You may have combed through the exciting list of NFF18 features, but have you explored our shorts?

We spoke with the filmmakers of both Dotty (Shorts Program I, Dir: Mick Andrews) and Crazy Love (Shorts Program II, Dir: Alexandra Brodsky) to learn more about their films.

Both stories deal with connection: Dotty is the story of a stubborn old lady who struggles to send a text message to her daughter, and Crazy Love tells the story of a young couple in love, their very different ideas about the future, and a pirate’s party.

Dotty‘s Mick Andrews:

NFF: Is this short based on your own life and/or family?

Andrews: Not directly, no.  Although I had definitely experienced the frustration that comes with teaching an older person (OK fine, my Mum) to use technology.  When I wrote this, Brett and I had just finished a third draft of a TV pilot set in a nursing home so old people were wandering about in my head at the time – trying desperately to find an exit.

NFF: Do you think the way we communicate now enhances or changes intimacy?

Andrews: Hmmm, that’s deep.  I personally think the more we communicate with each other over the internet instead of face to face the more likely we are to become alienated, disconnected and lonely.  I read a study recently that found that teenagers who spend more time on the internet are more prone to depression.  Call me a luddite, but I think there’s no substitute for a beer and a bit of banter.

NFF: Do you have any plans to turn this short into a feature?

Andrews: That would be one heck of a magic trick.  Yeah, Brett and I are currently generating ideas for a feature film set in a nursing home.  It’s bringing up a lot of exciting themes and layered characters for us to explore.

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As reported by Indiewire, a slew of NFF18 films are being looked at by the industry as potential summer break-out hits.  Catch them at NFF18 first – you may not be able to see them anywhere else!

Fruitvale Station: Already generating early Oscar buzz, this Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner is the debut feature film from 26 year-old Ryan Coogler. Based on true events, the drama follows the last events of a young man’s life before he is fatally gunned down by police in California in 2009.

The Spectacular Now: The follow-up to director James Ponsoldt’s successful previous feature Smashed, and by the writers of (500) Days of Summer, this coming-of-age tale centers on a high school couple and the insecurity and confusion of adolescence. Read More

Two new films, both based on true-life events, have been added to the NFF18 film lineup.

First is the dramatic Fruitvale Station, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Fruitvale Station recounts the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who was fatally shot in cold blood by a BART officer in 2009, and how his last hours were spent. The film stars Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer, and Michael B. Jordan’s performance as a man in the wrong place at the wrong time Read More

NFF recently spoke with Patty West, producer of Some Girl(s), written by Neil LaBute and directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. Some Girl(s) is an adaptation of LaBute’s stage play and stars Adam Brody as a successful writer who travels across the country on the eve of his wedding to meet up with ex-lovers (played by Kristin Bell, Zoe Kazan, and Emily Watson, among others) in an attempt to make amends for past relationship transgressions.

Learn more from West about the film below, and check it out at NFF18!

NFF: What did you gain and/or lose turning the stage play into the film?

West: I think we really gained the opportunity to reach a larger audience first and foremost. To me, it’s a timeless story about heartbreak and the damage we all do to each other every day written by one of the great writers of our time. Neil LaBute was very collaborative in adapting it for film and was very flexible when things needed to be cut. There’s a juicy scene at the end which is new Read More