¡Perfecto! Short Film
Recently, ¡Perfecto!, a short film directed by Blake Edwards and written by Erin Fede of Charlotte took 1st place in Project:Direct an international film competition sponsored by YouTube, Moviefone and Sundance Film Festival. Hundreds of movies were submitted, a panel at the Sundance Film Festival narrowed those entries down to ten and then YouTube users voted for their favorite. You can watch the movie in its entirety (5 minutes) here.
I asked Blake and Erin a few questions about making the movie below:
Can you explain who is involved in the project and how long have you been making movies together?
Blake: It’s funny, because 5 months ago, we didn’t even know each other …now we’re going to Sundance with a short film that we made together. We met this past September after starting full-time positions in the same department, two weeks apart from each other. We hit it off together creatively and had even began throwing around ideas for short film projects to collaborate on. Erin was actually involved in last year’s Project Direct in a piece called “Gone in a Flash” which took second place, and as a result, was informed via email when this year’s Project Direct opened up. It was the perfect opportunity to work on something together for the first time. Erin wrote the initial script and we fine-tuned it together before shooting over 5 days after Thanksgiving in Charlotte and Matthews. I served as director and was behind the camera. Erin and one of my roommates, Stephan Monteserin were the two leads, and the rest of my 4 roommates served as most of the rest of the cast/crew. I’d say our first foray into production together didn’t turn out too shabby.
Where did you get the idea for the storyline?
Erin: The criteria for Project Direct 09 was to produce a short film, 5 minutes or less, using 3 props. The mandatory prop was a red telephone, and the other two could be chosen from a list of 25 other props—which for ¡Perfecto!, ended up being soccer ball(s) and a wedding dress. Right off the bat I chose “wedding dress” from the list and immediately began thinking of a more non-traditional way in which to use it. From that line of thinking, I created “Vaden”, a small town girl and a small time thief who eventually steals the dress for her own wedding. Alongside Vaden, she created Hernan, a multi-lingual officer of Hispanic descent. The stark contrast between the two characters was very intriguing and fun to work with in terms of figuring out exactly who they were, how they met and why they fell in love.
Do you plan to make a feature length film or continue making shorts?
Blake: I think a feature length film would be cool. A challenge to say the least, but a worthy challenge. Shorts are such good exercises to gear up for a feature. You can learn a whole lot in a ‘short’ amount of time…no pun intended. We talked about a few opportunities that have come up to make some more shorts collaborating some more really talented people in Charlotte. So for now, we’ll probably go for that, learn more and then see what we have to work with as far as a feature goes.
Erin: We’ve even touched on the idea of ¡Perfecto! being extended into a feature…whether the story and the characters could carry themselves into a longer piece successfully. No decisions yet, but it is encouraging to know that films like Bottle Rocket and Napoleon Dynamite started as shorts and successfully translated into features. So it can be done.
What would you like to do with the $2500 you have won?
Blake: We went ahead and shaved off a portion from the top that’s going to widows and orphans. A portion will go to cover some travel expenses for the rest of the cast/crew (otherwise known as my roommates) to rent a van and drive out to Park City to be part of celebration. Some will go to expenses at the festival. And then the rest we want to put toward the next project we come up with.
Since you all are based in Charlotte, how did the local environment play into your film?
Erin: Charlotte has tons of great locations. Not only is it full of new development and old neighborhoods, alike–but it is also surrounded by several small towns. One of which is Matthews, where Blake grew up, so he was familiar with the town and knew it had the perfect small town flavor we were looking for.
What in North Carolina is currently inspiring you?
Erin: The wide variety of people who live here. Charlotte, and North Carolina in general, has grown into quite a melting pot as thousands of people move here every year. Watching people interact and observing situations are always really inspiring.
Blake: And the creative community that has spawned in Charlotte in particular has been really inspiring. There’s so many good people doing so much cool stuff…from music to design to art to film…we can all feed off of one another’s creativity, collaborate, and encourage one another
Any advice for other aspiring film makers out there?
Erin: Write down your ideas as they come to you. Look for opportunities and be prepared for when they come.
Blake: And just get out there and shoot! Don’t be intimidating by simply starting something. Once you get going you’re good to go, and you never know what you’ll end up with.
I love the short!!!