In a place where young people aren’t allowed to meet face-to-face; relationships can be risky.
In a place where young people aren’t allowed to meet face-to-face, relationships can be risky. I just finished this new web clip for Arab World Media. It’s a light-hearted, cautionary tale about ‘phone dating.’
Here’s a link to one of the Arabic-language pages where it’s embedded at Maarifa.org
Or, you can watch the English version here:
“She looked for love, and then…” — English version from Tom Khazoyan on Vimeo.
Would you take a risk to save someone’s life? Check out our new short film, “Street Language”, now available for download and on DVD.
Would you take a risk to save someone’s life? Check out our new short film, “Street Language“, now available for download and on DVD. Click here to check it out.
In an age of ever-decreasing attention spans, we offer this 60-second trailer for Street Language.
I think this is a common malady among indie filmmakers. I know I will see something on every viewing that strikes me as odd, something that needs a little smoothing, a lingering doubt about a creative choice I’ve made.
Ah, that feeling when you make the last edit, tweak the last audio level, hit ‘render’ on your video file…
I love that moment when I know I have finished my film. It’s something I’m eager to show to the world. There’s nothing left hanging. It’s the last time I fire up the project in my editing program.
Actually, it’s hard for me to see that moment clearly. As a filmmaker who has his hands in the minutia of my films, that moment is actually really blurry. I may not even see it until it’s history. In the case of “Street Language” my new short, I’m the guy who wrote the script, did much of the production management, directed the film, and have been completing the post-production after a friend did the rough cut for me. Some pieces are really put to bed: script, acting, the picture cut, even the music at this point. But, because I’m a slightly obsessed filmmaker–I call it ‘high standards’–and because I have the whole film sitting on my own hard drives that I can fire up anytime a thought strikes me, this film seems to be inching slowly toward being really “done”.
I think this is a common malady among indie filmmakers. I know I will see something on every viewing that strikes me as odd, something that needs a little smoothing, a lingering doubt about a creative choice I’ve made. I know I’ve been over the film to the sub-frame level in many parts. Some choices are ones I’ve examined many times and come to the same conclusion. And I know that there are no perfect films–to the filmmaker. Look at George Lucas, causing a ruckus because he’s still tweaking Star Wars, after over 30 years!
If George does it, maybe I shouldn’t feel guilty. I know other filmmakers who walk away and don’t look back; and sometimes I think they should have.
I am really happy with this film. Preview audiences have loved it. My wife cried at the right time when I showed it to her (and doesn’t think I’ve wasted my time and our money making it.)
I know I’ll walk away and be done with it, soon. I’ve finished hundreds of projects in my career. But when you’re in this stage, just after all of the really heavy lifting is done, but before it’s set loose on the world, there is a little season of hesitation, button pushing, and oh-so-close satisfaction.
There are some situations that you can just solve with money; sometimes money doesn’t talk!
I’m in the midst of a creative film production with an all-volunteer cast and crew, a mix of seasoned professionals and students, and locations that are being provided gratis by a variety of business and property owners. [This isn’t all that unusual, but I’m a long way from film school and sometimes wonder whether I should have developed a ‘real’ career by now!]
Late last week one of our key locations for “Street Language” fell through. Actually, it became apparent that, for all of our conversations and attempts to ‘lock’ a skid-row motel room for a long day of filming, the manager had decided we weren’t worth the hassle. No way to reserve a room, no guarantee one would be empty, no control whatsoever – so we bailed. There are some situations that you can just solve with money; pay more for the room, rent for a week, etc. Sometimes even money doesn’t talk.
Of course, I was praying hard this weekend!
We are partnering with a great organization Mile High Ministries, who is hot on the project and wants to help. So we got back on the phone to them. They run a transitional housing facility for homeless families called Joshua Station. Yesterday, just before our final production team meeting, we got word that they have a room available for us. Someone just moved out, so it could be a mess. Perfect!
We are really fortunate to have a great crew of volunteers for this project and they are doing their best to keep their commitments to our shooting schedule. It’s a lot to ask of these people who all have other jobs, families, and lives outside of our project. So we are very grateful.
We are all about making films that work on multiple levels. They need to be great stories and great cinema, but we can also make them work beyond entertainment.
We are all about making films that work on multiple levels. They need to be great stories and great cinema, but we can also make them work beyond entertainment.
Our upcoming short film project, Street Language, is an example of what we’d like to do more of in the Denver area. The production is a collaboration between professional filmmakers, students, and volunteer crew members PLUS local organizations that work in our urban area with at-risk youth, the homeless, and marginalized people in our community.
The point is to make a film through a process that provides mentoring for emerging filmmakers and also serves the needs of non-profits through its story and end uses that go beyond festivals and normal distribution.
We are pleased to be working with actors from the Colorado film community like Luciano Munoz and JT Richardson. My Co-Producer, Chloe Anderson (Epicenter Pictures) is a young(er) filmmaker with whom I’ve worked over the years. My production company, 10X Productions, has done a lot of production out of the country, but we are eager to do more closer to home.
We begin principal photography on the weekend of August 20th – very soon! If you would like to connect with us, help us spread the word, or would like to be involved in this or future projects, let me know.
Here’s our IndieGoGo page, if you want to help us make it happen: http://www.indiegogo.com/streetlanguage
MindSoulStory 