Skeletons (2010)
Davis and Bennett are a mismatched pair of traveling salesmen in the business of cleaning out skeletons from closets. Together they travel across Britain, wandering in and out of their clients' lives, performing “the procedure” whereby hidden secrets and lies are exposed.

Assigned to a job by their boss, The Colonel, the pair soon find themselves up against their biggest challenge to date. But when they arrive at a remote family home and can't seem to get the job done, they discover that you can't always get away from your own skeletons.

• Machan – Uberto Pasolini
• ZOOMER – Sam Huntley
• We Dreamed America – Alex Walker
• Us Now – Ivo Gormley
• Tokyo Cowboys – Daneeta Loretta Saft & Patrick Jackson

The Sisyphean structure of Will Lamborn's trapped in the desert short Out of Nowhere had me instantly hooked. Will joins me to discuss the tricky nature of directing actors through ever repeating iterations of a scene.

One of the things about film that's so interesting to me is that it can recycle and play with time… There's a lot of fun ways you can play with time. It's very malleable.

Out of Nowhere Materials
Shooting Script
Shot List
Overheads

Showlinks
Out of Nowhere

• Out of Nowhere – Will Lamborn
• Pre-order TUB DVD
• Miss D 2007 Top Ten
• DN173: Leader of the Pack – Jason Michael Roberts
• DN172: Silent Things – Rob Brown (repost)

Out of Nowhere (2010)
On the run from a would-be killer, Peter -on foot and all alone in the desert- tries to find his way to civilization. As Peter tries to escape from the wilderness, he finds himself further and further away from where he wants to go.

• DN174: Out of Nowhere – Will Lamborn
• White Red Panic – Ayz Waraich
• The West Side – Ryan Bilsborrow-Koo & Zachary Lieberman
• The Shovel – Nick Childs
• The Patterns Trilogy – Jamie Travis

A great tagline can do wonders for piquing interest in a film whilst setting you up for what's to come. One cash register, two robbers, and $3.50, certainly does the job for the short Leader of the Pack. Its director Jason Michael Roberts joins me to discuss delivering on that killer line.

I think it's very important for a director to have an idea of what goes into all of it, in every facet. If it's not for communication, it's just the overall understanding.

Showlinks
Jason Michael Roberts
Leader of the Pack
Dangerous Significance
Panasonic AG-HVX200

• Leader of the Pack – Jason Michael Roberts
• Pre-order TUB DVD
• Miss D 2007 Top Ten
• Leader of the Pack
• DN174: Out of Nowhere – Will Lamborn

Leader of the Pack (2009)
One cash register, two robbers, and $3.50.

• DN173: Leader of the Pack – Jason Michael Roberts
• White Red Panic – Ayz Waraich
• The West Side – Ryan Bilsborrow-Koo & Zachary Lieberman
• The Shovel – Nick Childs
• The Patterns Trilogy – Jamie Travis

Knowing who you can count on in life and when to admit someone new to that finite list is always tricky decision, doubly so for the autistic lead in Rob Brown's Silent Things. Rob joins us to discuss the levels of preparation and research required to accurately portray how small decisions can have a major effect on those with autism.

I think that it's always fascinating to take a morally corrupt character and try and find that little flicker of humanity and compassion.

Silent Things Materials
Script
Storyboard

Showlinks
Rob Brown
Echoes Twitter
UK Film Council: Digital Shorts
Red Camera
Watch Rob's comedy short Shit Happens

Rob's previous short Echoes is screening with acclaimed French writer/director Claire Deni's latest feature White Material from 9th – 15th July at the QUAD Derby.

• Silent Things – Rob Brown
• SotW: Echoes
• Pre-order TUB DVD
• Miss D 2007 Top Ten
• DN174: Out of Nowhere – Will Lamborn

Silent Things (2009)
The friendship between an autistic man and woman becomes threatened when an impulsive teenage girl comes between them.

• DN172: Silent Things – Rob Brown (repost)
• White Red Panic – Ayz Waraich
• The West Side – Ryan Bilsborrow-Koo & Zachary Lieberman
• The Shovel – Nick Childs
• The Patterns Trilogy – Jamie Travis

One of the areas feature films often fail in, is the portrayal of the stand up comedians and the comedy club environment, so I was pleased to see that director Justin Molotnikov, not only nails that, but also delivers a gripping thriller in his debut feature Crying with Laughter.

For me as a director, one of the key jobs that I have to do is create an environment first and foremost, where people can feel relaxed; that they can be creative.

Showlinks
Crying With Laughter
Synchronicity Films
Cinetic
Scottish Screen
Sony HDW-F900R

• Crying with Laughter – Justin Molotnikov
• DN170: Kakera – Momoko Ando?
• DN SXSW2010: This Movie Is Broken – Bruce McDonald
• DN SXSW2010: The Freebie – Katie Aselton
• DN SXSW2010: Red White & Blue – Simon Rumley

Crying with Laughter (2009)
Joey Frisk is a stand-up comic whose life has just stopped being funny. In the most important week of his career, with an American talent scout flying in to Edinburgh to check out his act, his life begins to unravel.

Already struggling with an addiction to cocaine, he’s barely able to cope with the responsibilities he shares with his ex-wife Karen when it comes to looking after their young daughter, Amy. When his landlord promises to evict him for not paying his rent, Joey retaliates that night during his act, threatening to kill the man in front of a captive audience.

Things spiral further out of control when Joey wakes up the next day and is arrested for Grievous Bodily Harm. His landlord is in hospital with a fractured skull and the police have witnesses as to Joey’s abusive threats. To make matters worse, Joey has no memory of what happened. Looking for help, he turns to Frank Archer, a former friend who has recently walked back into his life. Together at military school 25 years earlier, Frank is keen that he and Joey get reacquainted and offers to take him into the home he shares with his much younger girlfriend Colette. But as Joey finds out, friendship is the last thing on Frank’s mind.

• DN171: Crying with Laughter – Justin Molotnikov
• Sugarhouse – Gary Love
• Lovers – Carl Zhang
• Kakera – Momoko Ando?
• Hotel Harabati – Brice Cauvin

When you're born into a filmmaking family the question isn't if you'll pick up the camera, but rather if you'll manage to forge your own identity as a filmmaker when you do. With her debut feature, Kakera: A Piece of Our Life, Momoko Ando has been able to do just that, drawing comparisons with other leading female directors around the world, rather than simply being considered a clone of her celebrated filmmaker father Eiji Okuda. We discuss sources of inspiration and making features in Japan.

What I really believe is to be very honest with your work, that's the least responsibility that you can take when you make something.

Showlinks
Momoko Ando Blog (in Japanese)
Kakera (in Japanese)
Third Window Films
Love Vibes Manga Series
Art Theatre Guild (ATG)
Sony HDW-F900R

• Kakera – Momoko Ando?
• DN171: Crying with Laughter – Justin Molotnikov
• DN SXSW2010: This Movie Is Broken – Bruce McDonald
• DN SXSW2010: The Freebie – Katie Aselton
• DN SXSW2010: Red White & Blue – Simon Rumley