Hello ladies and gentlemen, your pal Muldoon here with this week's selection of short films I think you might want to check out! Whatever your week's been like, chances are a bit of escapism will do you you right. That's what this week is, a lot of "whoa, what the hell?" style fun in the form of watching extraterrestrials doing drugs, seeing a gorgeous countryside on the other side of the globe, spending a day in the life of a puppet-man, and more. Whatver you're into, I think I've got you covered with this week's picks. "But Muldoon! It's Sunday you handsome Devil!, what gives with the 24 hrs of lateness?" Life, and the amount of hours in a day (plain and simple). Hopefully you still have a great time with these solids picks, finding something special and new that you just might not have seen otherwise. This column is a celebration of a damn cool medium we all seem to gravitate towards, so if you think a short here is special or stands out to you in a good way - feel free to throw some praise at it in the Talkbacks below. Or if you have a critique, that's cool too (just no need to be a jerk). So strap on in and take in the absurdity, the beauty, and badassness of the films below!
BROADHURST | "TAKE ME DOWN"
TRT: 4:01
Let's kick this week's selection of short films off with a music video from James Chappell. "But Muldoon, how can you start the week off with a music video rather than an actual short?" It's gorgeous, and I'm a fan of Chappell. It's a cool video to get you out of your own settings (unless you live in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, Australia). James is no stranger here, and after watching his video for Broadhurst - you'll know why. Check out more of his incredible work on his website!
BROADHURST | Take Me Down from James Chappell on Vimeo.
PRUNGEN
TRT: 6:53
Norwegian filmmakers Trista Namo & Fehl Roch have our next film. "A young German arrives in Oslo to spread his grandfather’s ashes, only to have his task complicated by unpleasant Norwegians and equally unpleasant surprises about his family past." It's something else, and contains puppets - which are always welcome here on SATURDAY SHORTS. The short plays alongside a track from Jaga Jazzist and combines puppets via slick compositing and a hell of a lot of planning. It's a solid short and has but Namo & Roch on my radar. To see more of their work, swing over to their site and pluck around!
Prungen from Trista Namo on Vimeo.
THE PARIS SYNDROME
TRT: 15:39
Enrico Ferri has our next film, a quality drama that features some damn fine performances from Alex Plouffe and Mishka Balilty. "The Paris Syndrome is a drama about a brother (Hank) and sister (Jackie) dealing with the recent loss of their family dog. Bereaved, they decide to attend a party to take their minds off the recent event. At the party, Hank and Jackie run into Joey, a former friend who is now employed as a janitor at the high school they attended as teens. Hank convinces Joey to let him into the high school after hours for a short time that night. While there, we witness a dark satirical scene play out." At just under sixteen minutes, this what I hope to find in a short film - something that feels contained and gets in/out without wearing out its welcome. I look forward to seeing more from Ferri.
The Paris Syndrome from Enrico Ferri on Vimeo.
FOXED!
TRT: 4:37
Oh hell yes is our next short something that will stick with you... It's deliciously demented and dark and will play upon your nostalgia for the old Rankin/Bass Productions films we've all seen numerous times. Director James Stewart has crafted something special here, a rather creepy film where each frame can easily be pulled out, framed, and placed on a wall. It's just damn cool. "When Emily is kidnapped by foxes and forced to work in the secret underground blue goo mines, she must use her determination to escape only to uncover the foxes' mysterious plan." Head over to the film's website and Facebook Page if you want to see some behind the scenes fun and get a little more info on the project!
FOXED! from James Stewart on Vimeo.
ECSTACY BOULEVARD
TRT: 5:21
Our last film of the week is a batshit insane "What the hell did I just watch?" film from Director Benjamin Allen and Producer Ricardo Quinones. It's unique, it's absurd, it's different in the sense that not many filmmakers would choose A) To tell this story and B) Tell it like this, with rich colors, fun masks, random(ish) cartoon graphics... It's just a fun five minutes of "What?" Make no mistake, this film is all over the place - it's just a fun way to spend five minutes. If, like me, you're curious to see more from Allen, then click over to his Stoopid Genius Studios site and see what else he's got going on!
BAM! That's it for this week, ladies and gents. I've got to get back to some lovely ADR fun on a project of my own - but enjoyed the hell out of putting up this week's lineup. There's so much talent in the above films, and each week here... It's like a weekly Christmas Morning for me - to glimpse at the imaginations of folks from all over the world. Okay, enough gushing... I'll hopefully see you all next week. In the mean time, feel free to click on 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)
Schackled; Miss Nobody; I Hate Mondays; Jefferson; Mary's Passion (7/2/16)
Swap; Ghostbusters: All Manned Up Edition; The Invisible Man; Sleep Tight; Defining Fay (7/10/16)
Carl; Flat Tire; Loree's Crazy 'Bout Kittens; Chum Zone II: Shark Fin Soup; Archetype (7/16/16)
The Chaplain; Bump CLassique; The Listener; Timelike; Fantasy Hospital Episode 4 (7/23/16)
Trial Run; Thick Air; First Date From Hell; Rise; God, Me And The Salty Peanuts; Graves (7/30/16)
Deathly; The Hope You Promised Love; Surrender; Crumb; Deep 6 (8/6/16)
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
