As part of this year's Eagle-Con please enjoy these student submissions to the Eagle-Con Film Festival.
Videos have been removed per agreements with their creators.
The Collector
The Collector is a science fiction film that takes place in 2039 A.D. Los Angeles. In this near future, repeated environmental catastrophes and energy scarcity has resulted in energy rationing and authoritarianism.
Ihsanul Huq is a Bengali-American filmmaker based out of Los Angeles, CA. Born in Bangladesh and raised in Nebraska, he has spent much of his adult life in Austin, Texas which he calls home. An alumnus of the University of Texas, he spent many years working in the finance and tech industries before deciding to pursue filmmaking at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Ihsanul Huq - Director
Tyler Schwartz - Writer
Hatuey Rodriguez - Producer
Tony G.X. Shi - Producer
Ihsanul Huq
Director, The Collector
Can you tell us about the inspiration for this story?
The Collector was inspired by our writer's personal experience caring for a terminally ill family member and our love for science fiction storytelling.
What was the biggest challenge for you and your team while making the film?
By film school standards The Collector was a huge undertaking given our limited time and resources but I’m sure we share our biggest challenge with many other filmmakers in trying to finish post-production while locked down.
What was your most satisfying moment while making the film?
It’s hard to pick one moment as there were so many amazing ones working with this team but I would have to say finishing principal photography in March 2020.
What did you learn while making your film?
I could teach a class about that but one of the biggest lessons I learned was to be patient with the process.
What’s next for the film? Festivals? Streaming Platforms?
We are submitting the film to festivals and hoping it opens doors for us to pursue further production opportunities.
How can audiences find your film?
Festivals for now but hopefully a streaming platform announcement is in our future.
What’s next for you?
I am producing a Sloan science grant short film at USC, graduating in May and entering the job market!
Straw Man
At risk of losing the only family he’s ever known during the dustbowl of the 1930’s, a scarecrow must leave his post and journey into town in search of work. But facing the world proves challenging when your face is a burlap sack.
It's hard to describe Alex Casimir. There's a lot to unpack. Born and raised in gentrified Brooklyn, New York. Son of a single mother who was too paranoid to leave him alone with a babysitter. A kid who would overshare in class and have very little to share at home. Someone who, in middle school, saw Meg Ryan movies as a guide to talking to women. Someone who spent a majority of their childhood as a fat kid and now won't stop talking about being a fat kid. Alex Casimir is a lot of things. But he hopes people will always remember him as a storyteller above all else.
Alexander Casimir - Director
John Laverman - Writer
Aditya Vempaty - Producer
Erik He - Producer
Alexander Casimir
Director, Straw Man
Can you tell us about the inspiration for this story?
This is a classic fantasy tale about otherness. The creature with good intentions comes into town only to be rejected and feared. When constructing the story, I worked with John, the writer, and our producers, Erik and Aditya, to really make sure that this story could really hone in on this theme. Whether it be due to the way he looks, the way he acts, or the way he communicates, Patches is always the victim of ignorance and misunderstanding. A trope that’s common but still very relevant to today’s social climate.
What was the biggest challenge for you and your team while making the film?
Being that our main character is a scarecrow who doesn’t talk, finding an actor to play Patches was difficult. We needed someone who could not only sell the physicality of the role but find a way to emote while having his face completely covered. Luckily, we were able to find John Alan (Patches) who completely nailed the role. Not only did he instantly understand the rigid physical nature of Patches but he was able to give the character a distinct presence. One that played nicely with his young co-lead, Charity, who plays Mildred.
What was your most satisfying moment while making the film?
I’m very proud of the entire town sequence, all of which was shot in a day. We were working with 20+ extras on set and only had a little over 12 hours to shoot three chaotic pages. It was also our last day of shooting and we were down to our last few dollars of the budget. But the entire cast and crew pulled through and looking back on it, it’s insanely impressive that it came out as sleek as it did.
What did you learn while making your film?
I learn the exact same thing on every set: keep cool and it’ll all work out. Seriously, if everything goes wrong, freaking out will only make things worse.
What’s next for the film? Festivals? Streaming Platforms?
We’re gonna keep Straw Man on the festival circuit for the next couple months but we’ve already gotten an offer to have it play on a streaming platform.
How can audiences find your film?
As the year goes on, we hope that Straw Man will be able to play at more festivals, allowing it to be viewed by audiences all over the country.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently in post for another short film and working on a feature script that I hope to get produced in the next year or so. Always looking for an opportunity to make movies, it’s what I love to do.
You Missed A Spot
In a world where every single person is a clown, a mime escapes a cabin massacre and must find his voice to save the girl of his dreams.
Liam Walsh was born in Upstate New York. After graduating from high school, he went on to study Film & Television Production at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. There, he was selected by the university as one of eight seniors to produce a senior thesis film, Sunshine Room (2019). During his last semester, he was selected by the university as one of four seniors to direct a senior thesis film, You Missed a Spot (2020). Liam has gained professional experience through internships at Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, E! Entertainment, and Skunk Productions. He is expected to graduate from the University of Southern California in May, 2020.
Liam Walsh - Director
Micah Fusco- Writer
Jelena Nik - Producer
Oona Wuolijoki - Producer
Liam Walsh
Director, You Missed a Spot
Can you tell us about the inspiration for this story?
This idea was conceived by the incredible Micah Fusco. I believe he was working on it for a class assignment and it just spiraled into a fever dream of clown madness. I can’t speak for Micah but when you’re surrounded by clowns all the time... this stuff writes itself.
What was the biggest challenge for you and your team while making the film?
The biggest challenge was definitely finding the clown aesthetic we wanted to go for. There are so many variations of a clown. There’s like the Ronald McDonald thing and the vintage harlequin thing. We ended up going for something more grungy and modern which was a cool thing to discover.
What was your most satisfying moment while making the film?
“You missed a spot, you sonofabitch” was particularly satisfying to shoot.
What did you learn while making your film?
This was a huge learning experience in terms of collaboration. We worked with a big makeup department and stunt team, including mime training, on top of the regular collaborations between departments on a film. For me at least, this was a bootcamp on communication with lots of department heads.
What’s next for the film? Festivals? Streaming Platforms?
Festivals baby!!! And maybe a... Charlie the Forest Ranger side project?
How can audiences find it your film?
This will be released publicly... soon.
What’s next for you?
I’m writing away right now and have been plotting my next move. This is my genre and my aesthetic. I’m plotting the next step deeper into this rabbit hole of weird, fun and scary films. The team of You Missed a Spot is full of incredibly talented people and I’m sure we’ll all work together again in the future.
Slashers Suck
Slashers Suck is a genre bending film that poses a simple question; do serial killers have mentors and training offices?
Waldemar Wlodyka is a filmmaker and musician, born and raised in Los Angeles. His parents, immigrants from Poland and Honduras provided a unique and diverse upbringing. Waldemar began his creative career as a musician. In 2014 Waldemar helped to form the band Hotstop which was was shortly signed to an indie record label. While on tour as a guitar player with his band, Waldemar was inspired by the song writing process to create movies and pursue an education in film and media production. In 2019, he was accepted to California State university Film program . In 2020, he won his first award for a short film at the CSU media arts festival . His wife and daughters inspire him to work incredibly hard. He spends his time creating media and art that he hopes will inspire others to share their stories, pursue their dreams and make a change for themselves.
Christopher Pineda is a Director and Screenwriter born and raised in Los Angeles California. His passion for Filmmaking started during his sophomore year of high school. With hard work and dedication, Christopher Pineda chased his dream and was accepted to California State University Los Angeles, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Television, Film, and Media. Now with 8 years of Filmmaking experience, Christopher is always in search for his next project and collaboration.
Christopher Pineda / Waldemar Wlodyka
Co-Directors, Slashers Suck
Can you tell us about the inspiration for this story?
CP - The inspiration for this film mainly came from Taika watiti and the way that he loves taking something that normally isn’t funny and adding a comedic relief to it. For example, “What We Do In The Shadows.” I also drew some inspiration from “Key and Peele” and the dynamic chemistry they share whenever they do skits. They take it to a whole different level and I just wanted to make something similar to these wonderful cinematic artists
What was the biggest challenge for you and your team while making the film?
CP - The biggest challenge we faced on set was the location. Originally, we wanted to shoot outdoors. Unfortunately, we did not receive permission and had to improvise a few days before the shoot. We also hit a bump when we had to fit our actors with their jumpsuits. The suit were just too small.
WW - It was a new team with various levels of skills, so there were hiccups with the production but with communication we pulled together.
What was your most satisfying moment while making the film?
CP - All of it! It was a real good time and it was awesome watching everything come together to create this hilarious story.
WW - Seeing the actors bring the characters to life.
What did you learn while making your film?
CP - I learned that it takes a lot of patience and hard work to get a production going. It’s very important to have good communication and a crew that’s just as invested as you are in a project. With that said, the outcome is very rewarding.
WW- To be a good director, you should know all the fields of filmmaking to be able to communicate clearly what you want out of your crew. Also important is to make an effort to connect with everyone on the set and make a good work environment because in the end we are all just people creating art and everyone should enjoy what they do.
What’s next for the film? Festivals? Streaming Platforms?
CP - After this we’re hoping to enter it in even more film festivals in the hope that we can catch a producers attention and expand on the idea. Hopefully a feature length or a show. There is a lot of thought that has gone into this idea and it can certainly hold it’s own universe.
How can audiences find your film?
WW - They can get updates at https://m.facebook.com/LarryAndTheAnnihilator/
What’s next for you?
CP - I am currently working on my next project – a mockumentary.
WW - I am working on short films and scripts all the time. I graduate CSULA this semester and will continue creating content and start a production company.