Urbanworld Film Festival 2024

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Directed by by Frank Sputh, Bin Martha, Kolumbianerin (I'm Martha, Colombian) is a slowcumentary, the nearly three-hour portrait of a young Afro-Colombian woman, a slow, closely observing documentary.

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Perspectives directed by Neer Shelter has qualfied for the 2024 Academy Awards

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FYC: Academy qualified short film 'Perspectives' directed by Neer Shelter | Oscars Shortlist

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Rent Abyss: The Greated Proposal Ever, a short film made with a diverse cast & crew working together to tell a story about Love, Friendship and PTSD! This urban military homecoming drama is a candid glimpse into the troubles surrounding a U.S. Army Sergeant who gets stranded by SEPTA in the inner city when a wild marriage proposal shakes up his plans to reunite with the only family he knows. 

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Entries in Behind the Scenes (104)

Friday
Jun082012

Director Amir Motlagh discusses Shooting on Canon 5D, Hopelessness and his ‘35 Year Old Man’ #indiefilm

35 Year Old Man directed by Amir Motlagh

An exciting weekend is upon us, as the 12th Annual deadCenter Film Festival is screening “35 Year Old Man,” a short film about a guy named Greg who, as the synopsis points out “turned 35 two days ago. Yesterday, he bought a toaster and cleaned the fridge.”

In a recent interview with “35 Year Old Man” director Amir Motlagh, I found out that the tiniest discoveries can lead to overcoming obstacles, his thoughts on whether age matters or not and also learned that just because short films have a small runtime doesn’t meant that they took 48 hours to complete.

Madlab Post: Does the online availability of “35 Year Old Man” hinder your opportunities to screen at film festivals? If not, have you found the festival circuit helpful in attracting online audiences?

Amir Motlagh: Yes it certainly does to some festivals. In fact, a couple have disqualified us, but gladly taken the money. In truth though, this film was never intended for the festival circuit and was going to be a “straight to web” release. We decided in the end to go both routes, and send it out to a couple fest’s and see if they wanted to premiere it concurrently with a web premiere, and sure enough, a couple festivals did.

So now, we will see if these things help one another. I’m not so much interested in how many views the project receives, but more so, how it affects those who do find it. Its far too gloomy to be viral, although Dailymotion did pick it up for a staff pick.

Greg’s delightful observation at the end of “35 Year Old Man,” about sleeping, appears to shine a ray of light on his generally somber existence. Was that part of the story intended to motivate audiences in some way, where their own lives are concerned?

It’s the tiniest of sparks that lead to overcoming great obstacles, so even in Greg’s great depression, there is a point of hope, even though, the form of this hope still lies outside his immediate realm of control. If this film elicits self reflection for an audience member, it might be a good start for action if you identify wholeheartedly with Greg’s circumstances.

Is 35, or any age for that matter, just a number? Or, is it MORE than a number?

35 is relative. This certain angle of hopelessness can occur at any age, probably starting at your teens and on. However, I chose this particular age for the film because I think that this is nearing that neighborhood where societal demands evert those extra arduous forces screaming for stability and responsibility that carries on ad infinitum.

(l-r) Actor Bob Turton & Amir Motlagh

What did you shoot on and how long did the production last?

This was an extremely small production. It was shot on a Canon 5d and a Nikon d7000 with a variety of different lenses. From principal photography to wrapping post, in all, it took around 5 months. The time could have been cut in half with a heftier budget, but I couldn’t have wished for better help.

What advice would you have for 30 year-old aspiring actors who were in Greg’s position six years ago and have plans to move to Los Angeles to further their careers?

Honestly, it’s probably easier to pursue a career as a working actor in your 30’s, then in your 20’s. For one thing, most people have moved on to something else once the dream of stardom has waned. But its certainly not for everyone, and the more kids and or family obligations you have, the harder I assume it is.

I would suppose that acting is not as centralized to Los Angeles as it once was, so, if you are doing great where you are, and happy with the type of work you are doing, do you have to move? But if you do move, the only real advice is to stay focused, do not let cynicism take over, stay hungry, starve doubt, and don’t hate your city.

(l-r) Cinematographer, Lisa Gallo & Actor, Bob Turton

On managing to make a living and still being able to continue to make more films despite the fact that his work is often available online -- in an expensive industry where many other filmmakers are trying to break even and/or pay back their investors....

“I've had great support along the way, but the direction I'm heading is different then the one I've paved. -- I spent a fruitful many days experimenting with new technology and its subsequent altering of the traditional filmmaking process. But whereas I had a deep love of the fringe, I don’t so much identify with that world anymore. I’m looking for that audience, whereas I never minded one before. And this mindset alters everything.

I guess you find a way to make it work for you, if that's what you really want to do. At this point, since my company owns most of my works, I can put them online. I was tied into some distribution deals over the years, but most expired in the last couple years, and I'd rather have the work accessible to those who find interest in them....”

- Amir Motlagh

Want to know more? Check out my companion interview with Amir Motlagh, on the deadCenter Film Festival and other goodies!

“35 Year Old Man” written and directed by Amir Motlagh is screening this weekend in the deadCenter Film Festival’s “Rated ‘R’ for Ridiculously Awesome Shorts” program.

Saturday, June 9, 2012 at 7:30pm and Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 8:15pm

Both screenings are being held at the IAO Gallery in Oklahoma City, OK.

Don’t live in or near Oklahoma City? That’s ok too. You can still watch “35 Year Old Man” HERE.

Sunday
May202012

In a Jude Law State of Mind - Case of The Never Ending Screenplay Part 1 #indiefilm #shorts #actors

 

I’m channeling the wisdom of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" star Jude Law this weekend, to get a short film script ready for what I hope will be the final draft stage. I have a feeling, however, that there's probably more work to do before reaching that point. It’s been too damn long -- I mean, I expected to have this thing done, especially now that January has come and gone.

The story was simple enough but then I altered the script outline a bit to try to make it more interesting. Afterward, I got bored and was no longer interested in making the whole darn thing. Then, I went back to square one, with plans to just make a straight-to-video flick that I could sell, regardless of whether I was interested in the movie or not.

In April, I lost enthusiasm for taking the script from first draft to final draft and these days, I’m taking the story in a whole new direction after coming up with some ideas that I actually like, to finally create a workable script that could be both simple, yet interesting. So, what does this all have to do with Jude Law, you may be wondering? Well, I recently came across three quotes from this Tony and Oscar nominated actor, that reminded me of what making movies (especially independent films, in my case) is all about -- more specifically, what needs to be the motivation for writing the script.

Since a screenplay is the very foundation for which films are based upon, if I’m not enthusiastic about creating the story on paper, how in the world am I going to find excitement in shooting it?! So, any movie for which the writer has no motivation to complete is doomed from the start. Now don’t get me wrong, producing artificial enthusiasm for a movie CAN be done, at any stage of production for that matter -- but is it worth it in the end? No way! Or, at least not according to Jude Law, where his acting is concerned.

Photo: People Magazine
“The only film I ever made for money was something called Music From Another Room, which I really didn't like.” - Jude Law

This reminds me of one of the most expensive short films I’ve made to date, which serves as a lesson to not make the same mistake twice. The irony is that I lost money on this particular film rather than making dough and also ended up with a film that brings me all sorts of frustrating and annoying memories on top of that. I thought that by making a film that I could use to raise money for the one that I really wanted to make, I didn’t have to exactly be attached to the end result.

Similar thoughts crossed my mind while hitting mental roadblocks on the first draft of my current script -- “I don’t need great ideas for this, so long as I cast at least one actor who can attract sales based on who he or she is -- hell, this person doesn’t even have to have acting experience. The guys from The Skorpion Show on YouTube has a huge audience. Problem solved!” Thank goodness I knew that this was a destructive path to follow and thus, started trying to find a story angle that I at least find attractive enough to hold my attention while I work on the remaining scenes.

Therefore, being focused on a straight-to-video ending is not going to improve the script that I have right now nor will it suddenly make me fall in love with a story that I dislike. What good is earning money on a film that you wouldn’t champion at every chance you get or even defend against critics?! -- which brings me back to the basic point that focusing on an end result only serves as a distraction while I put together a screenplay that I don’t even care about. Solution: Make sure you like the script before moving on to the next stage.

Read part two, which includes another Jude Law quote and more scriptwriting observations!

Did YOU know that Jude Law was injured on the set of “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” leaving him with a broken rib?

If someone paid YOU $1 million to make a film based on a script that YOU loathed, would YOU do it?

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