Back in the Saddle

First day of pre-production. It feels good to be back. Sometimes you don't realize how much you really miss something until you go back to it.

Interesting things that happened today: learned that our 1st AD is also a drag queen on the side and our line producer makes an excellent vegan chili which she made the crew for lunch today. These are the types of things you encounter outside of Los Angeles and I love it.

The Other End of the Line

I just watched Jonas Cuaron's short film ANINGAAQ. It's the other side of the call Sandra Bullock has in GRAVITY. I will admit that I wasn't a huge fan of either films, but I do think they are both quite beautiful. The short got me thinking of those times in life when you are feeling really distressed and somehow find yourself connecting or almost connecting with a stranger. While I think 99% of those times usually don't involve one person stuck on a damaged space station somewhere in orbit, it can still feel like that when you are all alone.

I remember one time being super depressed about life. I was home alone in my apartment and feeling pretty shitty and hopeless, when the phone range. I picked it up and it was a total stranger. Someone who was feeling totally hopeless and shitty too. He just wanted to connect with someone. He needed to reach out. Maybe if I hadn't been feeling the way I was I could have been a shoulder. But I just couldn't. I felt pretty awful when I told him that. He understood, or at least said he did, and we hung up. Then I crawled into the fetal position and bawled my eyes out.

I play this moment over in my mind sometimes. I don't know what that person on the other end of the line was going through and I don't know how it played out. I hope that I didn't make it worse, but I also feel like I wasn't going to make it better. I did understand how he felt. Sometimes you can't reach out to the people closest to you. Sometimes there is no one to reach out to. Sometimes you just need to hear it's going to be okay, but there isn't anyone to tell you that.

Anyway, this short made me think of that moment. What's yours?

In Honor of My High School Boyfriend

As a teenager I hung out with some pyromaniacs. Maybe that's why "Dead Man's Lake" appeals to me. Firework obsessed teenagers in Metallica t-shirts are something I know a little bit about. I personally never lit off more than a roman candle and (one time) an M-80, but I was around enough to realize the fact that we still have all our fingers has more to do with luck than smarts.

In honor of stupid teenagers everywhere here is a horror film that could easily also work as a public service announcement.

"Dead Man's Lake" - Short Horror Film (Bloody Cuts) from BloodyCuts.co.uk on Vimeo.

Now That's a Father That Loves His Kid

With Fall in the air (finally) and Halloween just around the corner, it seems only fitting to share a short film that fits the spooky spirit of the season while also showcasing the intense feelings of parenthood. It's an emotional film about a father trying to protect his child. It's odd to say I was really touched by this zombie film, but I was.

Cargo from Daniel Foeldes on Vimeo.

3 Things Worth Watching

Sometimes the best short films aren't traditional shorts at all.

(1) Flying Lotus "Until the Quiet Comes" played at the Sundance Film Festival this year. While it has the feel of an experimental short film, it was originally created as companion piece for an album release. The score is a compilation of music from the album it accompanies. It's an absolutely gorgeous film that effectively makes you want to go out and buy the album but also makes you think and feel.

 

Flying Lotus - "Until The Quiet Comes" from WHAT MATTERS MOST on Vimeo.

(2) I find myself getting choked up when I watch commercials, more than I would care to admit. When I was pregnant, I think I cried like a baby every time I saw that ad where the dad loses photos of his newborn son but then realizes they're all saved in the cloud.

Then sometimes there are ads that almost work better as short films than they do at selling products. The fact that this is an ad for a Thai telecommunications company is almost an after thought to me. Try not to get choked up when you watch it. It doesn't matter that conceptually I've seen this story a million times before, it's still done so well that I cried when I watched it on my phone while sitting in my car in a Home Depot parking lot. 

(3) While this last one isn't really a short film either and ironically is actually longer than the other two, it tells an interesting story with very little. It starts off slow, but it's worth sitting through. Both a creepy and beautiful little experiment that melds the facial structures of different family members to shows the process of aging. 

Danielle from Anthony Cerniello on Vimeo.