It’s time for Live Action Short Video Contest mid-contest check in! Five busy filmmakers have taken the time to share the inside look at their creative films. Click the image or their film name to watch and vote for your favorite, and remember, you can vote for as many films as you like once a day for the duration of the contest!
Erykah Del Mundo
Film: Barrio Dos: Pintados *Warning violence
1. It’s the very first film / movement to promote Filipino Martial Arts from Filipino filmmakers.
2. It’s directed by a woman, who loves to show the voice of the unheard people of her culture.
3. Filipinos have our own Martial Arts and someday, the whole world will learn to appreciate and love it, the way they do with Japanese samurai cinema, China’s unrelenting Kung Fu culture and several other SouthEast Asian martial arts such as, Silat, Muay Thai, and many others.
Jon Du Toit
Film: American Drone
American Drone takes an uncomfortable look at the future of war: impersonal, detached and unclear. It also hypothesizes how easily cutting edge war tech like drones could be used for clandestine purposes, not only abroad but also at home, and raises questions about the limits of following orders. The film was produced entirely out of pocket, with generous help from friends and family. Shot handheld on cheap DSLRs, I emphasized story and character over technical gloss, although our VFX artist Flo spent countless hours tracking up to 10 green screens per shot. American Drone won the 2nd place prize in the Operation Paul Revere online film contest in 2013.
Thomas Scohy
Film: Wilson
Wilson is a tribute to Wes Anderson, a fan-movie directed by a French film making team. The story of Wilson, a guy who uses tricks to make decisions is fully original, but the entire movie takes place into Wes’ universe. You can find references to all of Anderson’s feature films, watch Wilson, watch it again and try to find out all the references it contains. We hope you enjoy.
Ashley Denise
Film: Viceroy * Warning violence and language
1. Viceroy started out as a film about a guy depressed over a recent breakup with his girlfriend. In this original version, throughout the course of the film, it is revealed that she was never actually his girlfriend, and that he is a stalker. That script wasn’t quite working, so it was set aside. One spring day in 2012, I was walking down the street, the sun was shining, and suddenly a new twist on the concept sprang to life. I called out of my day job so I could have a long weekend to write and finished the first 45-page draft in 4 days. The stalker concept is virtually non-existent in the final version of the film, but you can find it if you look carefully.
2. The original music score–which I love–was written by Jongnic “JB” Bontemps. We (Jongnic, Alexandria Lefkovits-Callaghan who is a good friend/actress/singer/songwriter, and myself) collaborated on Viceroy‘s original theme song, “The Road”. A large section of it plays throughout the montage sequence later in the film. A rock version of the same theme plays during the end credits. Both full versions of the song, along with 8 other pieces make up the official Viceroy Soundtrack, which is available for download on Bandcamp at https://nuanseentertainment.bandcamp.com/
3. Viceroy was the first official crowdfunding campaign I launched, and we were able to raise over $5500 thanks to all of the generous donors. They probably don’t realize how much they helped, but I am so thankful for all of them.
Jefferson Stein
Film: Tumble Dry Low
1. We filmed this with a small group of family and friends. For almost every person on set, it was their first film set.
2. This was 6 year old, Georgia Rose Bell’s first film.
3. We filmed the entire short without any film lights, using only natural lighting or lights that were part of the set.
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