Day two Phoenix Comicon has come and gone, and what a busy day it was! From the Facebook Live to our late afternoon interview, not to mention the mixer we went to, it was a phenomenal day with interviews, panels, some fantastic networking, and the making of new friends. As Gini Koch would say, “routine.”
Facebook Live Day Two
Our second Facebook Live video was recorded Friday morning at 9:00 AM out side the Hall of Heroes on level 3 of the Phoenix Convention Center. The lines to get in were long even at 8:30 when we made our way across the street. Fortunately for us, we were able to use the expedited line being Media. Here is our video:
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Tony Kim Interview
We waited in line for the Hall of Heroes to open and when we got in, we made our way over to the Hero Within clothing booth and were extremely fortunate to be able to interview Tony Kim about the new Wonder Woman jacket for men as well as other items he has for sale at the Con. Here is our interview with Tony:
Danny Trejo Panel
At Noon we made our way to the Danny Trejo panel. We were able to record the panel. What a treat it was to hear the stories he had to tell and the laughter that ensued. Let’s have a listen here:
Film Festival
So here is a second block of Sci-Fi shorts that started off again with the wonderful film, Waypoint. This was scheduled largely due to some minor technical difficulties that occurred during the first screening on Thursday, so the programming director agreed to have the film screened a second time so that people could then watch the film as it was meant to be seen and enjoyed.
The rest of the film festival followed with these short films…
Autonomous
Director: George Varotsis
UK
“When a mistrustful rogue, who earns a living by sending obsolete humanoid robots to the scrap heap, has a change of heart and decides it’s time to call it quits, he stumbles upon a conspiracy that will reveal his life’s darkest secrets.”
This film was very Blade Runner-esque in concept. There is a “hired gun” who brings in other robots to be decommissioned. The twist is, of course, that he’s a robot as well and ends up becoming decommissioned as well. Unfortunately this was not a very original story.
FATUM
Director: Druart Film Sylvain & Turgard Séverine
France
“Peter Traurd, a 30 year old father of a girl, was left in charge of her upbringing and education after his wife died two years ago. He draws the attention of a group, among which Sarah, his partner and highly capable fighter, with whom he will have to change the tragic fate of a few individuals.”
This is not only a proof of concept, it’s a very HIGH concept short film. It is extremely artistic in style and highly original. Unfortunately the film was not shown in a manner that the director would have approved, which only made the film somewhat confusing. Once it was learned how the director intended for this to be seen did this short film suddenly make a lot more sense. Very original, and very brilliant for a first time film director.
ReWrite
Director: Crash Buist
US
“A sci-fi thriller about a fourth-dimensional artifact, the thief who steals it, and the man who will kill him to change the past.”
This was one of my absolute favorites of this block. This idea that a specific artifact could be used to communicate forward and backward in time is amazing, and made for a short film that was so timey-wimey that Stephen Moffatt would have wished he had written it! Very well executed, and very well acted! Luckily for fans of this short film there is the intention to tell more story!
POPSY
Director: Julien Homsy
France
“In this adaptation of a Stephen King short story, Weber’s addiction to poker leads him into deep trouble. Forced to cover his debt to Mr. Rudy, he reaches a point of no return.”
Stephen King stories are very difficult to pull off in film. While this is not exactly an exception to the rule, much of this film is brilliantly told as more of a psychological horror film than a science fiction. It does make one wonder, how far would you go because of some addiction that you may have? The ending was a bit weak, but the rest of the short film was amazing.
Ai
Director: Nuutti Aleksis
Japan
“Ayaka’s life is going nowhere. Then she meets a vampire called Ai and gets bitten. But is Ai just another example of Ayaka’s imagination colliding with reality? Ayaka’s only only friend, Saki, think so. Ayaka decides to abandon Saki for Ai and try to become a vampire to escape her situation. But will that be her salvation or only send her further down the hole she is in?”
This was one of the more interesting takes on the vampire lore. Many of the film’s stylistic choices are clearly influenced by the Japanese culture. Possibly even the story is as well because it didn’t have a continuous narrative. It felt a bit disjointed in how the plot line jumped around. The energy felt disconnected, but then perhaps that’s the goal in order to help the audience actually sympathize with the character of Ayaka. Her perceptions of the world around are changing radically, and maybe that’s what the short film sought to create, and if that’s indeed the case then this film is a triumph!
Soma Helmi Interview
After the Sci-Fi Shorts 2 concluded we made our way back to the hotel where we interviewed Soma Helmi, Director of the short Waypoint, which we saw yesterday and again today.
Here is that interview:
Drinks with Filmmakers
We made our way over to the Rose and Crown Bar for the Phoenix Comicon Film Festival Drinks with Filmmakers and talked to quite a few individuals that had entries in the Film Festival.
This turned out to be one of the biggest personal highlights for us, and merely emphasizes the great opportunities that are to be had at a Comicon. The socializing that can take place outside of the convention hall is amazing, and the people we were able to meet and chat with is something that we will savor for some time to come!
Now it is time to sleep and rest up for Day Three…..
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