The Cutting Edge is devoted to short films from local filmmakers. Don’t dismiss short films. Shorts lay future features’ foundations.
On September 8th, 2024, at The Regent Theatre in Arlington, GR Films (the GR stands for Gabrielle Rosson) sponsored Summerdance 2024, a short film festival from local independent filmmakers. After each short film, The Film Podcast’s Matthew Beltz interviewed the filmmakers and also sponsored the event along with Del Negro Entertainment and New Path Productions.
- A Woman Under An Inferno Sky
This seven-minute experimental drama follows Lydia (Amy Thomason), a woman from the past who does not control or understand why she is traveling forward in time. She keeps encountering a hooded man, Viego (Roman Goulette), and some disturbing people who provide no solace during her journey though Lydia briefly trusts Sister Rosetta (Deborah Del Negro), who is wearing her habit, which would seem to symbolize timeless safety for someone from the past; however, depending on Lydia’s religion, maybe not. As someone unfamiliar with director and cowriter Kris Salvi’s body of work, this short feels like a cross between Kenneth Anger’s tamer works and European existential films mixed with a dash of Rob Zombie without the overly graphic implications. While The Man (Marc Powers) is clearly a Satanic figure, he is not as frightening as the disturbing stock images of nuclear destruction. The sound overpowers the ability to absorb the story though hearing Tina Turner at a blast is a win regardless. The locations and montages are powerful and emotionally resonant. Cinematographer and editor Chris Esper nails one scene where Lydia is running in slow motion while the traffic ahead is sped up.
During the post-screening interview, Salvi revealed that his film is a riff on Dante’s Alighieri’s “Inferno” with the man playing Virgil. Suicide does not send people to hell, but the future, which is a spot on commentary about living in an often-unremitting dystopia. It is a great concept worth developing, especially if Salvi chooses to elaborate about Lydia as a character. Those unfamiliar with the famous fourteenth century poem are unlikely to recognize the reference or the cause of Lydia’s time jumping since she gets a weapon late in the film. Though moviegoers may expect to see a brooding director with his nose in the air wearing a black turtleneck and a beret, Salvi’s persona contrasts to the tone of the film as a lighthearted, down-to-earth, jovial fellow who apparently is known for making gangster films. It was a surprise to learn that Viego was supposed to be an innocent figure because he feels more like a character that Barry Keoghan would play.
- Distant Memories
The ten-minute drama is predominantly told from the metaphorical point of view of Anna (Sissy O’Hara), a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s and trapped in her mind. Unlike “The Father” (2020), her perspective is surreal, not literal. Instead, her mind is metaphorically depicted as a tenebrous, warm room filled with shelves that store her most precious mementoes and contains various media to replay special events in her life until it disappears. In the margins, her daughter, Noelle (Christie Devine), does her best to love her mother and try to have a normal life while mourning the loss of a loved one still among the living.
Director Chris Esper, the cinematographer for “A Woman Under An Inferno Sky,” revealed that the loss of many family members to the merciless disease inspired his universally relatable film. Esper conveys different eras by using different media: projectors, TV/VCRs, etc. He also squeezes viewers’ hearts by contrasting the contemporary Anna with younger versions of herself who appear in home videos. One way to improve the film would be for these home videos to collectively tell a story. If Esper wanted to break his audience down even further, he could be more merciless by showing Anna in a hospice situation not even wearing her clothes or in the comfort of her own bed. Noelle ‘s perception of her helpless and confused mother are wisely relegated to the story’s margins and act as an unofficial reliable narrator.
- Le Monstro
This Victorian period, tragic ten-minute drama explores the dynamic between the bearded, talented singer, Juliet (Gabrielle Rosson), who is in love with and seeks tenderness from the handsome Jonah (Damien Chinappi), a man who only thinks of himself and offers her nothing except cruelty. Despite knowing better, and recognizing that he is using her, Juliet accepts his attention, and the wardrobe mistress (Deb Del Negro) silently witnesses the toxic dynamic. Unfortunately, this story is timeless as it examines how the veneer of normalcy hides a demented mind that denigrates their betters and brainwashes them to believe that they should be grateful for accepting crumbs. It also speaks to a broader systematic disparity in gender power dynamics which permits the exploitation of women and talent. Juliet has the talent and is the attraction whereas Jonah is just another pretty face. Without Juliet, Jonah is not special, but his conventional, mediocre maleness makes them both believe that he is the prize.
Rosson, who organized and promoted Summerdance 2024, wears a lot of hats: director, writer, producer, editor and star! Rosson also sings opera! She also cheered everyone on and sports an impressive entourage who embraced the red-carpet aesthetic of the event. She paid homage to “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) by using black and white bookends and color in the middle when Juliet is at her happiest, which filmmaker Marcellus Cox similarly did in “Mickey Hardaway” (2023). . The film explores the concept of beauty. The life of real-life performer and singer Julia Pastrana, a Mexican indigenous woman who had hypertrichosis terminalis, among other distinct physical features, inspired Rosson’s story. Pastrana was famous as the Ape-faced woman in travelling freak shows. To gain more publicity, the advertising claimed that she was half human and half animal. Her husband, Theodore Lent, became her manager, and if you are curious how the movie would end if it was longer, Pastrana’s story ends on a macabre, horrifying note, which Rosson revealed at the screening.
- The Banana Movie
This eight-minute surreal comedy proves that the spirit of Andy Kaufman is reborn in the partnership between writer and director Samuel Carl Cohen and actor Kris Salvi, the director of “A Woman Under An Inferno Sky,” Salvi plays a man that really savors his banana while seated on a bench in a public park. Suffering from his own personal apocalypse, the protagonist descends into an oneiric reality where his subconscious unearths strange images that interpret his suppressed desires about the origins of his banana love. Meanwhile the turbulent drama and chaos barely touches his actual surroundings. “The Banana Movie” is unlike any movie that came before and is a perverse, uproarious roller coaster ride that may leave you howling on the floor with laughter.
Cohen’s post screening appearance was more committed to the satirical bit skewering directors in interviews than providing insight into the movie. The interview’s climax was when Salvi, dressed in a banana suit, yanked the shades wearing Cohen off the stage. Salvi is a fearless comedic actor who also appeared in an anti-pollution commercial that brings awareness about runoff water in which he appears to smear dog pooh all over himself. It seems beside the point, but the only way to improve the film is to look for more continuity between close ups and other shots because they were shot at different times so the sound and lighting quality is different. May these two continue to collaborate.
- Take 2, “The Audition”
Would some television network or distributor please pick up this fifteen-minute comedy pilot so everyone who was not at Summerdance 2024 can see it! This mockumentary satirical sitcom may remind some of such hits as “The Office” “Parks and Recreations” and “Modern Family” while still being original, not a copycat. Aspiring, wide-eyed, earnest actor Becca Gold (Becca Lerman) prepares for an audition with her abusive acting coach Claudette Archambeau (Ellyana Stanton). Her supportive boyfriend and manager, Mootsie (Anthony Waldmyer), decides to film her journey to stardom. During an audition, the star, Rowena (Halle Curley), nepo baby director, Montgomery Byron (Zach Kelley), and powder loving producer Dax Lincoln (Rosario Corso) make her coach seem warm in comparison.
It is hard to believe that “Take 2” is Mark Meagher’s first rodeo. He is ready for primetime though with a few expletives and copious depictions of drug use, maybe HBO or some other paid-programming channel would be better suited for his talents. Meagher, Lerman and Waldmyer wrote the pilot about the most normal person in the room who still has faith that there is a method to the madness of all the characters that she encounters, but they are conscious-free, self-absorbed, disrespectful sociopaths, who just enjoy ripping the wings from birds, and she should fly. The story is (hopefully) loosely based on Lerman’s experiences in Los Angeles. Welcome home! This pilot is perfect. No notes! Please, sir, may we have some more. [Side note for those who get to see it: gold like the metal.]
- Thursday’s Special
On an ordinary Thursday in Brooklyn, several Hassidic men descend on a delicatessen to tease Benny (Brandon Botsford), two weeks before his wedding, but he only has eyes for Jezzie (Moriah Ventura), whom he fantasizes about, but cannot marry because she is not a part of his community. The tension between religion and desire is superficial though it has a lot of potential, but the unfortunate Jezebel trope and objectification will be turnoffs to some.
Shot in Brookline and Pawtucket at Maven’s Delicatessen with a few glorious shots of New York, director Rob Levinson paid homage to his childhood vacations to visit his grandparents in Brooklyn. Sporting a couple of great covers of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” the film is strong on atmosphere, but runs out of momentum before the twenty-minute run time runs out. Initially the story seems to be focused on Seth (Dustin Teuber), who has the charisma of Antonio Banderas during his “Desperado” (1995) era. When Seth passes the baton to other characters, it loses its focus with each exchange until it gets to Benny. Feeling more like a collection of skits than a cohesive narrative, the denouement retroactively explains the reason for the randomness and is as satisfying as the series finale of “Dallas.” If revised, Levinson should focus on the star, Seth, though Benny is probably the one that he relates to the most; however among such colorful characters, he gets relegated to the background. It would be helpful if there were subtitles for the Yiddish dialogue.
- Bandiots
The fifteen-minute comedy is about two disgruntled, fired former employees, Lowell locals Vinnie (Michael Gonza) and Joey (CK Fernandez), who decide to steal severance from their former employer, Abby Worthington (Mary Hronicek), but they are not up to the job. As everything goes wrong, they persist in improvising and persisting in their plans instead of leaving. Only co-director and co-writer Gonza and cowriter Matthew Martino did not appear on stage, which is too bad. Rosson is also codirector of “Bandiots.”
The short possesses the zaniness of a live action Saturday morning cartoon and may remind some of the thieves from the “Home Alone” franchise. Gonza also uses a judicial number of Tarantino-esque references from “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) and “Pulp Fiction” (1994) to keep the stakes high without losing any laughs. He evokes Chekhov’s gun and the heretofore lesser-known Chekhov’s self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh. Some seasoned moviegoers may be able to predict the punchline though it does not diminish the enjoyment. It simultaneously feels fresh and old-fashioned like home baked bread. Without the smug, self-satisfied approach of “Strange Darling” (2024), the filmmakers make Abby into an unpredictable character who is the thieves most fearsome obstacle. Warning: by the end, you may hate Joey a little.
