JEFF Premiere's at Palm Springs International ShortFest 2022 !

Happy to share that I’ll be heading to Palm Springs International Short Fest for the world premiere of JEFF, a short film I produced and collaborated on story with director/writer Walter Woodman of the creative collective shy kids.

JEFF is the story of an Amazon delivery drone with one last mission at the end of the world.

Not only will this be JEFF’s first time on the big screen, but also the first time that shy kids (the creative collective behind JEFF) and Yo Productions (Executive Producer’s of JEFF) will gather in person. We’re looking forward to finally meeting Trey, Drake, and the YO team whom we’ve spent countless hours with online. 

What brought shy kids and the YO team together? Well, Walter Woodman asked his friend Max if he knew anyone who wanted to make a movie during what felt like the real life apocalypse - COVID-19.

“He was like yo.”

“I was like yo?”

“He was like YO productions.”

So Walter met Trey from YO on zoom and pitched him our latest idea. At that point JEFF was an entirely different concept, a short entitled “moon kids” - sort of like Stand By Me…but in space.

Cool, right? Trey thought so, and offered us a modest budget to go out and shoot.

The film was about two siblings hunting down delivery drones in the apocalypse. They were looking for food and salvation in a broken world.

In a matter of weeks, our cast, crew and locations were locked. We were ready for liftoff …not so fast.   

On our first day, after just a first few hours of shooting, we came to the unfortunate realization that our five year old lead actress - Keira Burke who had delivered a flawless audition just days before, now had a totally different movie in mind. Not much you can do when a five year old makes up her mind. We bribed her with barbies, candies, and sand cakes, piggy back rides and games of Where’s Walter. Alas, nothing would sway Keira to return to our script. 

At the end of our shoot we were left with a whole lot of beautiful footage but not a ton of story.

Our editor and co-writer Jason Kirchner did everything he could to salvage the script. We had a 15 minute version. A 12 minute version. There were moments of brilliance no doubt, but it seriously lacked something. We were so desperate to salvage Moon Kids we even created a version that had Terrence Malik esque poem written by poet Elizabeth Mundenyo voiced over-top.

None of it worked.

The only shots that Walter connected with were those of the drone peppered throughout. 

“I liked the drone. It felt like a god-like presence, watching us. Judging us. One day, while replaying the footage without sound, I looked over to my producer/partner Sidney Leeder and said “hey, the drone is like Jaws from the sharks perspective - let’s just make the whole film about the drone”.”

So in 20 minutes he drafted up a brand new script, one from the drones perspective.

10 minutes later Walter recorded himself doing the voice over - his best Steven Wright impression.

And in that half hour, Moon Kids morphed into the short we now call JEFF.

We re-edited the film using purely drone footage from the day, plus some pick-up shots, some moments sourced from other drone operators and a few licensed clips of Chernobyl.

The amalgamation birthed a story about a worker drone, tired of his routine, resentful of his masters. He longed for vacation, and prayed for a break from his mundane reality.

JEFF is a story about overconsumption and the massive mega corporations pouring fuel on the fire of our demise. Witnessing the world from JEFF’s POV allows the audience to view humanity from a new angle - which is what we need to do if we intend to get out of this alive…

Walter Woodman and I are currently in development on the feature length version of JEFF. You can catch JEFF (the short) at Palm Springs ShortFest on June 22nd 2022 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center screening in the Stranger than Fiction category - Reserve your ticket.

Reflecting on '(rough cut)'

-By Sidney Leeder

Last year I wrote, produced and acted in the experimental short film '(rough cut)', which explores sexual politics in the film industry. It

premiered at TIFF 2016 and although I was thrilled to be granted such a grand stage, I was also a little (ok, a lot!) terrified to be

shedding light on a subject that is most often kept secret. Ironically, while my presence could not have been larger (literally), I had

never felt so small. It was my voice on the screen yet I was reluctant to own it. I found myself unable to stand confidently behind the

very story I had willingly exposed.  

In fact if it weren't for my cousin prying me out of bed I wouldn't have gone to the screening at all. Once in the theatre I dodged my

reserved seat and bolted to the back row, wishing I'd melt into the wall. When given the opportunity to join a post-screening

filmmaker Q&A I remained seated, paralyzed by the notion that my opinions & actions would be judged; that my family, friends &

colleagues would know the manipulation I'd encountered as a female in the film industry. I wish I'd had the courage then to stand

behind my work but couldn't overcome the fear I felt in being associated with the subject. Like so many for so long, I stayed silent. 

By sharing this film now, I hope to communicate a portion of the female perspective. For many, the film's message may be unclear.

Aptly named, '(rough cut)' is an imperfect and uncomfortable exposé, exploring one of many potential scenarios of sexual pressure:

that of an actress and a director negotiating the filming of a sex scene. 

It's been incredibly inspiring to see so many women step forward and share their stories as of late. Sexual harassment and

exploitation in the film industry is a complex topic that warrants exposure & discussion. It's a fact of life that will never change as long

as we collectively continue to ignore it. 

As a female filmmaker, I'm compelled to support an open dialogue that leads to understanding and mutual respect between men and

women while collaborating.

(rough cut) Featured on Short Of The Week→

-By Celine Roustan 

shortoftheweek.com

Before the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements thankfully blew up, Sidney Leeder and Walter Woodman (Noah) co-wrote (rough cut).

An extremely powerful and effective film looking to shed a little light on the disconcerting politics that can occur on a film set, this

brief but resonating short gives its viewers a behind-the-scenes look at an actress on the morning of her first sex scene.

Inspired by the lack of control in her own acting career, put into perspective with her experience behind the camera, Leeder enlisted

co-writer/director Woodman to help her craft a film exploring the often complex relationship between actor and director.

(rough cut) is one of many potential scenarios of sexual pressure between a male director and a female actor. However by

negotiating the logistics of a sex scene, particularly full nudity the writing duo has crafted a thought provoking expose of the Male

Gaze and of the systemic problem of the film industry.. not far from the experiences of many women (and men) in the industry that

finally got out a year later.

To convey such a poignant story, the filmmakers used a style that is an integral part of the storytelling – the rough cut. Adopting this

approach not only highlights the non magical side of filmmaking, but also gives the audience an insight into what a film looks like

before hitting the screen. That voyeur-ish, unblinking, point of view makes us, the audience, feel uncomfortably complicit of the

abuse.

The unpolished and raw look relies heavily on the performances of the cast, specifically Leeder’s subtleness. The tight filmmaking

team created a safe set allowing intimate long takes and embracing improvisation. Delivering an extremely natural looking film that

will stick with you.

(rough cut) premiered in the Shorts Cuts of Tiff 2016, it is however even more relevant today in a world post-October 2017. Both

Leeder and Woodman are multidisciplinary artists currently working on new projects in their different ventures.