Project 52 - Weeks 11-20

courtesy of my blog: http://cjferrara.blogspot.com/

Have I mentioned how much of a fan of Sean and Christine Fitzgerald I am? They make up most of SLTM Films, along with Matt Bowden and Dave Cohen. They are currently engaged in something they call Project 52. This was inspired by the fad on facebook of doing 365 pictures, and posting one a day; or the "30 Day Song Challenge" where you post a link to a different song every day for a month. Sean wanted to try to make one short film every week for the entire year 2011.

I love this for a few reasons. A) They're all VERY talented. Sean and Christine at Directing; Christine at Producing, Matt and Dave for writing and acting and everything else that they do. 2) I know how it feels to put yourself out there creatively and have only crickets respond. The Fitzgeralds aren't doing this for the applause or recognition, but especially when there's so much genuine talent behind it, they should get that recognition. And D) It's being done in the interest of learning and growth. Every week, random cast members select the genre, theme, and random elements to be used in each film. The crew then have a week to turn those suggestions into a film. It's a challenge, but can yield amazing results.

I've already blogged about their first 10 films.  So, now let's go through the next in their journey.
Lets start with their "wild cards:" They've given themselves the leeway to occasionally stray from the format of this project and just make whatever movie inspires them. They did this three times so far:

Follow Our Journey (Week 12) Sean and Christine promised themselves if they could get a certain number of hits and subscribers, then they'd go to Florida for "Playlist Live," a YouTube fan convention. They chronicled their trip, and talk a little about what they're doing with Project 52. A nice starting point for anyone who'd like to catch up with the Fitz's.

If Only You'd Listen (Week 16) Both Sean and Christine's lives have been touched by Autism. They took two weeks to devote to Autism Awareness. In the first film, they show how Autistic people are just like you and me. The images are powerful, as are the words expressed by the people from all over Long Island. It's a beautiful film.

Autism: A Parent's Perspective (Week 17) They had so much footage left over from "If Only You'd Listen" that Christine put together another documentary, this time focusing on the issues facing parents who have children with Autism. This one is more informative. It's like a next lesson in the unit. Week 16 introduced the issue, and Week 17 gives some perspective.

But they didn't just do docs. They also had some fun. Here are the other films in order of my personal preference:

Goodbye Cruel World (Week 13) In the first batch, Sean tried a few comedies. I commented that even his comedy has a kind of dark sense of humor. So, of course when someone draws "Black Comedy," you know it's going to be amazing. Ed Heuther and Brian Smith are hysterical in this film, in which two friends have difficulty executing a suicide pact. And HILARITY ensues!

The Return (Week 18) - I was almost in this one. It was beautifully acted and written and directed. Chris has been gone for 10 years, and through a metaphysical phenomenon, comes back to see his wife, who has moved on. Bonus: It stars my daughter as Chrissy, the little girl.

Bystander (Week 11) I have only left a film viscerally feeling the gut wrenching emotion behind it twice in my life. Once was Se7en, and the other was Bystander, where a guy witnesses a murder in progress and must choose whether or not to get involved. (Spoiler alert: He really should have.)

SPLAT (Week 20) In this Slapstick Comedy, Christine gets a taste of something that every new parent has experienced, the joy of feeding an infant. It's gross, silly, and a lot of fun.



Para-sight (Week 19) This Sci Fi/horror film involves a documentary film crew who go around researching paranormal phenomena. They uncover the secret of the "Montauk Monster." This stands on its own, but I hear it on good authority that there is a special alternate ending that adds the trademark "Fitzgerald Twist."

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Flagwaver and the Boy Scout - Episode 1 (Week 15) Just when you think Sean has that dark sense of humor, by week 15, I started to realize that he has a very silly side as well. Dave Cohen wrote this one, a parody of superhero movies. It resembles "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog," but then again, so do all superhero parodies. At least this one wasn't a musical. (Spoiler Alert: That comes later.)

Gone (Week 14) Now that I'm so "intimately" involved with the Fitzgeralds, I get all kinds of insider information. Like the fact that this film remains unfinished. It's supposed to be a mystery, but as it is now, it isn't really. In true Sean Fitzgerald form, what you think is going on at the start of the film, isn't what's going on at all. So, consider this a teaser, meant to draw you into an eventual long form version of this where the truth will finally be revealed.

Please subscribe to SLTM's channel, and be on the lookout for the next 32 films. (I hear that Week 29 is going to be amazing!) And please share the links with everyone you know who loves film.