Matt Wilkins
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Contact Information*:
Tukwila Washington USA |
Position: Director Contact Type: Artist |
| Affiliation: Wiggly World | |
| web: www.sisyphusproductions.com | |
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Bio:
Matt Wilkins lives in Tukwila Washington with wife Eliza Fox, a dog, 2 cats, and an eleven year old boy named Wiley. He gets cold sores and head aches. He has barfed about 50 to 60 times. Once his New Year's resolution was to start smoking. He tried it for about a half a day, then barfed. ARTISTIC STATEMENT ABOUT MY FILMS #1: Behavior is more important than dialogue As animals, we inherit the keen ability to watch and interpret myriad behaviors. The voyeuristic instincts we possess help us learn quickly and deeply. Dialogue and a dogmatic approach to the written word can easily mislead these instincts. When authentic behavior is replaced by premeditation, the voyeuristic value and excitement is lost. We see the strings of the puppeteer and we feel manipulated. I tell actors what to talk about and what to do, but I don’t tell them exactly what to say and exactly what to do. This is because the director cannot predict and dictate every emotion, thought, reaction each actor will have in each situation. There are too many variables. #2: Film and Theater have almost nothing in common The written word is important because it taught us how to tell brilliant stories. Since many people suggest there is a shortage of brilliant stories told on film, we should continue to consult the masterpieces. But I believe film has drawn too heavily on theater. Theater and film have almost nothing in common. A play is different every time it is performed. A film is the same every time it is shown, a crystallized moment in time. The skills of the stage actor do not transfer well to film, and can even be detrimental. Projection, annunciation, accuracy of lines are irrelevant to the film actor. We must beat the theater out of all actors before we allow them to be recorded on film. This may take months, and in some severe cases, may even be impossible. If we do not beat them, they will bring antiquated, pretentious, and worst of all, counterfeit performances to the camera; and then we will have to watch them playing pretend under a microscope. This may be fun for the actor, but it is not for the audience. #3: Auteurism oughta die Film is a collaborative art form. Auteurism is for megalomaniacs, control freaks, and generals. The Director, the Cinematographer and the Actors are all equally important artists. The input of the Art Director, the Gaffer, the Sound Mixer, and virtually everyone on the crew contributes to the final artistic merit of the film. Filmography/Awards Info: GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS · The Seattle Arts Commission awarded a $7500 fellowship for an hour-long collection of film and video shorts in 1994. · The King County Arts Commission awarded a $4000 contract for the production of a short 16mm film, entitled “Interior Latex” in 1996. · The Northwest Film Forum awarded the “Out of the Can Grant Project” in 1997, giving free access to editing facilities at Wiggly World Studios. · The King County Arts Commission awarded $2500 in finishing funds for the post-production of “Interior Latex” in 1998. · The Northwest Film Forum selected Matt Wilkins for the 2001 “Start to Finish Program,” which gave matching funds towards the production of his first feature film, “Buffalo Bill’s Defunct.” This program was supported with $10,000 from the Allen Foundation for the Arts. · The King County Arts Commission is also supporting this project with a $4000 contract for the year 2002. · The Artist Trust awarded a grant of $1400 in 2002 in support of “Buffalo Bill’s Defunct.” REVIEWS OF RECENT WORK “Daniel is taken to meet his girlfriend’s father, setting him amidst the complicated infrastructure of a father/daughter relationship. Superb acting highlights an evocative short story.” -Matt Groening, NW Film and Video Festival “Matt Wilkins’ “Interior Latex”… a cruelly funny tale of a young man’s introduction to his girlfriend’s father, reveals more about its characters in 13 minutes than most films do in 90.” -Mark Mohan, The Oregonian “Even funnier, because it’s treading much sadder turf, is Matt Wilkins’ Interior Latex, a nearly perfect look at a young man visiting his girlfriend’s dad.” -Bruce Reid, The Stranger “Matt Wilkins’ “Interior Latex,” a thirteen minute tale of a philandering father, his young daughter, her new boyfriend and dad’s old flame, is a standout for the way it manages to suggest so much about these relationships during a drunken all-night party…” -John Hartl, The Seattle Times “The strongest of the five works featured is Interior Latex, a subtle vignette about a woman going home to her dad with her boyfriend…” -Soyon Im, The Seattle Weekly “Superb…” -Min Liao, The Stranger “The other award-winning short was Matt Wilkins “Interior Latex,” an extremely well acted film that shows some real potential from this Seattle-based filmmaker.” -Jeff Winograd, IndieWIRE “Impressive” -Chuck Wilson, LA Weekly EXPOSURE “Interior Latex” has played at: · The Northwest Film and Video Festival (Portland, Oregon) · Judge’s Award from Matt Groening · Cinematexas (University of Austin, Texas) · Semi-Finalist · The Portland International Film Festival · The Santa Monica International Film Festival · The Seattle International Film Festival · The Little Theatre (Seattle) · One Reel Film Festival (Bumbershoot, Seattle) · 911 Media Arts Center (Seattle) · Fremont Outdoor Cinema (Seattle) · Independent Exposure · Hardshare Independent Film Festival (Winslow, Arkansas) · IndieSpace, (Santa Monica CA) · The Newport Beach Film Festival · The Crash Film Festival (Mexico City) · Annual Golden Shower Film and Video Festival (San Antonio) · Idaho Film Foundation/ The Flicks (Boise ID) · Western Washington University (Bellingham WA) · Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (Great Falls MT) · Kodiak Arts Council (Kodiak AK) · Haines Art Council (Haines AK) · Out North (Anchorage AK) · University of Alaska Fairbanks · Pacific Cinematheque (Vancouver BC) · Bunnell Street Gallery (Homer AK) · Central Oregon Community College (Bend OR) · Lewis-Clark College (Lewiston ID) · First Night/Tacoma-Pierce Counties (Tacoma WA) Earlier works have played at: · Mondial International Film and Video Festival (Brussels) · Viva-8 Film Festival (London) · Director’s Guild Theatre (Los Angeles) · Rainy States Film Festival (Seattle) · Short Attention Span Film Festival (San Francisco) · Llano Estacado Video Festival (Texas) · Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival (Germany) · Independent Exposure · Nomad Video (Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles) · The Velvet Elvis (Seattle) · Vagrom Video (Seattle) · Fremont Outdoor Cinema (Seattle) · 911 Media Arts Center (Seattle) · Microsoft · Films From Here (The Alibi Room, Seattle) · Off-line (National Public Access) · Exit Light (Local Public Access) FILMOGRAPHY Buffalo Bill's Defunct (16mm feature film coming soon) Trepanation Trepidation (animation, 1 minute, 2000) Interior Latex (16mm, 13 minutes, 1999) 30! (Video, 3 minutes, 1999) Caustic Comments (16mm, 3 minutes, 1995) Collection of Shorts: Oh Shit- That's My Mind (Film and Video, 1 hour, 1995) Includes the shorts: Court Jester With Short Life Expectancy Cool Kidz Eugene O'Neill's A Short Day's Journey Into Night The Poet Goes Dining and Dashing The Gods Looked Down and Laughed (Super-8, 8 minutes, 1994) The Agnostic Party (Hi-8 video, 45 minutes, 1993) Collection of Shorts: I Wish I Could Find $5 on the Ground (Public Access Video, 20 minutes, 1992) Includes: The Poet Gets a Ticket The Poet Answers the Door Mr. Hyperbole Collection of Shorts: I Ain't Got No Chicken Bones In My Brain (Public Access Video, 10 minutes, 1991) Includes: The Screwy Guy Grieving and Nothingness The Intangible Foe (Super-8, 13 minutes, 1989) 1. Why did you make Buffalo Bill's Defunct? 1. Because it's fun to make art films. 2. To explore uncharted territory. 3. To share an emotional epiphany with the audience. 2. How long did it take to make this film? 3 years. 3. What was the biggest challenge you faced in making this film? Money 4. Do you have any "war stories" that you would like to tell us about the making of this film? D.P. had a heart attack 5. What can you tell us about the technology/equipment that you used? Camera? Editing? Software? Hardware? Film stock? Video tape stock? Sound equipment? Etc. 16mm film telecined to DVcam, Final Cut pro 6. Do you enjoy one aspect of filmmaking more than any others? writing/ working with actors 8. What does "Microcinema" mean to you? Negatives: It means you take your beautiful projected film and squash it into a TV frame, then take that and shrink it into a tiny screen about the size of 6 pixels. Positives: When the technology catches up, there will be greater public access and the glorious possibility of bypassing vicious distribution companies. Unless they take over the Internet. 9. What does "Independent" mean to you? It means there is the slight possibility of film as art. Fully financed film is always a commodity, and film as commodity is almost always bad film. 10. What are a few tips you can give to other filmmakers? Read books. When telling a story, use literature as a model for art. Literature has a 4 or 5 thousand year head start on film. People will look back on the films we have made so far and be stunned by their simplistic state. 12. Who is your favorite film director? John Cassavetes 13. What is your favorite film? A Woman Under the Influence 14. What else would you like to tell us? "When I weigh one thing against another, an easy liking against a hard respect, the balance always tips the same way, and whatever the risk of being turned a cold shoulder, I still don't want to talk to people only about the surface aspects of their lives." -Tennessee Williams This Contact appears in this database if Microcinema International has screened a film directed by the Contact, a film directed by the contact is featured in a DVD distributed by the Blackchair Collection Shop, or featured an organization or activity linked with the Contact. This database is used for commercial as well as informational, non-commercial purposes. It is a historical archive of Microcinema International's activities. Inclusion in this database and archive in no way implies a continuing formal relationship or affiliation with Microcinema International or the Blackchair Label nor an endorsement of its activities by the Contact. Contact details are not displayed in order to protect privacy. If you wish to contact this artist please see their website as listed above or write Microcinema International and we will be happy to forward your e-mail.
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