Category: raves

DC Shorts Mini-Review: Corner Plot

For anyone who lives in the sprawling metropolis of Washington, Corner Plot is a fascinating documentary.  Would you believe that someone owns a one-acre farm in the middle of Silver Spring? Charlie Koiner does. He’s 89-years-old and produces a cornucopia of produce from his tiny plot of land, just blocks from the Metro.

Corner Plot is a really effective short work because the filmmakers paid attention to the story of Koiner, showing how farming has kept him young and engaged with the community. More strident documentarians would’ve taken the occasion to lecture the audience on environmental themes but Ian Cook and Andrew Dahlman are smart enough to let their subject do most of the talking. They allow they audience to come to the conclusion that local farms are critical to community life, vital to people like Koiner and the people of Silver Spring.

Corner Plot won for Outstanding Local Film at the DC Shorts Film Festival. You can see it for free on September 23 at Little Miss Whiskey’s. Look for more screenings throughout the year.

DC Shorts Mini-Review: Manual Practico del Amigo Imaginario (The Imaginary Friend Practical Manual)

Superhero movies have been done to death.

However, superhero imaginary friends – that’s not been explored before and is the subject of Manual Practico del Amigo Imaginario (The Imaginary Friend Practical Manual). This Spanish film won the Audience Choice Award at the DC Shorts Film Festival.

I was at the DC premiere for this hilarious short film. From the opening scene, the audience was howling. The movie begins with a conference of imaginary friends, all of whom have been rejected by the children that once loved them. One man – Captain Kiloton – has managed to remain the imaginary friend of man for more than twenty years. He explains how he’s been successful to a motley assemblage of rejectees, a motivational speaker for the imaginary friend set.

Back in the real world, 27-year-old Fernando is being pulled away from Captain Kiloton by a new love interest. Can he grow up and keep Kiloton? This dilemma is neatly (and sweetly) wrapped up in this very funny mockumentary.

DC Shorts Mini-Review: Touch

A scene from Touch

Here’s another mini-review of one of the many great films that were a part of the DC Shorts Film Festival.

Despite our affluence, Americans suffer from record levels of depression. People feel disconnected from life, even in the midst of busy urban environments.

What’s missing? Jen McGowan examines this problem in her film, Touch. It’s a simple setup – two women on a train platform. Lily Knight’s performance in this short is amazing. The camera is close on her face for nearly the entire film and she communicates incredible suffering, nearly wordlessly.

We never learn why she is in pain. But, following a chance encounter with a stranger, we discover what she has come to the train platform to do.

In the Q&A session following the screening of Touch, director McGowan explained that finding her lead actor was the hardest part in making this movie. She looked for months until she saw Knight, who had a bit part in another film.

Touch is a beautiful short that demonstrates the power a simple act of kindness can have on someone’s life.

DC Shorts Mini-Review: Enter the Beard

By no means did I see all 97 films at the DC Shorts Film Festival. But I saw a lot and got to meet to some of the filmmakers as well.

I’ll be posting “mini-reviews” of what I liked, from what I saw.

One of my favorite films was Enter the Beard. Audiences enjoyed it too – this documentary won Filmmaker’s Favorite and Audience Choice awards.

Enter the Beard is a very funny look at an odd American subculture – men who grow elaborate and enormous beards and then compete against other men in the World Beard and Mustache Championships. (One of the few women in the film pointed out how odd it was that men would groom themselves and then walk down catwalks, like hirsute supermodels.)

It would be easy to just present these men and their oversized facial hair as freaks yet the documentary is empathetic and amusing. Much of this humor comes from Charles Parker Newton, our guide to this world of beards and mustaches. He’s engaging and funny, with the charisma of a cult leader.

I talked to him for a bit at DC Shorts, outlining my inability to grow the Grizzly Adams beard of my dreams. He faulted my lack of commitment and, with a roaring speech, convinced me that I should spend the next six months growing a kickass beard. It made sense at the time.

After all, what’s more American than following your dream? Even if your dream involves doing nothing, of just deciding not to shave anymore.

ENTER THE BEARD, THE TEASER from Matt Lawrence on Vimeo.

DC Shorts – My Picks

This year, I’ve been more involved with the DC Shorts Screenplay Competition (coming in October) than the actual film festival. Still, as an Executive Judge for the festival, I did get to see some of the films that were selected for inclusion in DC Shorts. I’m also familiar with a couple of the directors or heard about the buzz. So, these are my picks – the films that I am looking forward to seeing:

Expiration – Are you one of those people who doesn’t worry about expiration dates on food? You should.

Sunday Punch – The trailer is sexy and it looks beautifully shot.

L1feline – I’ve read scripts by the writer of this short, Anthony Greene, and really liked them – he’s got a great ear for how people really speak.

Snowpocalypse: Day 6 – A one-minute long film about the big DC snowstorm? I’m intrigued.

Bagged – Is this comedy about a woman who falls in love with a purse stereotypical or way too honest? There was a lot of discussion about this one among the judges.

Easy Made Hard – The script for this urban drama was a finalist in last year’s DC Shorts Screenplay Competition. I saw it read during the DC Shorts live screenplay reading. It’s riveting and I can’t wait to see the film.

Manual Practico del Amigo Imaginario (The Imaginary Friend Practical Manual) – A nearly twenty-minute long comedy from Spain about a 27 year-old and his imaginary friend. Unusual films like this are why I love DC Shorts.

Each of these shorts is part of a longer showcase of films – two hours worth of short films from around the world. You’re bound to find something you like.

Looking for Actors? Try Stonehenge

You can’t make a movie without actors. Whether you’re making a short or a feature, you need talented performers to bring your story to life.

One easy way to find a bunch of them is Stonehenge, a “speed-casting” event. In it, actors perform a short monologue before an audience of filmmakers. Monologues are filmed so you can see what the actors look like on camera. They are also required to bring in headshots so that you can contact them afterwards.

I attended Stonehenge several years ago. I was part of a 48 Hour Film team looking for actors. We sat in the audience like Hollywood bigshots as a new actor came in every fifteen minutes and performed their monologue. We selected people for our film, as did other 48 Hour teams.

During this all-day casting event, you can see up to 100 actors. The event is open to independent producers and student filmmakers so it’s a great way to find the perfect actor for your production.

Registration for filmmakers is open now; registration for actors starts on August 28.

Urban Exposure Exhibition

Four of my photos were selected for the Urban Exposure exhibition at the Carriage House Gallery and Studio. Photos in the exhibit documented the “changing urban landscape of our capital” and included one of my favorite photographers of all time, Matt Dunn.

Urban Exposure was curated by the DC Photo Coop, which aims to provide a workspace and gallery for area photographers with a focus on the D.C. urban landscape.

The exhibition is over now but here are the photos I had in it:

the musician

pawn shop

police car and crowds

Friends

DC Shorts Tickets on Sale

I wrote a brief story for the Pink Line Project mentioning that tickets are now on sale for the DC Shorts Film Festival.

It’s a festival that I’ve been involved with for years and is definitely worth attending. The films are interesting, you can meet the filmmakers, and the parties are awesome. Plus, it all happens downtown, in the Penn Quarter. I’ve had a blast over the years – I’ve met incredibly creative people in a casual atmosphere.