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

Justina 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!

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

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.

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!

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

Submitted 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.

Landscrapers 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!

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

Music 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:

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.

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!

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

Flynn 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.

A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT ME

I 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!

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

Jordan 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!

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.

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!