Tag Archives: Short Films

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Short Films Still Matter

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This week’s podcast episode celebrates the continuing appeal of short films and the importance they play in launching new filmmaking talent. Host Phil Hall’s guest is Kim Adelman, author of “Making it Big in Shorts: The Ultimate Filmmaker’s Guide to Short Films,” which was recently republished in its third edition. She also reports on short films for Indiewire, co-programs the American Cinematheque’s annual Focus on Female Directors short film screening series, and is the co-founder of FFC Female Filmmaking Collective.

You can listen to the episode here.

Our "Exposure" to Short Films

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Back in the golden days of cable television, Syfy–known as the Sci Fi channel–was rather entertaining. I’d sometimes sit down in front of the television and watch it all day long basking in stuff like “The Twilight Zone,” that horrible show “Sightings,” and “Lost in Space,” while Saturdays brought cartoons, and anime. These days, though, I barely ever want to watch it unless there’s a marathon of “Firefly,” or a crappy television movie on, and even then it’s debatable. I don’t WANT to see “Lake Placid 6,” but… I couldn’t keep from watching it when it premiered! The reason for my hatred of Syfy is because, I have them to thank for my exposure to short independent films.

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5 Choice Indies of 2012

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Special Mention:
88:88
Directed by: Joey Ciccoline
Written by: Sean Wilson, Joey Ciccoline
Official Trailer
Watch It Now!
Originally a contender for an online short film festival, director Joey Ciccoline’s short “88:88” is a wonderful and absolutely remarkable horror short about a woman who simply can not escape her destiny. She’s built her life around her over night occurrences, and on the day we meet her, she’s decided to stop becoming a victim and start resisting. In spite of her life around her wondering where she is, our young heroine spends her time building mechanisms and odd devices around her room.

Though she’s calm and resolute throughout the course of the short, she is racing the clock, and before she knows it, night has fallen and it’s time to sleep. With a wonderful eye on the small budget, and low maintenance special effects, Joey Ciccoline delivers an onslaught of horrific images, and devastatingly traumatic monsters that desperately try to bring this woman in to their throes and by her own clever instruments, shows them that she’s not one to be reckoned with any longer. A striking and downbeat short, this is a film to watch, if only because it’s one of the few extra terrestrial films that have succeeded in turning its menaces in to terrifying beings that have been tamed over the years.

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5 Choice Indies of 2011

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Beating Hearts
Directed by: Matthew Garrett
Written by: Matthew Garrett
Official Website
Not Available for Sale
Truly one of the most horrifying short films of the year, “Beating Hearts” is a disturbing and absolutely morbid look at a family ticking away to explode in to a hail of violence and carnage. That bombshell is incidentally the youngest daughter of a brood of middle class individuals who one day wakes up atop her mother’s heaving bosom only to mutilate her before her very eyes.

What follows is a suggestive and utterly unsettling look at cross generational love and disgusting symbolism that signals a horrific crime that was a long time coming and an erratic young girl who never quite figured out how to process her uneasy feelings.

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Director Patrick Rea and his Gallery of Nailbiters

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Patrick Rea is probably one of my favorite independent directors at the moment and while all of his films may not be home runs, he’s created a veritable gallery of short horror and darkly comedic films that have stormed the worldwide web and spawned a following of folks just waiting his newest yarn that always ensure surprise twists and turns, sharp storytelling, and top notch performances. Ambitious and enthusiastic about his art, director Patrick Rea first started sending us his short films after we began reviewing the shorts we discovered on the net and since then has remained a contact for Cinema Crazed.

In the midst of directing his new feature length horror film called “Nailbiter,” a film that’s remained under wraps and mysterious to most online entities, Patrick Rea took the time out from his hectic shooting schedule in scorching heat to indulge us in an in-depth interview to learn where Patrick Rea honed his skills and how he went from film school student, to Fangoria filmmaker, to co-founder of SenoReality Pictures. If you haven’t seen any of Patrick Rea’s short film we suggest looking for them as they present a keen eye for detail and dark tones while always ensuring a surprise or two that will leave you wanting more.

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Straight Arrow, Sharp Shooter: Interview with Director John Fallon

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Who is John Fallon? Well, if you peruse the net in search of information on horror movies, you’re likely to come across John who runs one of the most popular horror sites on the net entitled Arrow in the Head. He’s also one of the bigger names at Joblo.com and has appeared in numerous documentaries and notable genre films over the years. You literally can’t go an inch on movie websites without hearing about Fallon, and the credit is much deserved as Fallon works for his respect, is a self made man, and is one of the most lauded figures in film journalism. But did you also know he’s an indie director too? Sure you did, Arrow in the Head has a large following!

You should know by now. In either case, Fallon is an indie director when he’s not traveling or covering films, and he has made “Deaden” a throwback to the classic revenge films of the eighties, and “Red Hours” an experimental short film just released that has garnered some controversy. Not to mention he has his own official website. In either case, Fallon is a heavyweight in the film journalism world and he was gracious and kind enough to take time out of his hectic schedule and take part in an interview with us to explore his filmmaking techniques, his thoughts about indie film, and his experiences in the business. Throw back that last whiskey and have a read while we delve in to the thoughts of the action and horror buff.

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Have Aaron and Larry Longstreth Made the Greatest Fan Film Of All Time?

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A little over a year ago, we spoke with Larry Longstreth, the founder of the comedy team Bull Crank, a crew of filmmakers devoted to making comedy in the form of animation and live action short films. This time we’re speaking with a different Larry; a more mature and hopeful Larry, along with his long time partner Aaron Longstreth. With this interview we hope to see what they’re up to and why Bull Crank is no more.

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