Benjamin Edelman and Manuel Camilion, Miami-based UM alumni directors, wrote and directed Santastein, a short film project, last year which would eventually play at places like the Sarasota Film Festival. Their short film received various accolades, even winning top prize at the University of Miami’s Scares and Scores where it caught the attention of executive producer Eddie del Carmen, 10-year veteran of the industry. They are joined now by Vasisth Sukul, one of the film’s producers to talk about their feature length version of Santastein funded entirely through Kickstarter.Continue reading Five Questions With: the Minds Behind Santastein→
With Halloween around the corner, horror movies and their tired cliches are inescapable. After narrowing down the seemingly endless list of terrible tropes, we asked you to vote for the ones you love to hate the most. Without further ado, here are the top three you chose:
Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster is about the dangers of a society obsessed with compatibility. Despite its tense tone, Lanthimos manages to make it refreshing with dark humor. David (Colin Farrell) navigates the aftermath of a marital affair in a society which requires everyone to find a compatible partner, or be turned into an animal. On this journey he comes across The Short-Sighted Woman (Rachel Weisz) and together they rebel against the pressures of society.
Although The Lobster can be hard to watch, those familiar with Lanthimos’ body of work will find his penchant for dark humor similar to recent works of his, such as The Favourite. Lanthimos excels at constructing the dystopian universe housed within the film, creating an atmosphere of constant fear and desperation through its characters. Colin Farrell is unrecognizable in his role as a divorced husband in unfamiliar territory, while Rachel Weisz serves as a stoic narrator for the first half of the film. The remainder of the cast does well to present the idea that this is an unpleasant society to live in. Continue reading The Lobster: A Dark Take On Compatibility→
Just this past weekend, on October 5th and 6th, FIU students participated in the mad rush that is the 48-hour film challenge, co-hosted by the Film Studies program and the Film Initiative. Those who attended generated storylines ranging from a student having a bad day to greek life gore. These students were then split into groups and were tasked with developing, writing, and shooting a short film all in under 48 hours on campus. Continue reading 48 Hour Filmmaking Challenge: That’s a Wrap→
Ironically enough, a film about the clown prince of crime is director Todd Phillips’ first dive into drama. His recent lineup of work is comprised of comedies like The Hangover franchise and War Dogs, but looking back at his earliest work, it’s obvious that Phillips has merely come full circle. Phillips kicked off his film career with a documentary about GG Allin, a notoriously controversial punk artist, and having seen Joker it becomes apparent that he has a fascination with violent men. Joker is a character study focused on Arthur Fleck’s (Joaquin Phoenix) miserable descent into becoming the iconic villain. It checks all the award season boxes — incredible lead actor, score, and cinematography. However, it’s difficult to praise Joker without acknowledging that the plot is a victim of its obsession with glorifying the actions of its main character.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster is about the dangers of a society obsessed with compatibility. Despite its tense tone, Lanthimos manages to make it refreshing with dark humor. David (Colin Farrell) navigates the aftermath of a marital affair in a society which requires everyone to find a compatible partner, or be turned into an animal. On this journey he comes across The Short-Sighted Woman (Rachel Weisz) and together they rebel against the pressures of society.
