The New Stepdad from A5Films

THIN AIR

Missouri State Electronic Arts senior thesis project for Max Rosen, Sam Gibson, Garret Layman, and David Bae. It’s about a young woman struggling to make sense of life after her mother’s spontaneous combustion. Starring Inge Chiles, Ross Murphy, David Lee, and Rolo Rodriguez. Written and directed by Max Rosen.

THE NEW STEPDAD

Extended cut of Carver M. School’s 2011 SATO48 entry. What happens when the one guy you can’t live with is the one guy your mom can’t live without? Starring Ryan Bennett and Matt Stowe. Written by Matt Stowe and directed by Carver M. School. Winner of Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Audience Favorite at the 2011 SATO48 Awards.

THE LAST MAGICIAN
Rare, unseen short / trailer from The McQuaid Brudders [Brook Linder and Greg Shultz] about rival magicians during what I think are the 1980s. Starring Greg Shultz, Bobby Hearn, and Matt Stowe. Written and directed by Brook Linder.

TERRORFORM (the trailer)
In space… no one can hear you build a miniature in the basement. Starring awesome visual effects and models by Greg Shultz. Written and directed by Greg Shultz.

Money raised will go toward paying film festival submission fees.

The free film series, which will take place the first Tuesday of the month January through May, 2011 begins at 9:30 p.m. at the Moxie Cinema, 431 S. Jefferson Ave., with an entrance on Pershing just south of the Downtown Y in Springfield.

This initial series will include “oops” by Chris Beckman, which has been selected to Utah’s Sundance Film Festival in January where it will be part of the Short Film Competition. The film earlier won a National Vimeo Awards competition in the Experimental category.

What: Queen City Film Series
When: Tuesday January 4th, 9:30 pm at Moxie Cinema
FREE ADMISSION!

The three other featured films on Tuesday include:

— “This is the Orange Line” by Nathan Maulorico, recently shown at the Cucalorus Film Festival
— “One Piece at a Time” by Max Rosen
— “Loose Cannon” by Brook Linder

“While the Internet offers amazing opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to show their work and these films can be found online, there is something powerful, something irreplaceable, about a roomful of people watching film on a big screen,” said Mike Stevens, Executive Director of the non-profit group that recently purchased the Moxie Cinema. “We think these films, and these filmmakers, deserve that.”

The Moxie is partnering with the Springfield-based Missouri Film Alliance to give local filmmakers this outlet to show their work on the big screen.

“The hope is that a recurring event might provide an incentive for people to go ahead and finish that project, or even start one,” said Steve Ole Olson, President of the Missouri Film Alliance. “Filmmakers from Springfield are showing their films throughout the world but a screening at The Moxie is still the “Holy Grail”. By offering these free screenings, we hope the community will discover the quality work that is being done in the region.”

The Queen City Cinema series is funded through a grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ Arts Programming Sustainability Initiative, which encourages projects that nurture local arts and the audiences for them.

The submission process for the series is ongoing. All area filmmakers are invited to drop off two DVDs of their film (short or long) at the Moxie for consideration (no fees for submission or screening!). Stevens also encourages participants in past SATO 48 five-minute film competitions to submit their work for a planned SATO 48 screening in April.

“Submissions will be rolling so there’s time to finish that project—you know who you are,” Stevens said.

For more information, contact: Mike Stevens, Moxie Cinema, (417) 379-9270; or Steve Olson, Missouri Film Alliance, 417-501-6075

The poster was designed by Mark Leicht.

Sophie Parker and Chris Beckman viewing Sundance Short Film Competition announcement

Included in that exclusive list of films is oops, a short film by local filmmaker and Drury graduate (2010), Chris Beckman. Competing in the U.S. DOCUMENTARY SHORTS competition, the film is described as
oops (Director: Chris Beckman) – A metaphorical elucidation exploring the Internet’s infinite repository of ‘throwaway’ social documentation.

The competition includes Animals Distract Me, by Director and Screenwriter Isabella Rossellini among others.

You first heard about Chris and his film when he won in the Experimental category of the Vimeo National competition. The film also screened at the London Anti-Design Festival in September and came to the attention of the Sundance competition committee who reached out to Chris and requested that he enter the film in their competition. Today’s announcement is the culmination of that effort.

The next step is raising funds to help Chris and his girlfriend (dare I say muse as well, as they have been together for four years and is his primary producer) Sophie Parker attend the Festival screening. The photo of Sophie and Chris above was shot today as we discussed the film and their plans at Big Momma’s Coffee, as they read the official announcement that had just been posted. If you would like to help them represent the Springfield film community, a fund has been established by the Drury Alumni and Development Office to help Chris to Utah. It is called the Chris Beckman Sundance Fund. To contribute to the fund, which will be used to help Chris travel to Sundance and participate in the screening,

Send a check made out to Drury University, noting that it is for the Chris Beckman Sundance Fund. Mail it to

Alumni and Development Office, attn. D. Course
Drury University
900 N. Benton Ave
Springfield, MO 65802

Your donation will be tax-deductible and the Drury Alumni office will issue you a letter indicating your contribution.

Chris, like artists throughout history, keeps digital notebooks of ideas. As Sophie described, he has many hard drives full of material he has collected through the years and the film is the culmination of his fascination with Youtube from its inception. As described in the Sundance synopsis above, Youtube offers a wide range of material and once he developed the concept of video associated with dropping a videocamera, it was approximately 10 days of work to come up with the original video. When the Vimeo competition was announced, a second edit with some additional material culminated in the video you can see below.

If you like what you see, a remarkable film for it’s seamless blend of disparate environments bound only by their common situation, then consider contributing to the fund that will allow Chris the opportunity to share his vision with the Sundance audience.

You can also become a fan of his next project Thin Air, a Missouri State Electronic Arts senior thesis film written and directed by by his friend and regular collaborator Max Rosen. With sound design and original music composition by Sam Gibson and David Bae. And assistant direction and special effects by Garrett Layman, Chris will be the Editor on the film.

oops from Chris Beckman on Vimeo.

Chris Beckman
oops, 2009
digital video art
concept by Billy Rennekamp

Somewhere between a home-video mixtape and a postmodern travelogue, “oops”—a ten-minute art video composed entirely of appropriated YouTube videos, seamlessly stitched together via a motif of camera drops—serves both as transportative adventure and metaphorical elucidation of YouTube itself (i.e. endless related videos), exemplifying the Internet’s infinite repository of “throwaway” social documentation. From suburbia to subterranea, the radically shuffling environs induce a vertiginous yet aesthetically contextual thread—a transcendent, reincarnating POV; our omnipresent Camera—by which, the nature of the ultra-verité videos, eschewing any filmic grounding, plunges the viewer into a relationship of fleeting immediacy w/ its many videographers: a self-portrait at arms length, the digital blur of an obscuring thumb, a disembodied narrating voice. This abstractly voyeuristic portrayal of an ever-filming generation (who won’t let the transcendence of being in A Moment inhibit their document-everything impulse) presages a future where every instant of our existence, from the mundane to the sublime, is preserved and catalogued for all to see.

Other examples of Chris’ work can be found on his Vimeo page including a new Director’s Cut of his 2008 SATO48 award winner “GOODBYE EARTH” and last year’s The Maiden Voyage of August Juncture’s Incredible Time Machine that won Matt Stout the Screenwriting Award (say hi to Matt next time you visit the Moxie)

Friday August 6 – “Astro Boy” (PG)
Saturday August 7 – “The Blind Side” (PG-13)

On Saturday’s, one or more films from the April SATO 48 short film contest are included. This week’s films are “The Maiden Voyage of August Juncture’s Incredible ‘Time Machine‘” and “DTR“. The “Time Machine” movie won Best Screenplay for Matt Stowe who also stars as the inventor. The film was created by Chris Beckman, Brook Linder, Max Rosen and Matt Stowe with Sophie Parker, Andrea Cannon, Sarah Scharfenberg & Will Andrée, Dugan Corsolini, Michaela Witzke.

It was shot entirely on the Canon Rebel T2i with two lenses, a Pentax Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4 and a Pentax SMC 28mm f/2.8 while in-camera audio was captured via a Beachtek DXA-5D. It is an excellent story, well crafted and all the more remarkable by being created within the 48 hour window of the SATO48 contest.

Tickets for Movies at Founders Park
Cost: FREE with ticket/family 4-Packs.
Tickets are available at the following locations, each Monday prior to that weekend’s movie:
Chesterfield and Doling Family Centers
Mediacom Ice Park
the Busch Municipal Building
Mediacom Offices (1533 S. Enterprise)
Admission without a free ticket is $5; children 5 years of age and under are always free.

A showing of four films [one ticket, four movies, bro] will take place on Tuesday, June 29th and Wednesday, June 30th at The Moxie.

Showtimes and ticket info to be announced. Any proceeds will go festival submission funding and ill-advised, late-night Taco Bell purchases.

LOOSE CANNON Premiere!
Directed by Brook Linder
Written and Produced by Brook Linder & Greg Shultz
Starring Greg Shultz and Bobby Hearn

Detective Bruce Cannon takes matters into his own hands to avenge the death of his partner.

SUMMER OF THE SPY
Directed by Jennifer Silvey
Written and Produced by Mike Rogers
Starring Eli DePriest and Maxine Whittaker

Obsessed with video games and the imaginary, a young boy is thrown out of his routine into the boring world of his grandmother’s farm life. But a secret ends up changing his perception of both reality and the spy world.

MARBLE RYE
Directed by Max Rosen
Written by Anne Dezort and Max Rosen
Produced by Kenny Wheeler
Starring Ariel Rose and Annie Soete

Nora is obsessive-compulsive, germaphobic, agoraphobic, the list goes on. She has never left the house without the security of her sister’s guidance. Until today. Featuring original music by SSLYBY’s John Robert Cardwell.

SATO48 2010 - Best Screenplay, Matt Stowe

A struggling, young scientist builds a time machine in order to win back the love of his life, with a little help from snooty college news anchors and rich cowboys. (EDITORS NOTE – 2010 SATO48 Best Screenplay award winner)

The theme was Your Missouri State Experience. Student judging took place during the May Day events on campus the same day.

The overall winner is a familiar name – Brook Linder, last seen here with his Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin music video. His winning video offered a humorous take on Canceled Classes, featuring his regular collaborator Matt Stowe.

You can see the other films on the Missouri State Bookstore’s Youtube Channel.

Rythmic Robot Best Video Award Winners

1st Place – The “Rythmic Robot” Award for best Video
Brooke Linder & Max Rosen “Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” GLUE GIRLS

2nd Place – The “Rythmic Robot” Award for best Video
Eli Cunningham “The Black Raven Creative” MUSHROOM TEA

3rd Place – The “Rythmic Robot” Award for best Video
Chandler Reed “Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” ANNE ELEPHANT

1st Place – The “Roaring Rex” Award for Best Song
“Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” GLUE GIRLS

2nd Place – The “Roaring Rex” Award for Best Song
“Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” ANNE ELEPHANT

3rd Place – The “Roaring Rex” Award for Best Song
Jim Bultas “Bender” THE DAY ROCK AND ROLL DIED

The “Technical Pteradactyl” Award for Best Editing
Max Rosen Matt Stowe & Brook Linder”Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” GLUE GIRLS

The “Golden Gun” Award for Best Cinematography
Max Rosen & Brook Linder “Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” GLUE GIRLS

Audience Favorite Award for Best Song
“Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” GLUE GIRLS

Audience Favorite Award for Best Video
Eli Cunningham “The Black Raven Creative” MUSHROOM TEA

Hat tip to the Four/Four for the heads up.

Brook Linder, Chicago Millenium Park

Right! It’s definitely not the answer sound-wise, but with the right lenses it can do just about anything. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it until I took it on a trip to a few cities last week (which I’ll have something up from soon). It was just too convenient to shoot absolutely whatever, whenever. I’ve always kind of shrugged off the idea of having something that’s portable, but it was great, absolutely great.

Here’s a link to a video we did in New York. Obviously we couldn’t light or use tripods, but the camera’s small size allowed us to go just about everywhere.

Focus Lens from Brandon Goodwin on Vimeo.

Our first (of many) NYC rap videos. Shot on a Nikon D90 with a 14mm tamron prime lens. Unofficial entry for 2009 STN music video competition.

If you’d like to learn more, leave a comment and I’ll ask Brook to answer your questions.

Wednesday March, 4th 2009 5:00-800 PM
@ The Library Station, 2335 N. Kansas Expressway

Thursday March, 5th 2009 5:00-8:00 PM
@ Pipkin Middle School, 1215 N. Boonville Ave

SHOOT DATE: Sunday, March 8th ( All Day )
CAST: (All youth ages 9-11 years old) No speaking parts are required.

Jeffrey: Boy. Loveable look. Heavy build. 9 – 11 years old. Comfortable dancing and being goofy in front of a lot of people.

Breanne: Girl. Jeffrey’s love interest.

Mitch: Boy. Jeffrey’s Bully. 9 – 11 years old.

Also Looking for 50-75 extras (ages 9-12). Everyone who auditions will likely get a part as an extra.

For any questions, contact Brook. 417-827-9130 or email Brooklin@mac.com