Countdown to Couch Fest #2 - Director Andrew Putschoegl on his Suicidal Slamdance Winner #indiefilm

 

On November 10th, more than two dozen short films from the U.S. and abroad will be playing at different residential homes and alternative venues during Couch Fest 2012. What I find most interesting about this festival is the mixed-bag approach that it’s using to showcase all of these movies on one day. Each host venue is playing a different lineup of films -- you won’t see the same films playing at a house in Oakland, CA that are showing in “the house with the purple door” in Seattle, WA -- at least, not entirely, anyway.

From comedy, truth and fiction to experimental and intense, the 2012 Couch Fest Film Festival is presenting programs that can satisfy most appetites for creative short form cinema. The six-minute dark comedy “Hello Caller” written by and starring Tom Lenk, (the actor also referred to as America’s favorite nerd from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) is among the award-winning gems included in Couch Fest’s enthusiastically curated programs.

Directed by Andrew Putschoegl, “Hello Caller” is about a suicidal woman who calls for help and gets unexpected results. Thankfully, Andrew Putschoegl were one of the filmmakers behind Couch Fest 2012’s Official Selections that agreed to do an interview with me. Here are the results.

Madlab Post: Should suicide be legal?

 Andrew Putschoegl: I believe suicide should be legal. We live in a society that believes in freedom, yet when it comes to end of life decisions we are woefully ignorant. Whether to live or die is the most personal (and potentially finite) decision that one has the opportunity to make in life, and I firmly believe in quality over quantity. That said, I would emphasize that I do not believe suicide is the answer to non-terminal situations.

If I was going to spend my life living in a bed, unable to move or speak, with no quality of life, that's one thing - if one had a mental illness and was battling depression, for example, I believe resources are and should continue to be available to help and support that person.

 

2.  Have you considered extending this into a short film series or franchise with mini sequels such as one for customer service hotlines or mail-order delivery lines?

We have discussed what this would look like as a series, with the two characters furthering their relationship, Tom working at other hotlines, as the basis for a feature film -- all of which would probably be horrible train wrecks. We've mostly just discussed it for our own amusement.

3. Tell me something unexpected that I don't know about "Hello Caller."

“Hello Caller” came about because Tom called me two weeks prior to the Sundance and Slamdance submission deadlines that year. He said he had a short film he wanted to make and asked if I would be interested in directing it. After I told him I thought he was crazy, I read the script, loved it, and we shot a week later.

Less than a week after that the film was finished and submitted. And then we premiered at Slamdance and won the Theatrical Offer Award. It's been a wild ride - all from a 6-minute short.

“Hello Caller” is playing on Saturday, November 10th at the 2012 Couch Fest. Check the "Attend" section on the festival's website for showtimes.

Stay tuned for a special surprise featuring more from director Andrew Putschoegl, in the coming weeks!

Would YOU be comfortable working at a crisis hotline center? Why or why not?

This post is a continuation of my Countdown to Couchfest campaign -- a selection of brief, yet, randomly outrageous and sometimes insightful interviews that I conducted with many of the directors behind the films playing at this year's Couch Fest lineup and will be publishing semi-daily between the regularly scheduled Monday Movie Meme and King Dong programs until Saturday, November 10, 2012!