DIRECTED BY Eli Speigel
Written BY Eli Speigel & Stephen Thomas | PRODUCED BY Joshua Rosen & Daniel Feldman Green
After accidentally burning his breakfast, a man goes to a nearby cafe and struggles to read a graphic novel.
ABOUT THE FILM
THE JOKES premiered at Toronto Based Shorts and was an Official Selection at Naked Mountain IIFF, Tiny Film Festival, and Picture's Up Film Festival. It’s also been featured
with Beyond the Short and Film Shortage's Daily Short Pick.
ABOUT THE FILMmaker
Eli Speigel is a freelance director and editor born and still stuck in Toronto. He is typically seen puttering around the Christie Pits neighbourhood, and surfaces on social media when he has short films, videos, or music to release.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH ELI
Welcome back to our Short of the Week series. What have you been up to since we featured you last short Mayonnaise?
Thanks for having me back. That feels like kind of a while ago and yet I've still been doing the same old. I currently have another short film called Gone Fishin' in the can... and I have no idea what to do with it. Next week I will find out if I get a grant to do another short film about a guy who watches people through their phones in order to generate suggested content for them in real time.
Tell us about the genesis of The Jokes. What was the inspiration behind the film?
The inspiration for The Jokes came from a collection of short stories of the same name by Stephen Thomas. It's technically an adaptation of a handful of those stories... some I combined, others I warped. Thomas' stories don’t have beginnings, middles, or ends; they are moments more than anything else. I singled out the ones that felt like the characters were disassociating, experiencing the intense mental process of disconnecting from oneself, and doing so in mundane locations and trivial environments. Having an intense emotion while in a disconnected public place brings out a certain comedy due to its juxtaposition. Having an existential crisis in a cafe while the stranger beside you is filming a TikTok on their phone could cause you to question the significance of the crisis itself. I wanted to explore this scenario visually and sonically and meld several of Thomas’ micro moments into a series of connected vignettes; slivers of life rather than slices of life. I think suffering from mental illness can be funny. Or maybe the world around me is just a funny place to be suffering from mental illness. I'm not sure which.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making The Jokes and how did you overcome them?
The main obstacle wasn't really an obstacle, it was more of a test. I decided to shoot this by myself with my Sony A7s iii. I wanted to see how good I could make something look without having to ball out on a camera that I would need at least two other people to build and operate. I had friends come on different days as an extra pair of hands and a sound recordist, but that was the extent of the crew! And then I had the amazing Erik Bayley and Deanna Marano colour grade and sound mix respectively. The ACTUAL obstacle for me is typically location. How can I find well lit, visually interesting places that suit my story and characters... and then get proper access to them? In this case I was able to shoot at my friends Shelby and Stephen's house, as well as the main actor Conrad's apartment. Luckily I also have an in with the picturesque First and Last Coffee Shop. The tough one was the scene in the alleyway. It was so bright that day, I could only kind-of see my camera monitor and we were shooting guerilla style near the back of a restaurant called Banjara in the early afternoon before they opened. The market scene was also tough because the Nut House (as far as I could tell) was the only market/grocery store that closed with enough time before sundown. I sent them an email, and they were into hosting a little film shoot, but said we could only come in after they close. That gave us about 2 hours to get the scene done... and we did it!
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights.
I simplified that journey and I'm more interested in local screenings and making the films as accessible and easy to find as possible, rather than playing the lottery that is submitting to big festivals. I'm 32, and I think I'm a few emails with the word "unfortunately" away from snapping. Although a few film festivals still pique my interest. The Jokes premiered at a locals only festival in Toronto in December called Toronto Based Shorts. It's only 2 years old but it's one of the best nights for local film here. This week The Jokes is playing at a fun festival in West Hollywood called Picture's Up.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
Save up to buy your own camera and make friends with people that are interested in running around with that camera. Start a favour network with other filmmakers and actors around you.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
I just watched ...and Every Cavity was a God-Shaped Hole by Zachary George and it rocked. I also saw A Year of Staring at Noses by Karen Knox and Matt Eastman, Northened by Una Di Gallo, Goblin High by Isaac Roberts, and The Sweater by Maziyar Khatam recently and loved them!
