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Meet the Filmmaker: Lindsay Morrison, “Hi Larry :)”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
LM: I initially got into film via music videos of the 90s. I didn’t necessarily understand it as a career, but the art form intrigued me. Then I took a “Films of David Lynch” course in college and that’s what got me into the idea of directing. I was so inspired by his strange clues and unusual plot structures, and that’s when I finally started making my own short films. Directing for the first time, I was hooked, and pretty soon found myself in Los Angeles, going to film school at USC. I’ve explored many art forms, but film is by far my favorite. I love the ability to bring dream images to life and to tell unusual stories.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
LM: You will be seeing Hi, Larry:) which was my team’s submission to the 2018 Denver 48 Hour Film Project. Team WOLF LUV pulled the horror genre and we were so thrilled because it is our favorite. It screened at the 48 Hour Film Festival that year, of course, and then one other time at the Bug’s Open Screen Night. Our plans are to have it available online so as to spread its joy for many years to come.

Q: What else are you working on?
LM: I recently started a production company with my partner in life and in crime, Michael La Breche. We are WOLF LUV FILMS and we are currently working on an anthology series called Reliquary. We screened the first installment of it at the Bug twice this year, as well as at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Providence, RI and Portland, OR. We received warm receptions and are thrilled to report that we will go into production mode on episode 2 next month.

We also have been in development on a feature horror film, entitled LATEX and are getting ready to launch into pre-production on that as soon as we secure funding, hopefully early 2020. Meanwhile we are building our production company from the ground up. We recently moved into a larger work space and can’t wait to get shooting again.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
LM: I love my villains and am often caught by my husband quoting my own villain’s lines in every day life, which is probably scary for him since my villains are almost always women and they usually attack men. But don’t worry, my female villains attack women too; they are equal opportunity monsters.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
LM: You can find more WOLF LUV FILMS info and content at wolfluvfilms.com, and you can find my director reel on my personal website: lindsaymorrison.com. Also, please go find us on YouTube and our Instagram accounts (you can find them through our website). Also, please go find us on YouTube and our Instagram accounts (you can find them through our website).

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
LM: I am always grateful for an opportunity to screen at EFP. I think EFP is a vital part of the Denver film community and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Hi, Larry 🙂 will screen Friday, March 20th at 9:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Thriller & Horror Shorts block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmmaker: Emiliano Acevedo, “Tom Cruise Vs Justin Bieber Fight”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
EA: I like to tell stories and having visuals really enhances storytelling. 

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
EA: Tom Cruise accepting Justin Bieber’s offer to fight. Right now it’s just on YouTube.

Q: What else are you working on?
EA: Conan Vs Zombies, a Conan series and continuing my Frozen Terror series.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
EA: I like to make violent Lego movies. 

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
EA: My channel on YouTube is Virgeo1228, My website is VirgeoStudios.com

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about EFPalooza or The Emerging Filmmakers Project?  
EA: Such a great experience and opportunity to see great local films. 

Tom Cruise Vs Justin Bieber Fight will screen Saturday, March 21st at 8:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Saturday Night Shorts block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmaker: Peter Lively, “Dishwasher”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
PL: Well, I’ve always loved movies, but growing up in a small town in New Mexico, filmmaking never seemed like a realistic goal, so I went with the much more mundane pursuit of becoming an astronaut (seriously). This led to an Air Force ROTC scholarship with the plan of being accepted into the Air Force academy, but then that evolved into a Comparative Religious Studies degree from the University of New Mexico, which led to college ministry, which led to trips to Mexico, Egypt, Serbia and Spain, which led to filmmaking. ‘Completely normal career path… 🙂 Honestly, this was never the plan, but as I got into it, I realized that there was nothing else that I wanted to do. I love film, and I count myself fortunate that I’ve been able to make a living in it.

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
PL: Dishwasher is a light-hearted, slice-of-life, silent film highlighting a couple who is working together to prepare for an important meeting at their house and end up colliding in one of their trivial differences- how they load the dishwasher. My wife, Alana, and I collaborated on it with a small, fantastic cast and crew. It has shown at several festivals around the country (EFPalooza will be its Colorado premiere) and will soon be shown at several festivals in various Latin American countries.

Q: What else are you working on?
PL: At this very moment, I’m finishing four separate documentaries examining the crime of human trafficking within various societal sectors- transportation, energy, law enforcement, and trucking – and how people within those areas can help free victims. I’m also co-producing and directing a documentary that revolves around a metal-scrapping, entrepreneurial, bi-polar, driven homeless man in Lakewood named Joe Kniss- Scrapping by in America. My wife and I are hoping to produce a narrative film this summer, one that we’ve been contemplating for awhile.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
PL: I don’t know if this is weird, but I always hope that people have fun on set; that they enjoy the work. It doesn’t matter if it’s a narrative film or corporate interview or a documentary, I think people who are in healthy, encouraging environments find it easier to collaborate with one another, which ends up producing richer, more substantive films. The fruit of this is a more sustainable, fulfilling career for all of those involved.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
PL: They can go to either production company website: redmesafilms.com or my portfolio website: peterlively.com

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about EFPalooza or The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
PL: When I was still in college ministry but contemplating a jump into filmmaking full-time, I met several encouraging filmmakers in Colorado.  One of those was Patrick Sheridan.  I started taking his acting class, and it was there that I learned three things.  One, I’m a horrible actor.  Just horrible…  Two, acting is being, and that informed me as a director as to how best to help actors achieve what’s required of their characters and the story.  Three, that I wanted to be just like Patrick- fearless, but constantly on the lookout for those he can help achieve their dreams.  For him, filmmaking wasn’t solely a personal pursuit.  He always did it with others, often with them taking the limelight.  The art and the collaboration meant more to him then the glory, which is why he’s left such a lasting legacy.  I miss him terribly.

With Patrick’s encouragement, I had my first, non-ministry, film exhibition at the EFP, which was followed by (at least) a half-dozen other productions over the years. This was a freeing, liberating experience; one that gave me the courage to pursue film fully. In my ways, I owe my career to Patrick and to the EFP, and will be forever grateful for it.

Dishwasher will screen Saturday, March 21st at 6:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Saturday Evening Shorts block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmmakers: Will Kingston and AJ Koch, “Cosmiquarium”

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
WK: Cosmiquarium was made for the Salt Lake City 48 Hour Film Project in 2019. It was a collaborative effort of a dozen creatives of various skills whipped up over the course of a single weekend, and was awarded Best Visual Effects. We’ve poked at the idea of further developing this universe, the next time we have a bit of free time… presumably four days in August, 2026.

Q: What else are you working on?
WK: Aside from our 9-5 video production jobs, we try to make time for annual filmmaking competitions like the 48 Hour Film Project, or making short animated comedy pieces and posting them on the internet, where nobody watches them.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
WK: Our library of dumb things lives on vimeo.com/strangerstudios, or our Facebook page at facebook.com/TrustStranger. Explore at your own risk.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about EFPalooza or The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
WK: EFP – and the Bug Theater – is a cool, quirky outlet for filmmakers to get some quality screen time and meet like-minded individuals and spill some beer on somebody else’s floor. Thanks for giving fledgling creatives a place to play!

Cosmiquarium will screen Saturday, March 21st at 8:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Saturday Night Shorts block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmmaker: Lewis Leslie, “The Haunting Man”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
LL: I have always been obsessed with movies. I’ve been writing for years now, and eventually discovered screenwriting format and fell in love with it. Once low budget filmmaking really became an option, I jumped in head first and never looked back. There is no greater feeling that working with a team of like-minded creative individuals, and seeing what you’ve all created come to fruition.

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
LL: The Haunting Man was created with Nathaniel Shields for the 2019 Denver 48 Hour Film Festival. That is really the only screening the film has had before now. I do plan to send the film to some film festivals as soon as possible. It’s always great to see your work on the big screen, and to get reactions from an audience.

Q: What else are you working on?
LL: Dream Hero Productions has several films in post-production and we are planning to shoot another feature in Florida this fall: The Dying Fields with the help of producer Kara Brown Skelly and Shields Productions’ Nathaniel Shields.
“A group of former junkies on their way home from a drug rehab facility stumble upon an old, abandoned farm. They quickly discover an old well that contains cursed water, and are forced to fight for their lives against the very people they now call friends.”

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
LL: Everything about me is weird. I love horror movies, but do not stick exclusively to the genre. I love collaborating and have been very fortunate to work with some of the best Colorado has to offer.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
LL: Feel free to check out our Facebook page for more info on all of our projects: www.facebook.com/dreamheroproductions. We are also on Instagram: www.instagram.com/dream.hero.productions and Twitter: www.twitter.com/dreamheroprod

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about EFPalooza or The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
LL: The EFPalooza is a wonderful collection of shorts from the prior year that I look forward to on an annual basis. The EFP has been absolutely vital to the nurturing of up-and-coming talent for years and years in the Denver market. It is run by an amazing collection of professionals and is always a treat.

The Haunting Man will screen Friday, March 20th at 9:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Thriller & Horror Shorts block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmmakers: Kimberly and Robert Bogin, “The Magnificent Fourteen (Year Olds)”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
KRB: My husband Rob Bogin (director/writer) and I (producer/editor) have always been into movies. We have our own video production company and we just recently started a film division.

Q: What are we going to see at the EFP? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
KRBThe Magnificent 14 (Year Olds) log line is “Nerdy middle school students, hired by bullied classmates, use their unique skills in a shocking plan of revenge.”

We made the movie for the 48 Hour Film Project (Denver) and won the Audience Choice Award and Best Choreography. We were also accepted into the Portland Comedy Film Fest where the movie screened at the beginning of November. It’s been submitted to a couple of other film fests with notification dates in January.

Q: What else are you working on?
KRB: We’re finishing up a horror short called Homebodies. Our next project is a comedy short called Got Beer.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
KRB: Hmmm…I can’t think of anything really weird. I guess a fun fact is that most of our cast are middle and high school theatre majors from Denver School of the Arts.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
KRBwww.minicineproductions.com

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
KRB: We love that the EFP gives local filmmakers a chance to screen their films at an actual theater. Sometimes it is hard for small filmmakers to get an opportunity to show our work to an audience and get feedback. EFP makes it happen!

The Magnificent Fourteen (Year Olds) will screen Saturday, March 21st at 1:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Saturday Afternoon Shorts block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmmaker: Benjamin Neufeld, “The Moral Intricacies of Indoor Climate Control”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
BN: Film making is the natural follow through of my passion for writing. In high school I figured I would pursue screenwriting on the side of journalism, but my journalism interest waned the more I focused my thinking toward fictional storytelling. I have always been intimidated by the expensive equipment and complicated film making process and never imagined myself as a director or cinematography growing up. But, luckily, my authoritarian attitude, that a movie should be how I envisioned it, outweighs insecurities I initially struggled with going into film school.

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
BN: This is a project I made as a final for my sound in film class at CU Denver. I didn’t plan on working as hard as I did on the project, but became more and more attached to the concept the more Noah (the star/my roommate) and I worked on it. This is probably the extent of where the movie will go, outside of YouTube and Twitter.

Q: What else are you working on?
BN: Right now I am finishing up a short silent film very similar to this project in terms of eccentricity and the method of execution. I am also in preproduction for a short film about coal miners in the early 1900s Colorado.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
BN: I think the weirdness of this movie speaks for itself. The background of it is kind of interesting, Noah and I made it with only a step outline, no script or shot list. We shot the scenes pretty much in order and in our living room, so we basically had as much time as we needed to gradually puzzle it out. Also, I did most of the sound design on my friends laptop while visiting him in Sweden (my laptop lacks the computing power to run Adobe Audition since it doesn’t have data loss prevention (DLP) which should fix this issue).

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
BN: I usually put my projects on YouTube under “Ben Neufeld.” I also have an Instagram, benjamin.neufeld.photography. No website yet.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about EFPalooza or The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
BN: I appreciate what you all are doing!

The Moral Intricacies of Indoor Climate Control will screen Thursday, March 19th at 8:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Emerging Filmmakers Project block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmmaker: Don Colacino, “Winner Take All”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
DC: Filmmaking is a great creative outlet, and it challenges every part of my brain. I really enjoy writing, I enjoy putting on a show, and I like the technical aspects of production and editing, so I get involved in every part of the process. It’s also a collaborative process, so I get to interact with a really diverse group of people – especially during production. I think that’s important for a satisfying life regardless of your career path. I’m constantly exposed to new ideas and I’m never bored.

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
DC: You’re going to see the learning process that I went through to understand the reasons for differing electoral and popular vote outcomes. It’s happened twice in my lifetime but I learned that it actually happened three other times in our history. You’ll see people who think it’s fine that it happens and others who believe it’s bad for our democracy and both will explain the reasons underlying their positions. The film has screened at the Awareness Festival in L.A., and at the Angeles Doc Festival, and it’s also being shown at League of Women Voters events to educate voters about upcoming ballot issues in multiple states.

Q: What else are you working on?
DC: I’m currently working on another documentary about the news media, and am in early stages of a narrative film project that was just too good to pass up. I also make commercial and industrial films, and work on the occasional music video.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
DC: I come from an Italian-American family that has sort of a weird, “old country” sense of humor more than a century after emigrating, so I guess that influences my storytelling style to some extent.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
DC: For more information on “Winner Take All,” visit www.winnertakeallfilm.com. For more information on my production company, visit www.colacinoproductions.com.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about EFPalooza or The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
DC: I think The Emerging Filmmakers Project is a really valuable resource for independent filmmakers. It’s important not only as a display of our work as filmmakers, but also as a way to connect with the local filmmaking community.

Winner Take All will screen Saturday, March 21st at 1:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Saturday Afternoon Shorts block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmmaker: D.W. Alexander, “Hit or Miss”

Q: Why did I become a filmmaker?
DW: My dad was an avid film watcher; I love the creative process and showing the world through my lens.

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza?
DW: You’re going to see Hit or Miss a sort of a gross/romantic comedy about online dating. This is the first public screening

Q: What else am I working on?
DW: I am currently working on a film called Killer in Heels all female cast loosely based off the Myth of Sisyphus.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about me and/or my movies?
DW: I love philosophy and I incorporate into every film I make. I don’t have a place to see my work or anything.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about me and my work?
DW: Good question I don’t have a website or anything like that.

Q: Is there anything I’d like to say about the EFPalooza or the Emerging Filmmakers Project?
DW: I think it’s an awesome place to show your work, great venue and intimate. I like that they give you an opportunity without paying all kinds of entry fees. Patients is a virtue.

Hit or Miss will screen Saturday, March 21st at 6:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Saturday Evening Shorts block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.

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Meet the Filmmaker – Adam Rosenberg, “The 5 Stages of Romantic Relationships”

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker?
AR: As a creative person I feel the need to express myself, and film is a wonderful form of expression. I love the combination of creativity and technicality that it takes to make films, and that it’s so many art forms combined into one.

Q: What are we going to see at EFPalooza? Has it screened elsewhere and what are your plans for it?
AR: The 5 Stages of Romantic Relationships is a short film utilizing an animation technique called pixilation, which is essentially stop motion animation utilizing human characters.

Q: What else are you working on?
AR: We are currently working on a project called Alphabetical Athleticalz, which is a stop motion exploration of all things sports from A to Z.

Q: Tell us one weird thing about you and/or your movies?
AR: Believe it or not I have an affection for potty humor in my life and films. Poop, pee, farts, weiners, and sex are common themes. Mannequins and dolls are common too.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about you and your work?
AR: www.mradamrosenberg.com

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say about EFPalooza or The Emerging Filmmakers Project?
AR: I love it! I try to screen all of my films here. It’s a wonderful, supportive community of local filmmakers.

The 5 Stages of Romantic Relationships will screen Thursday, March 19th at 8:00 p.m. at The Bug Theatre as part of the Emerging Filmmakers Project block during the 2020 EFPalooza Film Festival.