Vox Clamantis

United 93

I was not planning on seeing this in the theater but went with some friends on a whim. It was intense. Much more intense than I imagined. I had planned on getting the dvd sometime, but it's a movie to see in the theater. Did I mention it is intense?

48 Hour Film Project

If you've ever dreamt of making a short film, the 48 Hour Film Project just might be all the inspiration you need. It's coming to DC May 5. For my friends in SF, it'll be there June 23rd. For a complete list of cities, check their tour page. So what's the challenge?

Now entering its 6th year, the 48 Hour Film Project is the ultimate filmmaking challenge. Making a film isn't so hard is it? Here's the catch—you've got to do it all (and we mean all) in just 48 hours! To make things interesting and to keep every one honest, there's a random drawing just prior to the start of each competition, where each film team will select a genre for its film. In addition, we will announce a character, prop and line of dialogue that must appear in each film. You are responsible for putting together your own cast and crew, and getting equipment and anything else you need to make a film/video. Because we guarantee a screening to all teams that submit an on-time film, we limit the number of teams that participate in each city.

Not intimidated? Sign up. But sign up soon. There are already a ton of teams signed up in DC and slots are closing fast. For a glimpse of the competition, check out 2005's national winner (from Des Moines). Their film, "Mimes on the Prairie," is available online. Here are the other winners (scroll down a bit.)

Short Film Showcase

Landmark Theaters is a public good. They have five short films online (Best of 2005). All are free. Go watch them and enjoy. Also, the branch in DC now sells beer, if that's your thing. Our world would be a sorry world without Landmark. Go and go often. Feel free to list your favorite short film in the comments.

DC Filmfest

Here is the official program site. The event kicks off tonight and continues to April 30th. There are two main themes for the event, the Rio to Reel Series, and the Hip-Hop 4 Reel Series. They are complemented by talks and discussions around town.

A few guidelines. See all the short films you can (Short Cuts, for starters), since you may never get the chance again. Skip anything with Sandra Oh or Lucy Liu, since it will hit the theaters eventually anyway. You have limited time, so see only those films you will never see again, and that are also appealing. Don't see a film just because it's from Iran or Ghana. There's nothing more annoying than listening to someone talk endlessly about all the foreign films they've seen. That alone does not make one cultured. Finally, do the obvious and pick movies that sound interesting and that you actually want to watch.

Downloadable Movies

The future is fast approaching. According to the LA Times, downloadable movies are coming to a computer near you soon:

Letting people burn downloaded movies is considered key to the growth of online distribution. Despite the proliferation of fast Internet connections, most people still want to watch movies on television but lack an easy way to get them off the computer. Plus, hard drives can store only so many space-hogging movies.

Hollywood has resisted burnable discs that can be watched on televisions because they fear piracy. It also doesn't want to alienate retailers, which sell most of its DVDs.

There is just one caveat. Can you guess? A hint? - well, it's not Netflix that's leading the way...
See story.

Thank You for Smoking

Highly, highly recommended. Really great. Ebert offers his review here, which is longer and contains plot details, if you need them.

Jason Reitman (son of Ivan), the director, is brilliant. This is his first feature film. Prior to this he's done some remarkable short films, like Gulp, Consent, and In God We Trust. All are available for free from Atom Films if you follow the links, and all are, like Thank You For Smoking, highly, highly recommended.

Here is Jason Reitman discussing his encounter with the real Nick Naylor and with Jeff Wigand, a former tobacco executive portrayed by Russel Crowe in The Insider.

David Lynch

From Alina Stefanescu's recently redesigned Totalitarianism Today (But where is the self-portrait, one loyal fan wonders? - oh, I see):

Filmmaker David Lynch's latest project is a far cry from Mulholland Drive. Crediting transcendental meditation with his filmmaking success, Lynch decided to spread the benefits of transcendetntal mediation across the US. Through his nonprofit, Foundation for Consciouness-Based Education and World Peace, Lynch aims to give every child in the US the opportunity to learn and practice transcendental meditation.

For details, have a look at Lynch's presentation, "Consciousness, Creativity, and the Brain" or read this message from the TM master himself.

I did not keep the hyperlinks, so click on over to her site if you want to know more.

A kinder, happier Microsoft

Microsoft's popularity has been rising lately, which is astonishing given that it has, in the past, been described as the most evil company to ever exist. Besides having a good corporate reputation, Gates and co. apparently have a sense of humor as well. Via The iPod Observer:

Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla on Tuesday confirmed with iPod Observer that his company initiated the creation of the iPod packaging parody video that was first reported last month. "It was an internal-only video clip commissioned by our packaging [team] to humorously highlight the challenges we have faced RE: packaging and to educate marketers here about the pitfalls of packaging/branding," he said via e-mail.

I recommended the video earlier, and now really, really recommend the video. Google is currently hosting it. Enjoy.

Diversions

Microsoft iPod Packaging Parody. via Good Morning Silicon Valley and Robert Scoble.

A short Javier Fesser video via BoingBoing. A full collection of these films are archived here. See Boing Boing for more.

[Update: the microsoft ipod parody is no longer available at youtube.com, but is available at google video, so I've updated the link accordingly.]

Oscar Short Films

Jack Nicholson once remarked that if he could, he would make a short film. Clearly money wasn't standing in his way. What he meant was that short films are incredibly difficult to make and he was expressing his admiration for the art. Sadly, most viewers don't understand how talented these (mainly) young filmmakers are. Even sadder, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has no intention of educating anyone. Short films, including animation, and let's face it, even foreign films, are neglected to the point of death. At least the academy offers trailers of the foreign films. If you want to learn anything about the short films that are nominated, you'll have to try the web and trust your luck. The Oscar site has no info beyond a tagline and limited production details for each short film.

A few lucky people have managed to catch these shorts at film festivals, but it's largely a game of chance. Even One Man Band, from Pixar, won't be available on DVD until June. The Oscars will have a screening of the shorts, but the tickets are pretty tough to come by (they're sold out). At a minimum the Oscars should host trailers for each of the films on their site. They won't do that, but they should. I really think they should go a step further and show the entire film, but that might be rediculous, since some of the movies are close to 30 minutes. The current state of affairs is unbecoming such a rich and vainglorious institution.

[Update: for those of you looking, I have a page on the Oscar nominated, animated short films here]