John Van Hamersveld... - Review

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 A Date With Shillelagh it’s a Drama and Thriller short film. 

This short film deals with the world of music business and its sexual predators, focusing on the misogynist behavior within the entertainment industry. 

Highlighted in high profile allegations against media mogul Harvey Weinstein. We can add this film production supports The “Me Too Movement”. Used as a hashtag on social media, "Me Too” spread virally in October 2017 in an attempt to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assaults and harassment, especially in the workplace. It followed soon after the sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein. A theme so important to deal with in this historical period. 

The story we have in this short film is very well sustained by the performances of the actors, in particular Eleanor Burke (Jo) who previously appeared in the Oscar nominated film 'Kon Tiki' and Lauren Cornelius (Karen) a regular with BBC Radio 4 drama. In this short film we follow Jo's dreams of fame. Failing to heed Karen's warnings about slimeball music promoter Billy Tomkins (played by Peter McManus), Jo chances the dance with danger, to pursue her Rolls Royce road to stardom.

On the screen many elements help to create the sense of danger and ambiguity typical of a side of the entertainment industry: cinematography is quite dark and full of shadows and “lights of the show”, movements of the camera closely follow the actors, diegetic music and sound design underline the sense of fear and suspence of this short film. The script well shows conflicts and contradictions typical of this working environment. 

Date With Shillelagh has two directors who together worked to create this interesting short film: Brian Johnston and Jeff Stewart.

Moreover this short film is written and produced by Keith Large who in a preceding interview said : “We filmed mostly in Loughborough. It’s set in the ‘seventies and there’s a great scene where the star is coming out of a venue stage door to get into her Rolls Royce with crowds of screaming fans eager to see her. The College’s performing arts students were part of the mob, waving album covers we’d had made up with Eleanor’s face on them. Our motor vehicle lecturer Darren Wallis even appeared as the bodyguard. The Shillelagh of the title refers to a weapon, which we actually had made up in rubber for the film. It is a tribute to my late Mum, who used to have the real thing behind the bar at a pub she ran, which could get a little lively at times.”

Date With Shillelagh is actually Finalist at New York Movie Award.

Ally 3000 is a clever comedy by Giovannie Espiritu.

It shows us a professional meeting in which The CEO of a tech firm has to make a decision about a new product designed to alleviate white guilt.

Ally 3000 deals with the theme of Race and Privilege in a very elegant and clever way. 

We can imagine because of the very authentic way of the storytelling that this story is strong influenced by the experience of the director. 

The director, Giovannie Espiritu, is a really talented young woman. ALLy 3000 is indeed written, directed and produced by Espiritu. Moreover she is the main actress and she collaborates also at the editing. 

Although ALLy 3000 is a very independent short film, Espiritu’s talent lets the short film not suffer from this condition. 

The actors are well directed, the script is strong and the choice of the frames are simple but effective. Finally, the rhythm of the editing supports the breath of the comedy. 

Giovannie Espiritu is an actress and a filmmaker. She was nominated alongside Academy Award Nominees Alfre Woodard and Amy Irving for Best Supporting Actress at MethodFest for the Mynah Films feature film Fiona’s Script. Her primetime credits include a recurring role on ER (NBC), Bones (FOX), Gilmore Girls (ABC), and Trauma (NBC). She can currently be seen as the lead in the Amazon series, “Dyke Central,” which was featured in After Ellen, BuzzFeed, Bust Magazine and Curve Magazine as a top LGBTQ series to watch.

As a filmmaker, she was featured in Elizabeth Banks’ WhoHaHa Media for her parody song, “An Introvert’s World,” and her storytelling has been featured in Ms. Magazine. A two-time Outfest Fusion Filmmaker, her short film, "Ultra-Feminist," was awarded Honorable Mention.

She coaches kids/teens online nationwide through HollywoodActorsWorkshop.com and was just named as one of the top 40 Audition Coaches in Los Angeles by the Hollywood Winners Circle founded by Wendy Alane Wright, a top talent manager. Her students are represented by the top agencies in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and notable student alumni include William Lipton (Daytime Emmy Nominee, Cameron on General Hospital) and the Espina Sisters (Hosts of Dreamworks’ “Life Hacks for Kids on the Road”).

In her spare time, she rocks climbs and advocates for Domestic Violence Awareness/Prevention and LGBTQ equality. She has served on the Board of Directors for C.O.R.A. (a Bay Area domestic violence hotline and agency) and been awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the Senate for her community service.

Moreover ALLY 3000 has already received an Honorable Mention at the LatinX21 Film Festival and a Best Screenplay award at the Culture and Diversity Film festival and it was also shown at the California Women's Film Fest as an intro to the NAACP award-nominated documentary Pushout. 

Ally 3000 was selected for New York Movie Awards' July Monthly Competition.

Congratulations to all cast and crew!

ALICE is a clever sci-fi short film. 

ALICE deals with the theme of new technologies that should make our life more comfortable. 

In this short film a new proprietary smart home device, ALICE, is always listening to make life easier. When a naive Annabelle searches for romance via a new dating app, she finds an unearthly attractive and peculiar lover. Is luck the matchmaker or is ALICE?

Trying to find an answer to this question, we are introduced in the story of this elegant short film. 

Until the end of the short film we cannot infer about the truth and, like the main character Annabelle does, we fall in love with the man who arrives at home. 

The direction of this short film is clear and precise and very well supported by the cinematography of Nigel Robbins. The actors are well directed and believable so until the end we feel the suspence of discovering the truth of their identities. The script also builds this sense of doubt well. 

The original scole is consistent with the atmosphere of the short film. 

Also considering this is the director’s first time as a Filmmaker, it’s a very good piece of cinema. 

Andrew Ramirez, writer, producer, director, author, born near Detroit MI 1986, and began his film career in advertising producing TV broadcast spots for local small businesses via his agency business, RezSocial. Andrew has produced countless video adverts for many clients across the US in several states. Ramirez enjoys creating entertaining content for viewers and providing a working platform for other local creatives to thrive. ALICE is Andrew Ramirez's first short film venture.

The director adds about this short film: 

“The film was conceived during a plane trip to London. I dreamed of a movie where men on dating apps were controlled by the government. Months later the pandemic hit. Due to the world situation, a short film of this scale didn't seem reasonable. I spent a lot of time at home setting up that smart home device I've been meaning to get to during the quarantine. I noticed how creepy these smart homes were! Alice had been conceived.

The goal of the film was to provide an outlet for myself and my creative friends in a minimal production controlled environment. We wanted to create something with potential to produce on a larger scale once the concept was released and state of the world grew in a more positive direction. I am honored to share a snapshot into some of my film dreams with the world and hope only that it entertains the viewer. That's what it's all about right? Entertainment.

I'd love to explore with the audience in the future more of Alice corp., Annabelle's desires, and what the hell Kyle actually is! Someday we may see that come to fruition but for now please enjoy a short look into this not so different alternate reality with the full 10 minute short film.”

We can confirm, Andrew Ramirez has achieved his goal. 

ALICE won a Honorable Mention at the Now York Film Awards Monthly Competition 

Congratulations to all cast and crew.

Who among us doesn’t have a sentimental dualism with Christmas? Whether  we are part of a large family that makes the holidays a moment of union,  or that we have a family that can hardly be called such, we all find  ourselves having to deal with a journey into the past and with an  in-depth analysis of the present which most of the times doesn’t match  with our idea of happiness or personal achievement.
 

THE EVE  talks about this duality and does it through the eyes of an  eight-year-old boy, who dreams of being carried away by Santa Claus in  an enchanted world due to his painful present. But, as the movie will  show, dreams and nightmares are often made of the same substance. 

The  theme of loneliness and childhood is supported by the theory of 'money  does not make happiness' (the beautiful house and the muffled reality of  the protagonists do not in fact protect them from suffering), and by  the idea that a dream is not the right medium to face a troubled  present, because it represents more of an escape than a fight.
 

The  direction signed by Luca Machnich is aware and very well managed. The  editing by Donatella Ruggiero and Niccolò Palomba is good and punctual.  

The amazing animations and the 3D (worthy of a Blockbuster movie) blend  perfectly with the photography signed by Giulio Pietromarchi (whose  warmth doesn’t betray the typical Christmas atmosphere), conveying a  feeling of fluidity and never of detachment. 

The soundtrack by Sandro Di  Stefano is precise and generous but it never overtakes the scene, which  is a sign of awareness and experience, given that it’s easy to end up  overusing it to cover a lack of writing, especially in the Horror genre.  This is the perfect case in which the audience can feel the music  without getting distracted.

THE EVE recently won two awards at  the Florence Film Awards (Honorable mention and Best Production Design)  and is an award winner at several International Festivals.
 

Congratulations  on this small film that recalls the old Italian horror school, whose  vision of the director has been accompanied by a crew that respected it  and enriched it.