Countdown to Couch Fest #3 - Duncan Cowles’ Lamp Casts Mom As Lead Actress by Accident #indiefilm #seattle #2012CFF

As the 2012 Couch Fest Film Festival creeps up on us, I’m starting to wish that the event organizers added an extended program to the Philadelphia lineup. Don’t get me wrong, the 90 minutes of award-winning short films playing in Philly on Saturday are a treat.

There are downsides to living at home when you're twenty-one. - The Lady with the Lamp

Regardless, I crave the chance to introduce Philly movie fanatics to some of the most entertaining shorts that are playing in Seattle, Washington -- such as Jimmy Weber’s six-minute horror 'Incubator' and Martin Thibaudeau’s six-minute comedy/drama 'Parachute.' 

Luckily, I've had the pleasure to discuss the films as well as other wacky subjects with the very people who made them -- no matter whose house, apartment, office space or garage they are playing at. UK based documentarian Duncan Cowles, whose latest work 'The Lady with the Lamp' was selected for Couch Fest 2012, is one of these people. A week before Halloween, Cowles told me how he used to perform as James Bond, ended up making two short films at once and why timing is everything when it comes to figuring out when you should no longer live at home with your parents.

Madlab Post: How did you celebrate your 21st birthday?

Duncan Cowles: On the actual day of my birthday I had a family meal, and then at the weekend I booked out the back room of a bar in Edinburgh called Dragonfly and had all my mates round for a few drinks.

'Lady with the Lamp' Filmmaker Duncan Cowles and his Mom.

What age should parents require their kids to move out from home?

I'd say that just when the time is right. I eventually moved out just before turning twenty-two, which was fine for me. Apart from dealing with my Mum's enthusiasm for lamps, there wasn't too much that got in the way of my freedom and with going to College and University in Edinburgh, it didn't make sense to fork out for a flat.

Tell me something I don't know about The Lady with the Lamp.

The film happened completely by accident. I was filming a video blog for a different film about the culture of car pooling called ‘Pooling Together,’ when my Mum came barging into my room unaware of the fact the camera was on. I was simply waiting for her to leave so I could carry on my video blog.

How did you convince your mother to be in this film?

My Mum didn't get much of a choice. She chose to be in the film the moment she decided to criticise my bedside lamp. I had no intentions of making a film about her at all. Upon seeing the film apart from some minor embarrassment, she saw the funny side and doesn't seem to mind too much that it's been going to different film festivals.

If you were given 48 hours to make a movie starring Daniel Craig, what kind of role would you give him to play?

I have no idea what I'd do with him in 48 hours. I think I'd like to see him in some sort of comedy role -- maybe bring him up to Scotland and see him in some difficult, awkward situations such as getting on the wrong side of an angry pensioner. Or maybe trying to settle into the quiet life by joining a local tea dance to impress an old woman he met at the deli counter in Tesco. I'd find something to do with him -- maybe film him having dinner with my Mum? Or taking her shopping for a lamp?

Will you be going to see 'SkyFall?' 

Yes I've seen 'Skyfall' already. I've always been a massive James Bond fan since I was little. At my primary school talent competition, on stage in front of all the staff, parents and pupils I walked out to the James Bond theme and proceded to pretend shoot the audience. I then stated, "The names Cowles... Duncan Cowles." I did it two years running.

The Lady and the Lamp is playing on Saturday, November 10th at the 2012 Couch Fest Film Festival. Check the Couch Fest website’s “Attend” section to find showtimes in or near your area.

And yes, I merged today’s Couch Fest post with my King Dong series and for good reason -- Daniel Craig, who now succeeds Jeremy Rener on the throne, is also from the UK. Hey, if Duncan Cowles can make two films simultaneously, then I can cover two topics/series in one blog post, right?!

Has YOUR mother or father ever walked in on you during a surprising or awkward moment?

How old were YOU when you moved out of your parents’ house?

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!

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!

Countdown to Couch Fest #1 - Swedish Filmmaker Anna Linder Says H&M and Cheap Things Destroy Our Culture #indiefilm

In the coming weeks on November 10th, movie lovers around the world will gather in strangers homes, art galleries and related alternative venues, for the 2012 Couch Fest.

While operating as an annual event that prides itself on showcasing the most mind-blowing selection of short films that the indie circuit has to offer, Couch Fest is being brought to you via a small, yet, dedicated army of 40+ Hosts who are screening the festival's lineup at more than one dozen places across the country and beyond borders -- from San Diego, CA and Cleveland, OH to Moscow, Iceland, Ampsterdam and Staten Island, NY. Yours truly is even bringing Couch Fest to Philadelphia, PA. Since I don't have a couch, however, the Philly screening will take place at a video rental store.

This post marks the official launch of my Countdown to Couch Fest campaign -- a selection of brief, yet, randomly outrageous and sometimes insightful interviews that I conducted with many of the directors behind the films being featured 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!

So sit back, grab some popcorn or your favorite candy, and find out what goes on in the minds of our world's award-winning filmmakers. First up in my countdown is a filmmaker named Anna Linder who hails from Stockholm, Sweden and directed the short film “13 Related Sewing Machines.”

On Sunday, she made it clear to me that contrary to what I thought this movie was about -- mechanical observations or historical accounts of the manufacturing industry or maybe the assembly process of a particular clothing line, her short film is actually meant to touch on something deeper, personal and meaningful -- the work of unseen women battling with insecurities.

Madlab Post: Does this film celebrate sewing machines or the beautiful products (fashions) that they produce?

Anna Linder: It´s a piece for all the women behind it – all my relatives and all other who use it! 13 Related Sewing Machines is a part of an ongoing work about the invisible labour of women; “I can’t hear the sound of your sewing machine anymore” is a tribute to my mother, grandmother and to all the women who suffer from a constant bad conscience for not being good enough.

Can you sew? If so, what was the last thing that you made using a sewing machine?

Yes I can – tomorrow, I will repair my jeans and before that I think I used it in my performance: I'm Making this Sparetime useful by not Making Waste Performance, 2010, 2-8 hours, 4-8 channels. The performance is a way to use time for important work. I am repairing, taking care of my textiles and my clothes. I don´t want to buy new things anymore. I hate H&M and all cheap things that destroy our culture and the worlds economy. It is also a way to show some concentrated work and let people be in my world of focus.

How did you secure your props for this movie?

All the sewing machines belong to the women in the film and it was really important that they chose ongoing projects to work on (nothing fejk) and they also chose the clothes and (it’s) funny -- they look really staged but its not at all – I decided the white look of course but the rest just proves they thought about how to look in front of the camera together with the thing they sew on for the film :)

Thank you Anna Linder, May you have fun while visiting Canada this week!

“13 Related Sewing Machines” is playing at select homes on Saturday, November 10th at the 2012 Couch Fest.

I could probably do some small repairs on clothing but I’m not the one to go to if you want a custom-made holiday sweater or newborn baby outfit. So tell me...

Can YOU sew?

When was the last time YOU used a sewing machine?