Samo Film Festival 2014

Bookworm (3:49)­­ – Monica Banares (’14)In “Bookworm”, a film by Monica Banares (’14), a teenage girl with bibliophilia gets a smartphone, and her world is shaken. With this smartphone comes a complete change of pace that alters her day-to-day life. She jumps into the high-tech 21st century, leaving her paperbacks to gather dust. This film reflects the abrupt transition into the information era. Though she never imagined a world without books, from the moment the protagonist plays her first game of Doodle Jump, her entire persona is changed.Printer: A Tragedy in Three Parts (4:00) – Tarek Roshdy (’14)We’ve all been there. You worked so hard all night finishing homework, and when you go to print it…nothing. In Tarek Roshdy’s (’14) “Printer: A Tragedy in Three Parts”, those feelings are re-enacted on camera, in a Charlie Chaplin-style silent comedy. Students encounter every possible problem from running out of paper and ink to network errors. While this film may be silent, its message is loud and will appeal to all, especially those who have been in this predicament. themselves.Gorilla Glue (2:00) – Diego Yanez (’14)Inspired by a scene from “Star Wars”, Diego Yanez’s (’14) short film “Gorilla Glue” is a visual effects experiment that begins with the misfortunes of a young boy. When he breaks his favorite toy, the boy reaches for a bottle of Gorilla Glue to fix it and is instantly transported into a jungle. Using a green screen, Yanez pastes the boy in a jungle scene where the background moves as he experiences various adventures — most importantly, odd encounters with gorillas. Needless to say, the special effects in this student film are bananas.Cam (6:00) – Lucas Godlewski (’14)Alone and confident in his skills, the protagonist (Arden Lassale (’14)) of Lucas Godlewski’s (’14) “Cam” seems to be a professional rock climber. However, as this six minute film progresses, both the audience and the protagonist himself realize that his overconfidence serves only to mask his lack of skills. Without spoiling the film, we will only reveal that in the end his strong sense of pride and certainty in himself inhibits him from reaching new heights in his career.Merman (3:14) – Saide Eller (’14)This surrealistic story takes the audience through the experiences of an androgynous boy and his anything but ordinary day at the beach. Batisse Le Tenoux (’16) as the protagonist goes through a series of events, the most important of which is a strange experience with a group of mermaids. Presumed a girl at the beginning of the film, he is later revealed to be boy who is transformed into a merman with the help of his three acquaintances. Although the ending is tragic for the boy, the audience is guaranteed to be engrossed with this mysterious film.Low Budget Styles (3:26) – Marcus Tappan (’14)This film, directed by Marcus Tappan (’14), is a music video collaboration with the Pico Youth and Family Center. Featuring Samo students, the film showcases the young talent of Santa Monica. This short film explores the artistic talents and visions of Santa Monica’s miraculous music membership, especially young rappers. The video is a combination of the musician’s styles and Tappan’s vivid visions for the cinematography of this music video.I Love You (3:00) – Mariah Mickens (’14)Mariah Mickens’ (’14) short film “I Love You” may be about a slumber party, but it’ll keep you wide awake and in stitches the whole time. In this film, girls at a slumber party order pizza on the phone, and one accidentally says, “I love you.” Awkwardness and hilarity ensue, as the girls try to correct their mistake without making it a bigger one. Their encounter with the delivery man is nothing they expected, and the message he leaves them has them wanting their money back.REM – Dylan DeVol (’16)This film may be about sleep, but it’s anything but a bore. “REM” follows an insomniac who can’t go to sleep, no matter how hard he tries. When his friend offers him a drug that is still in its early stages of development, he takes it, and it grants him a full night sleep. Only in that sleep, he had one of the strangest nightmares imaginable. He is forced to run from a murderous man in a bunny suit, who turns out to be a twisted version of himself. This movie is full of twists. and turns, and is sure to keep you, like our protagonist, wide awake.