I just finished my BA in Illustration at Brighton University so make a note in your calendar to come see the graduate show (called "Now What") because everybody in my year is awesome. You have a choice:
Brighton
Private view
8th June 2012
6 – 11pm
Open to the public
9th June – 14th June 2012
12 - 6pm (Sat & Sun) / 10am - 8pm (Weekdays)
Location
Grand Parade Arts Building
68-72 Grand Parade
Brighton
BN2 0JY
London
Private view
5th July 2012
6 – 11pm
Open to the public
6th July – 8th July 2012
9am – 5pm
Location
Netil House
1 – 7 Westgate Street
London
E8 3RL
You can also keep in touch with my year and make sure you don't forget about the show in a variety of ways:
A friend passed me the link to this semi-recent short, Paul Emerson's first. It is a light-yet-highly-satisfying bit of comedy that has gone super viral due to its amazing crowd-pleasing nature (so sorry if you've seen it). Paul seems to be mainly an actor but his few attempts at directing, which also include this similarly light-hearted AT&T commercial that features him in the lead role as well, are proof that he should keep doing it.
The two lead actors, Dane Hanson and Mike Heim, deserve a large part of the praise, since they also wrote the script. Finally, a funny bit of trivia I came across is that a Russian YouTube channel's upload of the film got more views than Paul's official one. He commented: "The play number is proof that Russians know how to laugh the best!".
2. Diego Agullo & Dmitry Paranyushkin - The Humping Pact
This short bit of film is a special one: it's not every day that you see crowds of people pretending to have sex surrounded by interesting or aesthetically pleasing architecture. On the Humping Pact website, its creators explain:
"The Humping Pact is a suspended act of affirmative persistence. It is an aesthetic meditation on the human desire to believe in the futile and to conceive the impossible. Our coming together is a tribute to dysfunctional spaces that still emanate creative potential. (...) We want to celebrate the human body that is convulsed by the desire to inspire."
So the Humping Pact is essentially a project at the borderline between visual art and performance. The good news is that you can join it and be one of the humpers in their future creations or simply support the project with a small donation. However, I can't help thinking that this trailer is enough just on its own.
3. Tom Haines for UNKLE feat. Nick Cave - Money and Run
I was surprised to see that this semi-recent music video directed by Tom Haines for legendary artists UNKLE and Nick Cave only got close to 200k views in the year it's been up, considering not only the quality of the artists but also the relevance of the video to the general state of the world. Also, if, like me, you hadn't seen any of their more recent videos, make sure to check out UNKLE's Another Night Out as well, directed by Toby Dye.
And speaking of the state of the world here is Guy Maddin's short film for the 25th anniversary of the Toronto Film Festival, The Heart of the World, made in the year 2000, but made to look like 1925. An incredibly trippy homage to silent films and surrealism, this short is more than just an audio-visual joyride, as it comes packed with symbols and hidden meanings. Shorts Bay wrote about the film: "The Toronto Film Festival commissioned Maddin to make a brief film to fill a gap in their programming schedule. A mere time-passer. What Maddin gave them was utterly unexpected."
Another little gem I discovered on Shorts Bay is this film from 2004, directed by Alexis Mallet and written by Raphael Didierjean. Although it has a few things I considered to be mistakes in it (directing mistakes to be more exact) the script is so good it really makes up for it. The sad thing is that although I tried to look up more of Didierjean's work online, I was unable to find any so I can't point you in any further direction. Other than the pool, that is.
Aaand finally something I am really excited about, namely the fact that this year legendary skateboarding firms Girl and Chocolate are dropping what will probably be another historic film, directed by the likes of Spike Jonze (yes, the Spike Jonze) and Ty Evans. The trailer is out on Vimeo and it looks incredible. If you liked this and can't wait, check out Ty Evans' work with shoe firm Lakai for Transworld Magazine's Skate and Create series. And the making of: Part 1 & Part 2. Adidas didn't do badly either. Read about the Skate and Create challenge here.
Because I have been busy shooting and editing a new film for my end of uni exam project I completely neglected my commitment to posting short films and snapshots every week for the last two weeks. But I am back now with a special selection.
SHORTS
1. Andrew Huang - Solipsist
This will probably not interest you if you are a blog troll because this has gone mega viral since it was posted just over two weeks ago and you probably know it and have been blown out of your seat and showed it to all your friends already. BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T.... then please quit anything you might be doing, turn off the lights, turn up the volume and believe me when I say it will be a memorable moment.
2. Rúnar Rúnarsson - Smafuglar (Two Birds)
A special gem from Iceland-born director Rúnar Rúnarsson, who besides having an awesome name has also made a deeply moving film. It must be hard working with really young actors and pulling off one of the most tension-filled moments I've ever seen in a short, but he did it.
3. Andy Green - Happy Sushi
To lighten up the mood (especially in case you watched Two Birds already) I have a very quick and satisfying one for you. Described as "The eternal struggle of man versus a wobbly restaurant table is explored in depth. OK, not in depth, in 2:59", this film will definitely stay with you whenever you sit down in a restaurant and the table is shaky. It definitely did with me.
4. Laura Chiossone - La Piattaforma
Before you watch this I have to warn you that if you are one of those people who really needs a film to be about something clear and extraordinary then you might not like it. But if you like atmosphere, realism and authenticity then this "slice of life" will be very rewarding. It was shown to me by a friend who told me that it made her feel summer through it. What can I director hope to do more?
SNAPSHOTS
I decided to have the snapshots for the last 2 weeks be stills from the film I am currently finishing, since it will be my biggest audio-visual project to date. It is called "Middle, Beginning, End", it stars Leanne Govier in the lead role and will have a running time of approximately 7 minutes. Currently I'm in the final stages of post-production so there isn't much to go !
The 2nd instalment of my Shorts Series is here. Let's begin.
1. Ian Gamester - "Kitty's MES"
Part of the Virgin Media Shorts shortlist this year, Ian Gamester's submission is a touching mini-documentary about a very rare mental condition, suffered by his grandmother, who got it after being prescribed some antidepressants by her GP. His website, called Keeponmovin', has loads of work on it and I definitely became a fan just after seeing this and Cream/Egg, another of his shorts.
2. David Cronenberg - "Camera"
I've seen Cronenberg's "Camera" many years ago and it stayed with me since. It is a brilliant look at the film industry by one of its great masters. "Produced for the 25th anniversary celebration of the Toronto International Film Festival in 2000 (...) Camera was photographed on digital video, except for the final shot, which was done on 35mm film using the camera seen in the picture" says the Youtube channel of revok, who proclaim themselves to be "the number one source for rare and hard-to-find films" on their website.
3. Ruben Sznajderman for Zebra Katz - Ima Read
Not really a short film but this is too big of a gem to not share it however I can. Not since Sarah Jones' "Your Revolution" has something made me so horny about smartness. Mad Decent have done well to sign up Zebra Katz. More links to the director's work and his production company Leeroy Films under the clip on Vimeo.
That's it! Don't forget to sign up to receive posts by email on the right to stay in the loop. 'Till next week!
I'm starting a new series today, whereby I post 3 short films I think are worth seeing every week. Welcome to the Mawdot Shorts Series!
1. Gus van Sant - "The Discipline of DE"
I want to start with a semi-obscure classic gem. I've recently seen this on Short of the Week, an amazing website that occupies the space between competition, festival and film blog, and it got stuck in my head. It is a 1978 16mm black-and-white piece from legendary director Gus van Sant's early days. Both a humorous, OCD take on life and an allegory about film-making in general, this is bound to make your day.
2. Robin Schmidt & Gaz Medinger (Chrome Productions) - "Brighton"
It was curiosity that made me click on this film's thumbnail in the gallery of submissions to the Sundance London Short Film Festival, since I live in (and love) Brighton. I definitely wasn't expecting a psychological drama so well thought out, produced and executed. On their Vimeo account, Chrome Productions give us a short synopsis: "A young man with Asperger's confronts his father about his parents' separation". I say it's this, and more.
3. Aritz Moreno - "Loop"
The 2011 winner of my favourite short film festival, Filminute, Loop is short that, well, works on repeat. It was directed by Aritz Moreno (or Lazkano as his imdb page tells me), a Spanish director who is no stranger to international recognition (look up his other work, such as Portal Mortal and Cotton Candy).
That's it for this week. See you next week for another 3 video gems.
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“I was there, you know” is a short film that explores the human condition through a series of fragmented moments from a woman’s life.
The film was written, produced and directed by myself, starring Scarlet Sherriff in the main role. It is a personal project, produced solely for the online community.
Full credits are available at the end of the film. If you enjoyed it, please consider sharing it.
I was commissioned to do some photography to promote the chair designs of independent furniture maker Patrick Collingwood.
You can see all of my photographs and read more information about the chairs on the Many Artists Who Do One Thing website (direct link to the project).
I used to snap and you enjoyed one (for) each day, which was indeed yay, but from now on it will happen only once a week. So please welcome the Mawdot Weekly Snapshots. Eek!
