Glowing review of Hello Sorry Whatever

Marc Maximov in his review of the Carrboro film festival:

The three filmmakers who won Indy Arts Awards this year, Nic Beery, Ajit Anthony Prem and Todd Tinkham, made a strong showing, with five films between them. Particularly impressive was Prem’s HELLO, SORRY, WHATEVER, a Cliffs Notes romantic tragedy built around snatches of dialogue consisting almost exclusively of the words in the title. Amory Casto, an actress from Wilmington who’s since moved to Austin, gives a deeper performance than one can reasonably expect from a short in any festival. Coupled with an impressive turn by her co-lead, Dan Kelly, the film reveals Prem’s deft hand with creating dramatic situations, and with spotting and harnessing acting talent.

Wow! I love the Cliff Notes description of the film.

2009 Carrboro Film Festival Intro

Additional formats: iPhone
Credits:

  • Commissioned by the Carrboro Film Festival
  • Director – Ajit Anthony Prem
  • Steadicam, Cinematography – Bill Elias
  • Additional Cinematography – Jim McQuaid
  • Color & Effects – Ismail Abdelkhalek
  • Music – Carmela Sinco
  • Balloon Wrangler/Make-up/Costumes – Kelly Cook

Actors:

  • Mary Wilcher
  • Mike Harris
  • Jackie Helvey
  • Jim McQuaid
  • Selena Lauterer
  • Alisha Agemy
  • Alyssa Madden
  • Christopher Moore
  • Raul Gamez
  • Crys Rivers
  • Jessica Hanlin

A big thanks to the Carrboro Film Festival Committee especially Selena and Jim.

Props from Surplus Sids

Two premieres at the 2009 Carrboro Film Festival

Update: Glowing Review of Hello Sorry Whatever

I have two films premiering at the 2009 Carrboro Film Festival. I’m no longer a part of the committee but I was commissioned to the do the festival intro once again.

My Films:

  • Hello Sorry Whatever is a short narrative about a love story said with three little words. It will play in the second block which starts at 2:45 and ends at about 4:15.
  • A Walkthru with Kathleen Connally is a short documentary about a landscape photographer and her work. It will play in the first block with starts at 1:30 and ends at about 2:30.

Press about the festival:

A Walkthru with Kathleen Connally

I spent a morning with photographer Kathleen Connally several years back. We talked, we walked. I came back hoping to put something together immediately but life got a little crazy and I had to put it aside. Till now.

Many of things we discussed that misty morning still come back to me from time to time. I think Kathleen has one of the healthiest perspectives on her art & her work. She loves what she does, she has a purpose and she is comfortable with her talent.

You can follow her popular award-winning photoblog at durhamtownship.com. Music by Jay Manley.

Additional formats: iPhone

2009 Indy Arts Award

The Independent gave Todd, Nic & I the 2009 Indies Arts award for filmmaking. A couple of quotes from the fantastic article by Marc Maximov. On Hello, Sorry, Whatever:

Prem is most interested in themes of romantic love and disappointment. His perceptive ear for truth in acting performances is matched by a meticulous eye for detail in editing, as evidenced by his remarkably assured recent short, Hello, Sorry, Whatever

On our collaboration:

When we work on anything, I think what comes across when younger filmmakers watch us is a pure love for doing what we’re doing,” says Prem. “To some extent, we don’t have these gigantic egos. We tend to rely upon each other, and we have a lot of fun in the process. Me, Todd and Nic are extremely fun-loving people. Yes, we’re trying to do something great, and we’re ambitious with our goals, but I think we tend to really focus on having fun.

Link to article.

Boy with the Wet Thumb


Additional formats: LARGE QUICKTIMESMALL QUICKTIME


Ajit says:

Love this confident little film by my friend Nic Beery. The film revels in being lost in its own thought, following its own impulses for what it deems fun and interesting.

Carrboro Film Festival Intro

I created this intro for the recently completed Carrboro Film Festival, the intro played before each block of films. Music was created by Carrboro local Jay Manley. A big thanks to my wife Kelly Cook and Jennifer Evans.

It was a great festival, a packed and enthusiastic audience, talented filmmakers and a wonderful group of festival organizers.

Favorite Childhood Photos: Christie Trice


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To learn how to submit your own favorite childhood photos, check this page for instructions and guidelines. To see other submissions, check here.

Awesome review of Dear Stranger

Rob Baldus reviewing the Secret City Film Festival shorts for the Tennessee local paper Metropulse says this of my short film Dear Stranger:

In his quietly aching study of bereavement, Ajit Anthony Prem reminds us that it’s the invisible world that is the real one. Not only that but he proves that cinema can portray this inner life as effectively as any novel. Just a few silent seconds spent in the company of a stranger on a subway train are enough for Rosie (Nikki Alikokos) to spiral out of control, losing herself in a deep, grief-stricken fantasy of a life she will never know. Dear Stranger has a voiceover but works perhaps even better as a silent film, illuminating the arbitrary, capricious nature of love, the emotional continents that separate us from our partners, and the virtual impossibility of living just one life. The effect is almost unbearably poignant.

So well expressed. All the ideas that excited me about this film can be found in this article.

Favorite Childhood Photos: Nic Beery


Additional formats: LARGE QUICKTIMESMALL QUICKTIME

To learn how to submit your own favorite childhood photos, check this page for instructions and guidelines. To see other submissions, check here.