It’s time for Day 3 of the HollyShorts Film Festival! With yesterday’s slate of films, we were able to get into the full day schedules that will be available until our closing night. With five massive blocks of films to choose from, this will be another incredible day of exciting projects from creative and impressive filmmakers. Today’s blocks will include entries that focus on the Pacific Northwest in partnership with the Seattle Film Summit, as well as genres such as Sports, the Alliance of Women Directors, Primetime, and our first Comedy block. See the highlights from these blocks of entries below, and be sure to check out our interview with Super Real, Super Grounded writers Michael Christian and Rob Scerbo, and director Margaux Susi!
For those who are looking to attend any of the days in person, tickets are available here, and are being held at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Los Angeles from now until August 18th. Any of those unable to attend will also be able to find the films on BitPix.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST: PRESENTED BY THE SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT
Dream Creep – Carlos A.F. Lopez’s entirely too chilling short horror film focuses on a couple, David (Ian Edlund) and Suzy (Sydney Jayne Hunt), who are in bed one night when David hears Suzy’s voice. But instead of coming out through her mouth like words are supposed to, it’s Suzy’s voice, screaming for help from inside her ear. As she continues what sounds like distant, frantic pleas, David has to go to extreme measures to attempt to help her. This film, frankly, is freaky as hell. And that is meant as a great compliment, as the tension and weirdness continue to rise until everything goes more off the rails than it had been, making for an excellent piece of short horror.
SPORTS
Season Of Boom: Chapter 1 – Director Madeline Down begins the process of chronicling the legendary Legion of Boom, the impenetrable Seattle Seahawks defense that terrorized the NFL in the 2010s, but specifically their 2013 Super Bowl season. Featuring behind the scenes footage, interviews with players and personnel, and game clips, this short series will be a big hit with football fans, especially those who knew the LoB from their time atop the NFL.
THE ALLIANCE OF WOMEN DIRECTORS
Super Real, Super Grounded [First Interview Option] – Austin Williams stars as Amy, an actress doing zoom auditions in her apartment as we begin this film directed by Margaux Susi and written by Michael Christian and Rob Scerbo. As we watch Amy go through the process of auditioning for an ad about grapes, the film goes from an awkward look into the casting process into a full on existential crisis, all while mostly focused on Williams’ face. There is some amazing acting work from Williams here, as she has to take on the weight of the whole piece, and does so brilliantly. This is a wild and fun take on the pressures of acting, rejection and the pitfalls of this kind of entertainment, even as we’re watching it as its own piece.
PRIMETIME
Fall Risk – Written and directed by Alex Martini, this film focuses on Dylan (Victoria Pedretti), an MS sufferer who is dealing with the effects of her disease. While attempting to recover, she is visited by her girlfriend Emily (Caitlin Stasey) during one of her hospital visits. Adding to her struggle with MS, Dylan begins to get suspicions about Emily, her honesty and her faithfulness, going to extreme lengths to find out if her paranoia is real, or an effect of the rest of the goings on in her life. This is a fantastic film with a great cast, including a cameo by Executive Producer Bella Thorne. Pedretti is especially great, carrying the film and managing to really blur the line between suspicion and fact in the mind of her character. The twist is particularly heartbreaking, really adding to the emotional tone of the film.
COMEDY
Bad Driver – Comedies are a tough thing, especially when in short form. All the build to a laugh can take up almost the entire runtime, leaving all the pressure on the payoff to make it work. Thankfully, this Antonia Grilikhes-Lasky film nails the landing. Hannah Heller plays the role of a woman afraid to get behind the wheel, her phobia causing her all sorts of problems in her past. Problems that we, the audience, as well as her passenger (played by Danielle Skraastad) hear all about. I really wasn’t sure how this film was going to play out, but the payoff to the story got a full-throated, barking laugh from me, so I’d say that’s a job well done.
That’ll do it for day three! Be sure to check back with us tomorrow for highlights and interviews from day four of the HollyShorts Film Festival and enjoy this interview with the creative forces behind Super Real, Super Grounded, Margaux Susi, Rob Scerbo and Mike Christian!
What inspired you to start making films?
Susi: I’ve always been fascinated by the human experience. I love digging in and exploring what makes each person unique. I have been in the theatre world for over 20 years now. I’m currently the Associate Artistic Director of IAMA Theatre Company in Los Angeles and when Covid-19 hit, we had to pivot to a virtual season which led me to direct a one-woman-show called Anyone But Me starring Sheila Carrasco (NBC’s Ghosts) for the screen! Once I got a taste for this format, I had to make more films.
Scerbo: I just loved movies and always wanted to make them my entire life. I started making films with my friends when I was seven years old and it was the most fun I ever had. Now I’m out in LA and I just never want to stop making them with my friends.
Christian: I was out in LA trying to get people to read scripts and wasn’t getting much interest. I started making shorts and things like that just out of desperation, trying to make something happen.
What were the challenges in making this project?
Susi: The heat! We shot the film in an apartment on a summer day when it was almost 100 degrees. Because of sound, we had to turn the air-conditioning off. YIKES. Austin is such a rockstar – she remained completely open and committed, even when we were melting. Fun fact: the AC line in the film was an improvised one because of the situation and it always makes me laugh.
Christian: Well I got COVID the day before we started shooting. Rob and I had to post up outside the apartment where we were filming and they set up a monitor and we stayed in contact with Margaux, our director, via a microphone that our sound guy, Clayton, set up for us.
Is there any type of message or emotion that you hope the viewer takes away from watching this film?
Susi: I hope when other actors watch this film, they feel seen. Virtual auditions are so challenging and this business sometimes takes everything it has from you. That part is so beautifully captured by Austin’s vulnerability that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Other times, this business makes you do the silliest of things. I hope people laugh and remember why they love to do what they do.
Scerbo: Just because you’re in a room by yourself doing something silly it doesn’t mean that you’re not doing the work and getting better every day. I think Austin is doing really good work in an embarrassing situation, and it’s a situation where, as an actor, you aren’t getting a lot of respect but it’s still the work. Even if you’re making a commercial for grapes you’re still learning and working.
Christian: Maybe that it’s not all so serious. We do silly things in this industry that we think are very important but it’s more about just trying hard at whatever level you’re at and whatever’s in front of you right now. Do that job well if you can.
How does it feel to be able to screen the film at HollyShorts?
Susi: It’s a dream to World Premiere at HollyShorts! Our team is based in Los Angeles so having it in our hometown is really special. Hollyshorts curates the best films so it’s truly an honor to be among them.
Christian: It feels great. We’ve made a lot of things that just go up on the internet and getting a nice comment is great, but there’s no comparison to being in a theater filled with people who are reacting in real time to your work.
Scerbo: It’s always awesome seeing your film on the big screen. Especially in the city you live in. That’s the whole point that we’re working towards.
What’s on the horizon for you?
Susi: I’m currently in post production with my most recent film, Uncle Johnny. It follows a young woman who spends the day bowling with her neurodivergent Uncle while she grapples with the secret that he is dying of cancer. Like my other films, it explores a deeply real and dramatic subject through a comedic lens.
Scerbo: Mike and I are working on shooting a full pilot presentation with a bunch of our friends, who are a bunch of comedians at UCB and stuff, and it’s gonna change the world, haha.
Christian: Yes, we previously made a webseries called Dinosaur Portals and now we’re gonna try and shoot a full half hour pilot based off those ideas and those characters and we’re really excited about it. Agree with Rob, world changing.
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