MUTUALLY ASSURED PRODUCTIONS PREMIERES MISSED CONNECTION IN OLYMPIA SATURDAY>>>

Authors have book readings. Painters have exhibitions. So why don't more indie moviemakers have public showings of their works beyond a film festival setting? Finding an appropriate and affordable venue is just one hurdle to overcome. The real struggle may reside within the artist himself: he thinks he hasn't enough films completed to sufficiently occupy an audience's time, and even if he does, who would care?

Olympia's Mutually Assured Productions doesn't have these problems. Instead the group secured a venue - the West Side Bar and Grill in Olympia - for Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. For the past several years Mutually Assured Productions has been quietly at work, adding short after short to its stockpile. This weekend they show off the best in a roughly 90-minute program that includes The Van Job, A Bullet Riddled Atheist and The Man Upstairs, Senator Feelgood, and Pacifica: The Biggest Stick. The evening wraps with a premiere of MAP's latest, Missed Connection.

Directed by Kyle Scott and Ken Carlson, this love-gone-bad story stars Tyler Gianesini as James, whose existence seems to revolve around frequent snack runs to fuel his online gaming obsession. His insufferable roommate, Bryce (played by Matt Geddes), coats every word he utters with sarcasm; you will love to hate this character.

One day in the supermarket aisle he spies Astoria (Kortney Molle), who inspires some pretty funny dream sequences involving chips and beer. (What beautiful woman doesn't?) They soon connect via Lester's List (a stab at Craigslist) and some magic happens ... only the wrong kind.

By mixing sex with a bit of the ol' ultraviolence, Missed Connection shows Mutually Assured in dark territory, a terrain they've mapped out in previous works. But the script also throws in plenty of gallows humor that balances surprisingly well against the more subversive elements. It's wicked fun in time for Halloween. You can find MAP on Facebook or by visiting here.