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February 2013 Portsmouth Short Film Night audience

February screening wrap-up

The first Portsmouth Short Film Night is done, and what a night it was! One week ago, on a snowy Sunday night, on the day that the Oscars were on, celebrating big budget, big studio feature films, we packed the Store Gallery at 3S Artspace from wall to wall and celebrated independent short films of all descriptions.

We caught up with old friends and made new acquaintances. We enjoyed some great food from the Flatbread Company and the Portsmouth Brewery. Best of all, we saw nine varied and interesting films and talked with the filmmakers.

If you couldn’t make it out because of the snow, don’t worry, because:

A) We’re going to do this again.
The turnout was so excellent, the support was so fantastic, the feedback was so enthusiastic, that we can’t not. There are so many more great films to show and be seen! There’s so much more to learn and experience from our fellow filmmakers and film fans. As long as people want to make and watch films, we want there to be events like this.

Not only are we going to do this again, but we’re going to do it better. We’re going to keep showing wide varieties of films, and we’re going to keep bringing together filmmakers and aficionados — that will never change — but there’s plenty of room to grow and improve. We’re going to move to a bigger, but still intimate, venue to more comfortably accommodate everyone. We’re going to improve the screening quality so everyone can enjoy the films even more. We’re going to bring in some films and filmmakers from an even broader area, whether in-person from Portland, Boston, or New York, or via internet video from the other side of the world. Most importantly, we’re going to keep bringing together people like you who want to watch films and talk filmmaking.

So if you’ve made a short film, why not send it in? Come talk about how you made it and why, what you learned, and what you’re doing next. Come check out what others are doing; learn; be inspired.

The next Portsmouth Short Film Night will be in mid-April. Watch out for an announcement of the exact date soon.

B) You can catch up on what you missed.
You might not be able to enjoy the same good vibes or good food we had on the night from home, but you can watch all the films online. Here they are:


Phosphorescent – The Waves at Night
Zack Richard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH24EI087Eg
Maine
Newd Films


Landscrapers – “The Guys Get Blindsided”
FunE World Productions


These Candles Burn
Jordan Schopick


Coming of Age
Purple Finch Moving Picture Society


Sweet Dreams
Justina Maji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwDethc9PNA
The Cola Man in Space
Tom Clark


Near the Mountain
Flynn Donovan


When at the End of My Rope…
Homemade Arts & Entertainment

That’s it for now. See you next time!

Frame from Coming of Age

Screening preview: Coming of Age

This is part of a series of posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Frame from Coming of AgeOur final film is “Coming of Age.” It was written and directed by John Herman and submitted by cinematographer Dan Deering, who had this to tell us about the film:

The story of a man reflecting on his life around a river. This movie was produced in association with the 48 Hour Film Project, which invites filmmakers from around the world to produce a complete short movie in just two days. Winner of the Best Film, Best Director, and Audience Choice Awards.

Frame from Coming of Age

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to see this and the other great short films being screened!

Frame from Sweet Dreams

Screening preview: Sweet Dreams

This is part of a series of posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Frame from Sweet DreamsJustina Maji’s “Sweet Dreams” has the distinction of being the very first film submitted to PSFN, just hours after the call for submissions went live. If that wasn’t enough to require her inclusion already, her film is an unexpected, funny, and very sweet rendition of a music video. Justina’s story just adds to the experience of watching it:

He’s usually a great listener, but my husband misheard the lyrics to Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams.” I was reluctant to share this film publicly, as I made it as a love letter to my husband who was spending his birthday alone working on a contract in Virginia. I knew he was homesick, and we had been apart for months. I got really crafty one weekend and decided that I had to make a music video. All of the characters from our apartment in Portsmouth (including the rain pouring in through the windowsills) are included as a reminder of when we were here together. I expected him to be the only one to ever see it, but he was impressed and it began to get around among my friends on social media. I hope you enjoy watching it!

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and have been living in Portsmouth for about a decade. I am the Conference Center Director for Star Island, which is the most beautiful place in the world, and surprisingly just 7 miles off the coast of Rye. I have almost no experience with film-making, but I often engage in random creative activities. Even my dog is more technologically advanced than me. At least that’s what her twitter account would suggest (@ladytherealdog).

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to see this and the other great short films being screened!

Frame from "Maine"

Screening preview: Maine

This is part of a series of posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Frame from "Maine"Andrew Gibson’s “Maine” is short and sweet, with a punchline that anyone up and down the northeast can appreciate, even if they’re not a Mainer. Andrew writes:

I studied communication arts at the University of New Hampshire, where I began making music videos and short films. Eventually a few friends and I started making comedy shorts under the NEWD FILMS moniker. To this day, most of our work is focused in the comedy genre, and we are currently working on developing several web series, sketches, and hopefully a feature in the future.

Frame from "Maine"The short film “Maine” was filmed in late December after we got a huge snowstorm. We were bored and stuck at our friends house when we came up with the idea. We had ventured out of the house a few different times that weekend, and each time we arrived at a new destination (liquor store, friends house, bar, liquor store etc.), we would bang our bean boots to shake off the snow before we entered. After awhile it became a practical joke, and we would obnoxiously stomp around and cause as much of a scene as we could. By weekends end, we decided to make a film about it. Having no crew, or budget, or brain cells to write a script or any dialogue nonsense, we decided to keep things simple. The whole thing was shot and edited in just over an hour. Enjoy!

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to see this and the other great short films being screened!

Frame from The Guys Get Blindsided

Screening preview: Landscrapers – The Guys Get Blindsided

This is part of a series of posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Frame from The Guys Get BlindsidedSubmitted by cinematographer Chris Spencer, “The Guys Get Blindsided” is an impressive comedy episode for its quality of production. Writing, directing, acting, and photography are all of a high caliber. Here’s a little from Chris:

My name is Chris Spencer. I am a filmmaker living on the Seacoast. I am originally from a small town alongside the Connecticut River. I have lived in New Hampshire my entire life and it’s a large part of who I am as a person and the work that I do. I would consider myself a self-taught filmmaker who loves to be behind the lens and cutting the footage. I have a large interest in the democratization of film and how DSLR cameras have really pushed the envelope on quality and affordability.

Frame from The Guys Get BlindsidedLandscrapers is a web series created by John Cogliano and developed by a group of people spanning New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. “The Guys Get Blindsided,” written by Jeremy Fiske, is the first episode in the series. It follows three landscapers who become motivated by a young inner city basketball player, and scheme up a ludicrous way to try and make money. Directed by Andrew Gibson and Charlie Harrington, the episode was shot on a Canon 60D down in South Boston.

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to see this and the other great short films being screened!

Frame from Phosphorescent- The Waves at Night

Screening preview: Phosphorescent – The Waves at Night

This is part of a series of posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Frame from Phosphorescent- The Waves at NightMusic video or short film with musical accompaniment? Either way, Zack Richard’s film set to Phosphorescent’s “The Waves at Night” is compelling and beautifully photographed. Here’s what Zack had to say about the production:

The video started out as a camera test with a little storyline. It was shot one year ago entirely on route one bypass in Portsmouth and Kittery, ME.
I was very lucky, Cate Carson stars in the video and gave a great performance without any dialogue. The luck continued as I didn’t have a truck or trucker lined up when we started shooting. We found a trucker who let us shoot the cab of his truck and is in the video briefly. The whole video was shot in about 3 1/2 hours its a very simple story with an open ending.Frame from Phosphorescent- The Waves at Night
Hoping to shoot more projects like it in the near future.
Bio:
Zack grew up in upstate NY, his love of photography commencing at age 11 when he began taking B&W 35mm photos, developing and printing them in school (he still shoots with some of the same lenses he was using 20+ years ago). He graduated from The San Francisco Art Institute in 1999 with a BFA in Film. While there he had the good fortune to study with some of the legends of Underground Cinema including George Kuchar and Lawrence Jordan.He is a creative, innovative and resourceful director and cinematographer with extensive experience shooting feature
films, commercials, music videos and documentaries. His clients have included Hyundai, Terra Chips, Pedigree and Canyon Creek Ranch.

Zack lives in York Harbor, ME with his wife and three amazing children.

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to see this and the other great short films being screened!

Frame from Near the Mountain

Screening preview: Near the Mountain

 This is part of a series of posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Frame from Near the MountainFlynn Donovan’s “Near the Mountain” is a beautiful, fascinating documentary short set in the exotic locale of a Peruvian quarry. Flynn shared the following:

This is a  poetic look into the life of an old Peruvian quarry worker and his contribution to a beautiful colonial city. While on a visit to Arequipa, Peru with my wife I decided one day to take a taxi and visit the very famous quarries in the region. It was at that time while taking pictures that I met old Honorato the quarry worker and his son Claudio.  That evening back at the hotel checking over the days photography, particularly the ones taken at the quarry I was deeply touched by this old man and his difficult life.  The following day I returned to the quarry to ask Honorato if he would mind if I made a film about him.

Frame from Near the Mountain

A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT ME

Frame from Near the MountainI started working in film as a film editor.  This was back at a time when there weren’t cell phones or Final Cut Pro.  In 1972 I was introduced to a freelance film director who worked almost exclusively in South America.  He was keen on giving me a trial period, partially because I was raised in Ecuador and was fluent in Spanish and was very familiar with the culture.  Many times I wanted to quit because the life of a freelance documentary cinematographer was extremely rigorous, particularly with this man who had done so much and was extremely well-known in European circles.  He liked my work and over a 30 year span we made many fine films together.

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to see this and the other great short films being screened!

Frame from These Candles Burn

Screening preview: These Candles Burn

This is part of a series of posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Frame from These Candles BurnJordan Schopick’s “These Candles Burn” defies categorization. Documentary-cum-poem, perhaps. However you describe it, Jordan’s film is a moving first-person tribute. Jordan had this to say about its genesis:

I am 17 and a Junior at Portsmouth High School. I spent the last semester in Israel at Alexander Muss High School in Israel. We learned about Jewish history, and in the middle while we covered the Holocaust, we took a week trip in Poland. We visited multiple concentration camps and significant places in Poland, and I filmed everywhere we went. I knew from the  start that I wanted to make a powerful film in memory of the victims, so I filmed anything I could for the week. I started editing right when I got back, blew off homework, stayed up late, and edited on the bus until I finished.

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to see this and the other great short films being screened!

Promo for When at the end of my rope...

Screening preview: When at the end of my rope…

Promo for When at the end of my rope...This is part of a series of posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Ryan Harrison’s “When at the end of my rope…” is our only foreign and, indeed, only non-local film. As soon as I saw it, though, I knew I had to show it — it will round off the night beautifully. Here’s what Ryan had to say:

Homemade Arts & Entertainment is working on a series of short films that will lead up to a feature we hope to be shooting soon. We’ve already made three of those shorts and have our fourth shoot coming up. ‘When at the end of my rope…’ was our very first one and it worked more as an experiment, just to see if we could actually put a film together. We shot it in one day and the actual shoot was quite disastrous in fact! We had every problem you can think of, from technical, to scheduling and location, but we persisted and decided to finish the film the best way we could.Frame from When at the end of my rope...

Ryan Harrison has been involved in film in many different capacities for many years now, having worked in places like Brazil, the United States, France and the UK. After making a few promos, music videos and two features that are currently in development, he decided to take a step back and start working on a series of shorts, to get himself and his crew better trained and more exposed. His next short film is about to enter production and will be his most ambitious yet.

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery in Portsmouth, NH to see this and the other great short films being screened!

Screening preview: The Cola Man in Space

Frame from The Cola Man in Space

This is the first in a series of short posts from the filmmakers previewing the different films that will be screened at Portsmouth Short Film Night.

Tom Clark’s film, The Cola Man in Space, is an inventive and intricate mash-up of two things that wouldn’t otherwise come to mind together: a pop-up book and a music video.

Tom’s Bio:
Tom Clark has directed/produced Drop-Frame® (documentaries about Portsmouth and NH’s Lakes Region), and published 6 music videos for local bands. 3 more are in production. He went to KSC where he majored in film production. He also makes some of his own music. “The Cola Man in Space” is an example of his own song writing/producing.

Video Description:
The “Cola Man” is next to go up to the moon. But will he go without his cola? I researched pop up books for a couple weeks and realized they always seem to do the same things, just with different graphics. So I set out to make one with things I’ve never seen before in a pop up book. Such as two-player interactive games.

Come to Portsmouth Short Film Night on Sunday, February 24 at 7:30pm in 3S Artspace’s Store Gallery to see this and the other great short films being screened!