This episode of the podcast is the first in a series recorded from SxSW 2015. All 3 films highlighted on this episode had their world premieres at the festival.
Filmmaker Bob Byington (“Harmony & Me”) is first up with his film “7 Chinese Brothers”. The film stars Jason Schwartzman who plays Larry, an unqualified, unemployable, inebriated prankster who rides a tide of booze onto the glorious shores of an undiscriminating Quick-Lube. Taking a part-time job vacuuming and washing windshields, Larry finds himself mixed up with hostile co-workers and unsatisfied customers, while also finding himself smitten with his lovely boss, Lupe Torrez (Eleanore Pienta). Will Larry keep it together long enough to win the girl, provide for man’s best friend (his dog Arrow), and do his grandmother (Filmwax Radio former guest Olympia Dukakis) proud?
Next up is Ben Dickinson (“First Winter”) with his film “Creative Control” which takes place in near-future Brooklyn where David (Dickinson) is an overworked, tech-addicted advertising executive working on a high profile campaign for a new generation of Augmented Reality glasses. Envious of his best friend Wim’s charmed life and obsessed with his entrancing girlfriend Sophie, David uses the glasses to develop a life-like avatar of her; but he isn’t prepared for what happens when the line between reality and virtual reality begins to blur. The film also stars former Filmwax Radio guest Alexia Rasmussen.
Eugene Kotlyarenko (“0s & 1s”) is last up with his film “A Wonderful Cloud”. When Katelyn (Kate Lyn Sheil) travels to Los Angeles in hopes of wresting control of a clothing company from her ex, Eugene (Kotlyarenko playing a variation of himself), she quickly realizes he has more than just business in mind. Unable to deny their emotional past, the pair spend the weekend trying to determine once and for all whether they have a future in store. Set in an LA full of eccentrics, this raw romantic comedy finds a former off-screen couple energetically playing out their real-world baggage in front of the camera, to an effect that is deftly comedic and deeply relatable.
