"Making films is like driving a car," says UA Media Arts Senior and T.A. Andrew Dunn. "When you're 16 you just can't believe that you can actually get the breaks and the pedals and gears shifted altogether ...but when you're twenty-five you don't even recognize the process of getting from here to there." Dunn is a light hearted guy with the ability to laugh at his own analogies, but he's serious about his film making. His new movie "Weed Killer", a twenty-seven minute piece that's part of this Saturday's "Tucson Celluloid" showcase, was no small feat to write, produce, direct, and edit. From beginning to end the project took nearly 16 months to complete. Fortunately for Dunn and his audience -and the car analogy- the elements do come together and "Weed Killer" arrives as a funny, stylized and thought provoking piece.

The film, which Dunn based on a short story by his friend Tim Jordan, follows Randall Holyfield (Josef J. Lorenzo), a disgruntled weed exterminator with a grudge against the world at large. When two Jehovah's Witnesses visit his home (their opening line is: "have you heard the good news?") his irritation spills over the edge. With the words of his grandfather, also a weed killer, echoing in his head, he takes it upon himself to honor an old family tradition....

Although this character is apathetic and unlikable, his plight of thankless work and constant bombardment makes us somewhat sympathetic towards him. The film explores the kind of hopeless anger that we've all experienced at some point in our lives. In the end we don't know whether to side with the killer or the weeds.

"I wanted to make the movie ambiguous enough to have the audience come up with their own meanings" says Dunn who strives to make his films political as well as entertaining. This concept seems to be popular among some of the other film makers in the showcase as well.

Sharif Nakhleh's 10-minute film "Worms" shows a young man being encouraged to eat earth worms in front of a panel of old men. "There is a total of eleven old men, and with the kid that's twelve -so it's kind of like the last supper," Nakhleh laughs. But when I ask him what the film is actually about he becomes uncomfortable. "It's a metaphor about mainstream media," he begins but hurries to add "but it's more than that -people should make up there own minds." Just like Dunn's "Weed Killer", Nakhleh's film asks the audience to think rather than to just open wide for a spoon full of morals.

Robb Crocker, a UA senior who's movie "Church" is part of the showcase, feels that this is the true strength of student and independent films. "You can't create a bunch of special effects, so you rely on thought and creativity." He says, adding that people's attitudes are more affected by a well formulated question than by a lecture.

Although dwarfed by the multi-million dollar commercial movies, the budgets of independent short films are significant to young producers. Andrew Dunn spent nearly $12,000 on his film, and Sharif Nakhleh, who's film is the shortest in the showcase, spent around $2,500. The figures for short films are this high in spite of the cast and crew almost always working for free (or for food, as tradition often has it). The main expense of making a short movie is the film stock and processing. If a movie is to be screened in front of an audience for example it needs to be answer printed. This reprint from the negative film, which is modeled on a scratched and tape marked work print, costs about $100 per movie minute to have made. Unless their films win top prizes in major festivals these film makers have no chance of recuperating their losses. Short independent films are mainly used as calling cards to get future jobs and grants, or as resume material for film schools.

But out of the three film makers that I was able to interview for this article none have become discouraged. They are all itching to make more films in the future, in spite of all the trials and tribulations that film making involves. During the three and a half weeks it took Andrew Dunn to shoot "Weed Killer" he was charged with parking illegally, felony eavesdropping, robbery in progress, having illegal fire arms on campus, trespassing, and occult activity in the dessert. But I guess making a film is like driving a car -once you get rolling you can only go forward. Fortunately all Dunn's charges were dropped except for, ironically enough, a ticket for driving with an expired license.

If you are interested in film the "Tucson Celluloid" showcase is sure to be both a fun ride and, since the directors will be there to talk about there films, a vehicle towards understanding more about the process of film making.

"Tucson Celluloid" is showing at the Screening Room, 127 East Congress, this Saturday Dec. 7th at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 PM. Tickets are $4 at the door.

---

Daily Wildcat News Opinions Sports PoliceBeat Comics Arts