News

It's no secret I am a huge fan of short film/video director Phil Mucci. His narratives The Listening Dead and Far Out remain at the top of my favorites, and his videos for bands such as Korn, Halestorm, and Opeth (whose clip The Devil's Orchard was actually included in the hallowed Fantasia Film Festival this year, a first) have all helped give those acts a solid visual identity.Now Mucci really brings his current visual style to another level this time around. An unholy mix of color and tone that comes off like Kenneth Anger, Russ Meyer, Mario Bava Richard Corben and Frank Frazetta all hanging out as they to Cheech and Chong and Black Sabbath records. The loose narrative involves the time traveling brother...

We love opinions here at Twitch. Even more, we love educated opinions, to paraphrase writer Harlan Ellison. This is the first of occasional columns where working filmmakers get a chance to speak out on films that have influenced them, made them think, pissed them off, made them laugh...movies they feel something for. So to jump right in, meet our first guest -Writer/director Phil Mucci is an award winning film maker, with short films like The Listening Dead and Far Out under his belt. He is also a sought after rock photographer/video director whose past clients have included Green Day, Korn, My Chemical Romance, and Opeth.First and foremost though, Mr. Mucci is a film addict of immeasurable proportions. He was kind enough to accept this...

As a film fan, I love short films for the same reason I enjoy short stories -- I get almost instant gratification with little investment of time, and then it's on to the next short. The stories and films might seem easier to forget, but that's not the case when a good story can be told in fifteen minutes or less. Such is the case with several short films I've seen over the years at South by Southwest Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. In the past it was difficult to see these films outside of a film festival, but thanks to the Internet more short films are available to a larger audience.

The most memorable shorts I've enjoyed were those I viewed at Fantastic Fest from 2006-2009, including Phil Mucci's gothic horror film The Listening Dead (view after the jump) which won the Short Film Jury Award for Best...

I receive updates every few months from photographer and filmmaker Phil Mucci, whom I met in 2006. Phil's short horror film The Listening Dead took the Best of Show award for short films at Fantastic Fest that year. Four years after its initial release, this short film has been translated into eight different languages. Phil has just announced that a "behind the scenes" short film on The Listening Dead is now available and can be viewed on his website. You can also watch his videos and short films, including Far Out, which screened at Fantastic Fest 2007.

That's Phil on the left with Alamo Drafthouse impresario Tim League at a filmmakers brunch during Fantastic Fest 2007. Note that Phil is sporting my "Last Night at the Alamo" hard hat that was given out to the audience for the special screening of Earthquake in Sensurround.

[Photo Credit: Phil Mucci and Tim League of the Alamo Drafthouse, courtesy of Debbie Cerda]...

Phil Mucci, pinball kingpin, pusherman, and director extraordinaire dropped a line in my mail box tonight that flipped me out in proper fashion. I'll let the release speak for itself.

""The Listening Dead", your favorite silent short film, is about to break the dimensional barrier! That's right, dear readers, "Tld", the little short film that could, is going 3-D!

A moment of silence to let that sink in...

Yes! 3-D Film Factory in San Diego has acquired the rights to convert "The Listening Dead" into stunning, eye-popping 3D, an expensive process to be sure, but one that will breathe new life into the film that just won't die! With any luck, "Tld" 3D will be hitting selected theaters and festivals as early as this Halloween! How's that for a piping hot slice of totally awesome?"

Can I get a "Hells yaw!!!"?

Anyone who has seen Mucci's short film already knows...

NEW YORK -- Boasting such titles as Dr. Terror's House of Pancakes and A Killer on I-475, the always irreverent Slamdance Film Festival announced its lineup of 73 shorts, selected from more than 2,150 submissions from 20 countries. Organizers noted a sharp rise in Spanish-language entries this year.

Slamdance has six shorts categories, including Competition Shorts Before Features, Documentary Shorts Competition and the Animation Competition. The Competition Shorts Gallery features six one-hour short-film programs.

The wild-card categories are the Anarchy Online Finalists and $99 Specials. Anarchy, as its name implies, accepts online submissions for all types of films, with online voters choosing a monthly winner from March-November. Finalists compete for several prizes, including the Sparky Award. In the latter category, Slamdance gives its filmmakers $99 and 99 days to shoot a film that is five minutes or shorter.

This year's Competition Shorts Before Features include The Saddest Boy in the World, The Listening Dead and The Mallorys Go Black Market. The Competition Shorts Gallery will feature "A Hooker & a Dirt Road End," The Cow Thief and Dentist Visit.

Docus in competition include Man Up (an honoree at this year's Hamptons International Film Festival), Song of Haenyo and Monsieur Borges and I. Some of the more attention-grabbing animated titles are "Close Your Eyes and Do Not Breathe," Cranium Theater and Oneheadword Protection.

Anarchy is alive among nine competing shorts, including Bump, Tick, Scratch, The Ramones and I and "Commode Creations: The Artwork of Barney Smith." The four $99 Specials are The Instrumentalist, Midlife With Glasses, Processing and The Sins of the Nude.

The 13th annual Slamdance Film Festival runs Jan.18-27.