CHRISTOPHER WOOD: LOCAL SHORT GETS TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL ROLLING >>>

“We pride ourselves on making thought-provoking, smart movies with limited resources,” says Dave Kellman at one point during our phone interview. The “we” refers to The Cheap Shot Collective, a loose team of filmmakers Kellman joined with friends some years ago. The “smart movie” in this case refers to the Collective’s latest creation, After You. This locally-made dark comedy will kick off The Grand Cinema’s third annual Tacoma Film Festival Thursday Oct. 1.

Kellman, actors Daniel Purcell and Jamie Riviera, and score composer Justin Tamminga will answer questions from the audience following the film’s screening at 8 p.m. at the Annie Wright Kemper Theater.

TFF's Opening Night Gala begins at 6:30 p.m. with food and drinks.

At first, After You seems like one’s typical boy-loses-girl, boy-chases-girl-through-rush-hour premise. But this rom-com of sorts promises to stop viewers in their tracks with its unusual climax.

As director and editor, Kellman arrived on the set of You with an already extensive resume. Kellman is a full-time employee with Pierce County Television, a government access station on the Clover Park campus in Lakewood (just down the hall from 90.9 FM). Whether constructing motion graphics for a new on-air segment or taping a live city council meeting (“true reality television,” he calls it), Kellman finds ample opportunity to increase his expertise, making him one of the few local film artists I know turning passion into a steady day job.

His side company, Helltrack Productions, has completed four other unique narratives and a slew of kinetic, eye-popping bike videos. Working in a compressed timeframe, he finds, doesn’t hinder him from giving audiences a quality product with virtually no production budget.

“In this generation with Internet,” he states, “I’m really a fan of the short film â€" versus the feature-length film.”

This particular three-minute piece, however, took roughly two years to perfect.

Kellman and writer/star (and Collective founder) Purcell needed time to work out the logistics of shooting a scene set in gridlock.

A solution eventually presented itself: film the actors in a car in Kellman’s garage with green screen behind them. Surprisingly, the task of procuring bumper-to-bumper footage came with speed bumps.

“Getting stuck in traffic is harder than you’d think.” Kellman laughs. “I went out in August four different times on a Friday evening (on I-5, in Seattle) to go get stuck in traffic on purpose.”

The crew’s patience paid off â€" the effect, rendered in stark black and white, and looks seamless in the finished film.

In spring of this year, The Seattle Times held their Three-Minute Masterpiece Digital Film Contest. From close to 250 submissions, nine won; After You was one of them. The victors earned a place in SIFF’s coveted lineup.

Now, after a long trip with some potholes along the route, You has made it back home. Lifelong Tacoman Kellman feels honored to have his work selected for opening night â€" and two subsequent screenings.

“Being in the Tacoma Film Festival is huge for me. It’s just a great feeling,” he comments.

And the Collective’s recent successes only motivate him to do more.

“I’m always going to be making films in Tacoma and screening them in my hometown.”

[Kemper Theater, Tacoma Film Festival 2009 Opening Night Gala featuring films After You and Lovers in a Dangerous Time, Thursday, Oct. 1, 6:30 p.m., $15-$17, Annie Wright, 827 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma]

 
LINK: Tacoma Film Festival 2009