Short Films

THE NEW YORK TIMES’ TOUCH OF EVIL

Directed by Alex Prager

See the full collection at the New York Times website.

This was my second collaboration with Alex Prager, a fine arts photographer who was included in the MoMA’s 2010 new photography review.

For this video companion to the New York Times Magazine‘s portfolio of Oscar contenders, Alex shot vignettes of thirteen actors portraying famous villains from movie history.

The editing of these art-film vignettes really indulged my OCD. I like to make sure every edit point is just right. Alex also focuses on the details; her work is characterized by highly staged, detail-rich scenes and portraits.

OH BABY, I LOVE YOU!

Directed by Mary Molina

Official Selection, NYLA Int’l Film Festival
Official Selection, LA Comedy Fest
Official Selection, St. Louis Int’l Film Festival
Official Selection, Plus Camerimage Int’l Film Festival (Poland)

This film was the brainchild of three soon-to-be-powerful Hollywood women: director Mary Molina, producer Sarah Babineau, and writer Niki Schwartz-Wright.  Mary and Sarah were roommates of mine, and Niki is also a dear friend.

At the time, Niki was working as an assistant to director Jason Winer, so she invited him to an early screening. A few months later, Jason hired me as an editor on “Modern Family.” I owe Niki a commission!

Young cinematographer Eduardo Mayén won the Emerging Cinematographer Award from the International Cinematographers Guild for his work on the film.

SUNDAY

Directed by Alex Prager

This was my first collaboration with Alex Prager, a fine arts photographer who was included in the MoMA’s 2010 new photography review.

This (very) short film was the offshoot of a fashion spread Alex shot for W magazine. The companion photograph to this piece, “Crowd #1 (Stan Douglas),” was displayed at the MoMA.

STRANGERS

Directed by Asher Goldstein

Best International Short Film, Kerry Film Festival (Ireland)
Best Short Film, Trenton Film Festival
Best Screenplay, NYU First Run Film Festival
Official Selection, Firstglance Film Festival
Official Selection, Expression En Corto Festival (Mexico)

The biggest challenge of this film was its ending. Director Asher Goldstein ran out of time and didn’t shoot the last three pages of the script. So, in place of a climatic brawl, we had to use what little was there to build an ending that still felt satisfying.

Asher and I were introduced by the intern at my job. I was a 23-year-old commercial assistant who wanted to edit short films. Asher had just finished classes at NYU and needed an editor for his thesis.

We cut “Strangers” through the summer and became best bros. At the time, I lived near a family-style Mexican restaurant in West LA, so most editing sessions began or ended with wet burritos.

CHILDREN OF THE SPIDER

Directed by Jeff Vespa

Director Jeff Vespa, a photographer and co-founder of WireImage, premiered his 2008 short film “Nosebleed” at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, Cannes invited him to submit again, and he quickly put together this interesting piece.

In the fashion of Alain Resnais, Jeff presents a non-linear, dreamlike story of two lovers, played by Mena Suvari and Sam Trammell, in free fall.

The film was shot with Jeff’s RED camera and in Jeff’s home, so we were able to shoot pickups as needed during editorial.

LA ROSA Y EL GATO

Directed by Mary Molina

Official Selection, Palm Springs International Short Film Festival

Opening Night Selection, Mezcla Latino Film Festival

Director Mary Molina, producer Sarah Babineau, and I were roommates when we made this film, Mary’s thesis at USC. I had the largest bedroom, so it became our cutting room, too.

The film is almost entirely in Spanish. I edited with a translation in front of me. I studied Latin in high school and French in college, so it wasn’t difficult to loosely understand the Spanish. Though, in a few cases, I needed Mary to come in and confirm that I was interpreting individual words correctly.