Eclipsing Expectations

📅 This Week on Short of the Week

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Rob proclaims that Argentian Iván Bustinduy’s short is the rare film that breaks through his jaded programmer mien to elicit genuine surprise. He writes that it “toys with audience expectations to create a tense and impactful viewing experience that leaves a lasting impression.” High praise!

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Joanny Causse employs an observational approach in documenting a French summer tradition, fascinated by the way these sites create “temporary microcosms of France." Céline handles our review and shares details on the team’s filming strategy which produced copious amounts of footage that was then shaped into the structure of a single day. Nostalgic and insightful, we’re proud to host the film’s World Premiere.

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A thoughtful short that utilizes the enclosed space of its setting and the nature of its protagonist’s artistic practice to “trap” audiences within her headspace, this short by Annie Ning, which debuted online as a Vimeo Staff Pick Premiere, is a unique and considered treatment of a feeling that nearly every creative is at least partially acquainted with.

🍿 New releases you’ve been enjoying…

We just mentioned Paul Trillo last week for his Sora AI video, but this week sees the prolific creator drop a poetic crowdsourced film from the pandemic era. Playing like an installation piece, the lack of narrative does not affect my affection for it, as the ever-changing glimpses into isolated human mundanity can be unexpectedly emotional if you open yourself to the experience.

Ryan Oligmueller also tells a very human story, utilizing a mix of animation, live-action, and archival footage to share this portrait of his mom and grandmother at the end of the latter’s life. Kyle Nelson writes in his comment:

Go deeper into the world of shorts by joining our Discord community! Share your work, get advice, ask support questions, and hang out with talented creatives from around the world.

🏛️ From the Archive: Souls of Totality

In October 2017, Jim Cummings turned me on to a remarkable film. He shared a link and all he said about it was “…that something happens in it and that it’s real.”

That something was an audacious filmmaking feat that far surpassed gimmick status. A love story set against the backdrop of a cult and starring celebrated actors and real-life couple Tatiana Maslany and Tom Cullen, the pièce de résistance of the short is a climactic scene directly timed to the total solar eclipse that took place two months earlier.

Duly impressed I reached out to its director, Richard Raymond, and while it was another year before we premiered the film on Short of the Week, online audiences adored it and were insatiably curious about how the director and his team executed their famous shot.

With another solar eclipse set to pass through the United States on Monday (the last for another two decades), I was reminded of the short and reached out to Richard to catch up:

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All these years later, what's one memory that sticks out for you from the making of the film?

What stands out is the extraordinary sense of adventure and camaraderie we shared. We were a group of friends, each contributing selflessly across various departments, camping in a field, buzzing with excitement about making the first film in cinema under a total eclipse. It was a wild adventure that reminded me of when I was a kid making films with my school friends on my dad’s video camera.

The film received an amazing reception upon release, what were some of the most exciting things for you?

The film’s reception exceeded our expectations, with its remarkable success at film festivals being a particularly thrilling experience. Witnessing audiences being captivated, especially during the immersive final sequence, was profoundly rewarding. Moreover, having filmmakers I’ve admired watch the film - such as Christopher Nolan, JJ Abrams, Denis Villeneuve, Damien Chazelle, Phil Lord, and Louis Leterrier - was an extraordinary honor, both personally and professionally.

What have you been up to since Souls?

Currently, I am producing ‘The Heart of the Beast’ alongside Damien Chazelle for Paramount Studios (Deadline), as well as collaborating with Pierre Morale on a script I co-wrote - ‘Freetown.’ Additionally, I am slated to direct two projects back-to-back by the end of this year, details of which I can’t yet share.

Do you think anyone will try to copy the idea this year? Or do you have a surprise sequel planned...? ^_^

There’s definitely interest in the concept of eclipse films, as I’ve been approached by several filmmakers for advice. It seems like a few will be shooting on April 8th. As for Souls of Totality, John Trefry (Producer of the film) and I have been developing it into a feature film. The main thing regarding that project is we don’t want it just to be a rehash of the short film. It needs to be something different that stands on its own feet. Watch this space!

Thanks Richard!

🔗 10 Things We’re Paying Attention To

1. Spermworld, a new series from Lance Oppenheim is available on Hulu/Disney+ now! Curious? Variety explains the project.

2. Another great Ben Proudfoot essay proselytizing short film. We published an Op/Ed from Ben in 2022 and he’s rapidly becoming the most prominent standard-bearer for medium.

3. We love Charlie Shackleton and Indiewire has an amusing story on the community that has emerged from the Letterboxd reviews of his 2016 protest film Paint Drying, a 10-hour film of…paint drying.

4. Everyone’s A Sellout Now is a perceptive essay from Rebecca Jennings on something all filmmakers experience nowadays—the omnipresent pressure to “build your brand”.

5. Joanna Vicente is out as the CEO of Sundance after only 3 years. Variety tries to read the tea leaves on what happened.

6. I think Shōgun is the best TV series in ages, so we’re super proud that S/W alum and recent Shorts Award juror Maegan Houang is the show’s Story Editor. She also scripted last week’s ep.6 which I think is the best yet. Listen to Maegan and her fellow series writer, Emily Yoshida, discuss the episode in this Instagram live-stream.

7. Fresh off the theatrical release of Molli and Max in the Future, Michael Lukk Litwak is doing a masterclass on Shorts-to-Features for Gotham. Sign up now for the session which takes place April 30th.

8. Our friends at The Video Consortium have a series I love called “The Pitch” which interviews outlets on how to best share your documentary films with them. The latest edition covers the prominent US public broadcast show, POV.

9. Our own Sr. Programmer, Chelsea Lupkin, is up for a Webby for her branded films for Tubi. C’mon, help vote Chelsea a Webby! 

10. Whenever I’ve needed a break this week (or am procrastinating on something I don’t want to do) I’ve been working my way through IMVDB’s magisterial list of the best Music Videos of the 2010’s. Super-inspiring stuff.