To commemorate my start as a filmmaker 15 years ago, I am sharing a retrospective series of write-ups dedicated to my past short film work that includes brief commentary for each short film as well as a few "fun facts" about their creation.
11/16. The Nap (2008)
A woman needs to pick up her sister at the airport but her husband is making mysterious changes to the car. Starring Patricia Mei Rhenals, Alonso E. Rhenals and Eugenia Mei Ibarra.
Trailer:
Short Film:
Made using a new HD workflow and for a short film contest hosted by an online forum for Canon HV20 users. The contest's theme was technology.
Out of a habit of casting familial non-actors that, apart from the immense convenience it provides, stems from my love of the Italian neorealist tradition of filmmaking, I decided to cast my mother, father and aunt in the film; all of whom had absolutely zero acting experience. Despite my parents' occasional strikes and threats of desertion due to their weariness over my demand for more takes than they were willing to put up with, working with such close relations was a generally enjoyable and rewarding affair.
Fun Facts:
• A traditional script was never written as the film was originally intended to be dialogue-free and musically driven.
• The beige Toyota used in the first scene between Linda and her husband was involved in a crash and totalled during production. It was replaced in following scenes by a silver Lexus. The viewer is left to attribute this unusual discontinuity to the story's dream logic.
• Of all my films, this one has the most visual effects shots. However, most of the visual effects are subtle, used to mask out or combine various elements. Post-production on this film made me an After Effects wizard.
Festivals & Awards:
• Official Selection at the 5th Annual Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa, FL, 2011