Festival Alert: Giant Rock X 2

“Giant Rock” is a strange film. It’s not for everyone. But that’s okay. I love this film anyway – in all its slow, otherworldy, desert-dream-vision strangeness.

All of which brings me to the point of this post, which is…

I was very excited last night to receive word that “Giant Rock” has been selected by two film festivals… the First Contact Film Festival and the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology.

Thank you to them both for presenting “Giant Rock” to the world.

Dublin World Premiere

Grateful and humbled to hear the news today that “This Is Where We’ll Build the Labyrinth” has been named an Official Selection for the 2023 Bloomsday Film Festival and will receive its world premiere screening in Dublin, Ireland between June 12 – 16.

Thank you to the Bloomsday Film Festival and thank you to everyone who played a part in making this short film.

Best Covid Film

Thanks to the San Francisco Arthouse Short film festival for naming “Then Came the Firestorm” as their Best Covid Film for January 2023.

It seems like it was so long ago when I ventured into the empty city streets with my iPhone to film scenes from another world. But wait… it wasn’t another world. It was our world, wracked by the pandemic that lingers still.

On the Big Screen

Super fun to see my short animated film “Don’t Forget to Pack Your Hand Grenade” on the big screen at the 4 Star Theatre… thanks to Another Hole in the Head Film Festival for the fun event and Q&A session.

After seeing so many movie theaters shut down over the years, it’s wonderful to see the 4 Star back in business.

If you missed it on the big screen… Another Hole in the Head Film Festival 2022 plays online until Dec 18. You can watch “Don’t Forget to Pack Your Hand Grenade” as part of the Strictly Local 3 group of films.

New Project Alert: Giant Rock

Earlier this year, I travelled to the Southern California desert in and around Joshua Tree National Park. I was inspired by two places in particular, Giant Rock and the Integratron sound bath, to write a narrative poem called “Giant Rock” and turn the poem into a short animated film.   

Special thanks to John Vanderslice for the soundtrack, Antoni Villacreces for the animation, and Jacob Winik for audio mastering. I’m starting the process of submitting this strange little trip of a film to festivals now. Wish me luck.

You can check out the trailer here.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Thanks to Another Hole in the Head 2022 film festival for selecting my music video “Don’t Forget to Pack Your Hand Grenade” for their upcoming event in San Francisco and online.

My video will screen on December 11 at 3pm at the Four Star Theater in San Francisco as part of a group of local short films bundled together under the title Strictly Local 3. Tickets and more info available here.

“Don’t Forget to Pack Your Hand Grenade” will also be available to watch online during the entire film festival (Dec 1 to 18).

“Dear Lev” in the UK

I’m thrilled to announce that “Dear Leviathan” has been named a finalist in the poetry film category at the 2022 Absurd Art House film festival. The short film will be shown on July 9th at The Criterion Blue Town Cinema and Music Hall in Sheerness, Kent – that’s in the United Kingdom.

A note about Absurd Art House: “We are open to all international films that don’t fit in, don’t want to fit in, or just can’t be categorised to fit in to the norms expected of so many conservative festivals (you know who you are).” 

Let’s Get Weird

Super-huge thanks to the Holly Weird Film Festival for choosing my short experimental poetry film “Dear Leviathan” as an official selection. Festival will be held July 10, 2022 in North Hollywood. See the official announcement here.

The festival “celebrates independent films of all genres that feature a distinct vision, a unique voice, or an avant-garde challenge to what is expected or accepted. HWFF provides a venue for narrative, documentary, experimental and avant-garde film and video. Holly Weird is dedicated to celebrating all types of creativity from the worldwide independent film community.”

Apocalyptic Thanks

Many thanks to the End of Days Film Festival for selecting both “Chernobyl” and “Don’t Forget to Pack Your Hand Grenade” for their 2022 festival.

Boom. Boom. Boom.