Animator Kate J. Miller has created a highly accurate ode to the shelter-in-place experience using our most precious commodity: toilet paper.

“Two Ply Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” is the grand prize winner of KQED’s Homemade Film Festival. I worked on this festival, which was conceived as a way to inspire creativity and connection during shelter-in-place. Filmmakers were asked to submit a movie under 10 minutes long, created entirely at home. We expected a few entries, but, wow! We were hit with a cinema tsunami! A veritable tidal wave of amazing submissions. From an animated documentary about racism to a heavy metal ode to hamsters, there was really something for everyone. See for yourself here:

Read the rest

Blade Runner already had a reputation for its various edits, between the theatrical cut, Ridley Scott's director's cut, and the various special editions that exist. But now filmmaker Leon Chase has taken it another step further with Blade Runner: The Lost Cut, a uniquely postmodern take on the canon. As the Verge describes it:

The Lost Cut is a recut version of Blade Runner created by splicing in other films that star Blade Runner cast members, plus more films starring those films’ co-stars, resulting in a masterfully edited cinematic rabbit hole where Rick Deckard is hunting down a cast of replicants including Gene Hackman (via The Conversation, one of Harrison Ford’s first films), Steve Martin (via The Jerk,which stars M. Emmet Walsh, who plays Deckard’s boss Bryant), and John Belushi (via The Blues Brothers,which features Ford’s Star Wars co-star Carrie Fisher).

The film follows Blade Runner’s broad story beats, but its narrative drifts wherever the added footage leads, like some kind of Burroughsian cut-up version of Ridley Scott’s film.

It's worth noting that this mash-up masterpiece is the direct result of coronavirus quarantine. People are finding themselves with too much time on their hands … and sometimes, in a weird way, maybe that's a good thing.

Watch the weird cinematic rabbit hole that is Blade Runner: The Lost Cut [Adi Robertson / The Verge] Read the rest

This is exactly how I've felt while cooped in my house these last few weeks and yes I mean "exactly."

The 2-minute film was created by AJ Jeffries, a 3D illustrator and animator based in Norwich in the UK. The only description or explanation given for it is this: "A horse struggles to exist." That feels like it's vague or underselling, after watching this mesmerizing cartoon several times over, I think it's actually perfect.

Horse [AJ Jeffries / Vimeo] Read the rest

Wow, this is terrific. Bravo to Swiss animators/filmmakers Zita Bernet and Rafael Sommerhalder of Crictor for this delightful short film, simply called "Popcorn."

(swissmiss) Read the rest

It's easy to forget that even now-legendary directors had to start somewhere. Doodlebug is an early effort by Christopher Nolan, about a man trying to kill an annoying pest in his squalid home.

In addition to being in black and white, several of the shots are reminiscent of Memento's noirish vibe, especially the phone receiver in the water. There's also a clear connection to Eraserhead and other Lynchian horrors, with a touch of Rod Serling thrown in for good measure. And the effect looks as if it was made from hand-cut celluloid, a time-consuming effort that might make someone appreciate having the kinds of digital tools that enhanced Interstellar.

• Doodlebug (1997)- Christopher Nolan Short Film [HD] (YouTube / Pensare Films) Read the rest

Playground compiles 2,000 Google Earth images of American football fields, then plays them alphabetically at a speed where they become hypnotic. Read the rest

Watch our longtime Boing Boing TV collaborator Eric Mittleman's short film, 'Legacy.'

It's free to screen online at YouTube and Vimeo, and has been running on-board Virgin America flights, where Eric and I produce the Boing Boing channel full of wonderful videos.

About 'Legacy,' Eric tells us, Read the rest

If you’re looking for cool, female-centric art to support, look no further than Dead Girl, “a short film about an actress playing dead to keep her career alive.” Created by filmmaker Rachel Sweeney, the project is currently raising money on Kickstarter. As the fundraising page explains:

Between Law and Order: SVU, True Detective, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: LA, CSI: Las Vegas, CSI — okay, you get it — there are a lot of women getting the axe on TV. The entertainment industry is obsessed with dead women.

Too often, we go an entire episode or movie without even finding out the dead woman’s name. Or, even if we do, we follow the often male detective or amateur sleuth as he uncovers the truth behind the victim’s demise — and more importantly, uncovers something about himself. Cute.

Dead Girl is about the woman behind the “Dead Girl,” who is VERY much alive.

But what about the actress playing the dead girl? What about the woman who is actually naked in the very real ditch? Or the girl in the lingerie who spent hours having liquid latex poured on her chest or bruises painted on her face?

Who are the women who play the “Dead Girls”? How does playing dead affect Rachel’s life off set?

The video below gives more info on the project and shows off Sweeney’s cinematic voice. To learn more or to make a donation, visit the Dead Girl Kickstarter page. Read the rest

"You have to be able to put yourself in a place to be able to see things." Alicia Keys' “The Gospel” juxtaposes gorgeous black and white footage of everyday New York with profound insights from those who live there. Read the rest

"Luck is a four-letter word." Watch how this clever film by Atul Taishete unfolds entirely in reverse. Read the rest

Editor Adam Stein posted this charming 2003 short from back when everyone involved was in a very different place in their career. Directed by Miguel Arteta and written by Miranda July, who also stars. Read the rest

As part of her “I Didn’t Write This” series, filmmaker Yulin Kuang brings E. E. Cummings’ poem “maggie and milly and molly and may” to life. You can watch all of Kuang's "I Didn't Right This" literary adaptations right here. Read the rest

Russian animator Alexey Zakharov (aka seccovan) created this lovely short animation of dewdrops, plants and insects. Read the rest

This video from the sketch comedy show Studio C images a world in which a man’s face is the best possible volleyball block. Read the rest

The Camera Collector tells the story of a vintage camera collector who fell in love with cameras in the 1960s, against the wishes of his father. After saving all summer for his first Leica, his father was waiting when he returned home. "When he saw it was a camera, he started punching me." Read the rest

Friends and loved ones told Adam Rosenberg he talked in his sleep. They were right. Read the rest