Proof of Concept Tag Archive

Live Action

A Grieving Man Confronts Unconscious Desires in Jacob Samuels’ Dark Suburban Comedy ‘I Want My Mommy’

Jacob Samuels guides us through the delicate tonal tightrope of his unconventional tale of grief, cringe-inducing confession and existential woe.

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Live Action

A Bottle to the Head Fractures Reality in Theodore Collatos’s Surreal Slamdance Winning New York Short ‘Palookaville’

Theodore Collatos discusses reflecting the fractured reality suffered following sudden head trauma through the associational editing of his surreal short.

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Live Action, Premiere

Mateo Martinez Weaves Ancestral Ghosts and Emerald Greed Into a Hypnotic Columbian Allegory in ‘Cacique del Monte’

Mateo Martinez depicts the emerald trade through myth & violence as a thief's greed awakens a mountain's curse, binding past to present in sacred green fire.

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Live Action, Premiere

Callie Carpinteri Derails Female Sex Shaming in Her Empowering Comedic Drama ‘Dirty Towel’

Callie Carpinteri recounts the motivation that led her and Emma Parks to provide a fresh take on sex, shame and self-worth in their coming-of-age short film.

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Live Action, Premiere

tao/s Present a Raw Portrait of Family Turmoil Born of Mental Illness in Personal Short ‘Very Still, Very Quiet’

tao/s explain why the one-shot was the most authentic way to capture the emotional chaos of a family trying to cope with their mom's mental health disorder.

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Live Action

Bailey Tom Bailey Blends Tension and Dark Humour in Revisionist Petticoat Duel Period Comedy ‘Satisfaction’

Bailey Tom Bailey walks DN through the witty showdown in his tale of an aristocratic duel fought between a society lady and her mentor over a trivial insult.

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Live Action, Premiere

A Pregnancy Scare Descends Into Cinematic Comedy Chaos in Chad Corhan’s Rapid-Fire Absurd Short ‘Gas Station Sushi’

Chad Corhan explains how intensive same-room writing sessions shaped his breakneck surreal comedy about social anxiety during an existential personal crisis.

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Live Action, Premiere

Nat Gee Explores the Invisible Violence of Dismissed Female Pain in Her Atmospheric Psychological Thriller ‘Buried’

Nat Gee details shooting on 16mm & cutting 4 minutes from her edit to help audiences deeply connect with her maverick winemaker's psychological fragmentation.

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Live Action, Premiere

Picket Fence Perfection Unravels in Julia Godfrey & Will Abbott’s Unsettlingly Suburban Nightmare ‘Flattened’

Julia Godfrey & Will Abbott talk about creating a disorientatingly cohesive world where two friends manically unravel in the 24 hours after a hit and run.

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Live Action, Premiere

Demitri Zujew Crafts an Emblematic Tale Denouncing the Cult of Strength in His Disturbing Social Allegory ‘Crease’

Demitri Zujew delves into the importance of representing "strong eat the weak" culture for what it is and his use of origami as a potent narrative symbol.

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Live Action, Premiere

Alex Bush Explores the Dynamic Nature of Gender Expression and the Transgender Experience in Intimate Fable ‘Thaw’

Alex Bush talks about reappropriating tropes of classic melodramas for their proof-of-concept short where two friends begin exploring their gender variance.

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Awards, Live Action

An Online Annoyance Triggers a Complete Identity Crisis in Victoria Warmerdam’s Oscar Winning ‘I’m Not a Robot’

The lone genre film in the shorts Oscar race Victoria Warmerdam explains how a simple captcha fail became a gripping exploration of identity and control.

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