This week’s short film is called king’s betrayalwhich tells the story of the final days of a piñata’s life from the piñata’s perspective. This is actually a great movie with a unique perspective.
The film is directed by director David Bernstein. This short is shared in partnership with FilmQuest Film Festival, where we hope to shine a light on some of the radical independent genre films and shorts filmmakers are creating.
I’ve also included an interview with the director, which you can read below!
What was the inspiration for your film? How did you come up with this idea?
“I went to the University of Arizona, and so did my good friend Ari Grabb, who wrote the program. In Tucson, we have a wonderful theater called The Loft Cinema that they host on the first Friday of every month Called First Friday Shorts, it’s a free local event where local filmmakers can enter anything they make within 15 minutes to win a cash prize.
“Ari and I often go to FFS to participate in competitions. One night when Ari was there, he saw a short film that started with a shot of a piñata with some voiceover. He was very excited, thinking he was about to see a movie about Piñata. Nata’s art film, but it soon became apparent that wasn’t the case.
“So Ali wrote a script for a piñata art film he wanted to see, which was also heavily inspired by Ramin Bahrani’s incredible short film ‘The Plastic Bag. told me about it during a road trip and let me know if I found funding that could be raised directly. By chance, I was introduced to Andres Avalos and that’s been the story ever since. , everything just kept turning.
What was your favorite part of the filmmaking process on this project?
It’s a toss-up. It was an incredible feeling every day on set, which made it so much fun. But it was also very special to see the film come together in the edit, especially working with Gabe (Acosta, our composer) on the original music.
What are you most proud of about this film?
“I could list a lot of things that I’m proud of, but one achievement really stands out, at least to me. I actually found out a few months ago that this movie has been playing at a very prestigious school every year for the last few years. Screened in film school classes.
“If you had told me many years ago that this shit would be shown as an example of what the medium was to the next generation of filmmakers, I would never or could have believed it.”
What’s your favorite story or moment from the making of the film that you’d like to share?
Honestly, I think I kept it pretty casual when I reached out to my good friend Adrian Gomez to voice our protagonist. We had a meeting that lasted half an hour and then we went to have burgers. Neither of us knew how long the film would take to make.
What was the most challenging moment or experience you had while making the film?
The birthday scene can definitely be a little stressful. Our child actors playing party guests became so energetic that it started eating away at the small window of time we had to serve them. Thankfully, we ended up getting what we needed.
If so, how did your film change or differ from the original concept during pre-production, production, and/or post-production? How does this impact the way you approach future projects?
“I think when I first envisioned this, it was in black and white and had a similar beat to Y Tu Mama Tambien. But to be honest, I’m glad those were put aside, and without those aspects, the film would have been The movie had more of its own character. Also, I didn’t expect that we would find a piñata shop to shoot in.
“I had no idea where we were going to shoot the opening scene, and our location fee was $0. My producers, Andres and Ahmed, found Magical Pinata through their fraternity connections, and the owner They generously allowed us to spend half a day in the store.
Who are your collaborators and actors in this film? How did you start working together?
“My producers Andres and Lily (Avalos) and Ahmed El-Mawas were key to making things work, and their willingness to take risks on me is something I’m forever grateful for. of.
“Again, I’m grateful to Ali for trusting me with his script and giving me his blessing to make it my own. My friend and AD Roxy Ferenz has done so much to keep this going Hard work. My editor, Trevor Davies, pushed this thing as fast as he could and edited everything perfectly.
“I knew from day one that Adrian Gomez was going to be my piñata, and he absolutely nailed it. Our king, Bryson Robinson, said via our online casting call that he was A talented young performer whose career is going well and it’s a pleasure to have him in our film.
“With the exception of our ‘Birthday Monster’ and his king, the rest of my cast comes from different parts of my personal life (improv class, high school, and film school), and thanks to all of them for showing up this movie has been truly special. thing.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as a filmmaker?
I’m going to stick to my answer from the previous interview because it bears repeating. I’d actually give two pieces of advice, since they go hand in hand here: watch as much as you can, and always focus on doing the right thing, even if the movie you’re watching isn’t good. My advice to new filmmakers; practice patience. This quality will serve you in many ways, both on set and in your career path.
What’s your next project?
“I’m currently in post-production on my next short film, Zits! We’re still working on completion funding, but our goal is to have Zits completed and on the festival circuit by early next year.
“For specific updates on Zits, you can follow our Instagram page @zitsthefilm. Alternatively, you can follow us on our Seed & Spark page (https://seedandspark.com/fund/zits) to get our latest updates The same exclusive updates provided by donors.
“What the hell, if you’d like to donate to our film, our CashApp is $ZitsTheFilm. We’ll be very grateful for your generosity and will definitely give you a thumbs up in the credits.”
Where can we find more of your work? Do you have a website or YouTube/Vimeo channel?
You can contact me anytime via my Instagram page @dabornstein. I also have a Vimeo channel where I do most of my work. https://vimeo.com/davidbornstein/
Enjoy the short video below!
