the wrong movie." Check out more of Asaf's work on his Vimeo Page!
Mary's Passion from asaf geva on Vimeo.
There we have it, ladies and gents - this week's selection of films I think you might enjoy. I hope I was able to bring you a film (or five to be honest) that you really got a kick out of. It's filmmakers like the individuals above who keep SATURDAY SHORTS alive, so if you've got a cool idea for a film that you're dying to make - go make it! Go make something no one has ever seen before, just make sure to hit your pal Muldoon up when it's online! I'll see you all next week, though in the mean time feel free to check out past articles:
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
SATURDAY SHORTS 2015
Hank & Honey: A Holiday Horror; Black Christmas; Grammy; Pick Ups (1/2/16)
Lilitu; Auld Lang Syne; Chronoshred; Ash Vs. Lobo Vs. The DC Undead (1/9/16)
Believe; The Dragon's Blade; Native Immigration; The Problem With Friends (1/23/16)
Harbinger; Hyperthermia; The Chickening; Head (1/30/16)
Erebus; Boldly Gone; Cupcakes; City In Crisis; Vandalaze "Great Big Things" (2/6/16)
Blurry; American Virgin; Azarkant; The Homing Bird; Sex, Lies, And Terminators (2/13/16)
Connected; Terry And Brenda; Fuck Buddies; Audrey; BigHead Walking Dead Parody (2/20/16)
Absence; The Adept; MAT ZO - "Sinful;" Dreamco; Hoot (3/12/16)
Pop Music; Tumble Dry Low; Rooms; Promise; Darth Maul: Apprentice (3/19/16)
Status Update; Kafka's Little Fable; Ghoster; I Got Your Nose; Creature Feature (4/2/16)
Steve; The Good Survivor; Field of Screams; Mirrored; Jack Edwards - "Falling In Love" (4/16/16)
Rest Stop; The Technician; Romp; Who's There?; If Joke & Harley Quinn Were A Normal Couple (4/23/16)
Trial; Star Struck; Color TV, No Vacancy; Notifications On; One Sunny Day (5/14/16)
You Are Not Alone; Giraffe Soup; Brother; Bury Tomorrow - "Last Light"; Rain (5/21/16)
The Group; The Trap; The Echo of Small Things; Alison Blaire - "The Sight of Sound"; James (5/28/16)
Blinking Lights; Dédalo; Invisible; Identity Crisis (6/25/16)
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
