On July 8, the Tara Theatre screened five short films, then immediately replayed them all on mute. This time, instead of a score or dialogue, they were soundtracked by live commentary from the films’ directors.
“My roommates did evict me after filming in our house,” noted director Adesola Thomas as her short, “Sister Salad Days,” projected in the Tara’s Jack auditorium.
This is the type of insider insights you can expect at the unusual screening known as Reel Talk. Every month, five short films are shown; then, their directors discuss how they made it, riffing on writing inspirations or budget constraints. Since Atlanta production company Reel Friends started the event in April, Reel Talk has done more than just spotlight Atlanta filmmakers. It’s also given the Georgia industry a chance to cultivate community.
“It’s part of our mission and identity at Reel Friends to find a space to bridge the filmmaking and film lover communities,” said Rocco Shapiro, founder of Reel Friends. “We want people to find their next filmmaker, collaborator or friend.”
Credit: Photo courtesy of Paul D. McPherson Jr.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Paul D. McPherson Jr.
Shapiro has attended dozens of film festivals and screenings as a filmmaker himself. While he loved the chance to see new art and meet fellow directors, something was missing. Traditional film festivals often have question and answer sessions where the moderator may not know the film well enough to ask the right questions. Instead Shapiro envisioned an event where the filmmaker controlled the conversation, like director commentaries on DVDs.
“Sometimes Q & As can be longer than the actual movie,” Shapiro said. “So Reel Talk pressures directors to explain themselves in a short amount of time and replicates the feeling of shooting on set.”
Like a true artist, each filmmaker approaches the commentary differently. Some perform a tight-five stand-up routine. Others go into granular details of the screenplay. If stuck, Shapiro prompts the directors to get the night back on track, like a projectionist rethreading a reel.
For her short, “Hula Hoop,” shown in July, filmmaker Katie Ivey noted that her dialogue was meant to be cyclical like the hula hoops her characters spin.
“Many directors won’t have the opportunity to do commentary like this for years,” said Akshay Bhatia, Reel Friends’ programming director whose horror short “The Preakness” screened in June. “For mine, it was this amazing experience to be as detail-oriented as I wanted because I had a captive audience. I started to relive the film when I was on stage and remembered why I loved it.”
Credit: Photo courtesy of Rayna Sklar
Credit: Photo courtesy of Rayna Sklar
The commentary isn’t the only benefit. Unlike festivals, Reel Talk has no submission limits. There isn’t an expiration date on when the film can be screened, which is how Motion Family’s 2016 music video for hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” played at the July event. Films can be any genre from animation to narrative shorts — as long as they’re under 20 minutes. The only real constraint is that the filmmaker must call Atlanta home or be from here. For many filmmakers, it’s often a hometown premiere.
“It was cool to celebrate the film with the cast and crew in the audience,” said Jenna Kanell, whose short “Spray Bottle” played in May. “My brother was in the film and the audience, and I was able to bring him on stage.”
While Bhatia and Shapiro curate the playlist from filmmakers they know or shorts they’ve seen at festivals, they also allow filmmakers to send in work on the submission portal FilmFreeway.
“We aren’t boxed in by premiere dates or status,” Bhatia said. “We’re looking for directors who make films with unique vision and voice. We wanted to do away with the score keeping and competition of the industry and just celebrate the art.”
Credit: Photo courtesy of Rayna Sklar
Credit: Photo courtesy of Rayna Sklar
Despite how the film scene has contracted since the pandemic and Hollywood strikes, the Atlanta film community is still active and hungry for events like Reel Talk. The first two screenings sold out 150-seat auditoriums at Tara and now the event commands prime real estate in the 200-plus-seat Jack theater. The energy is just as lively in the lobby at the post-screening mixer, where filmmakers can meet new fans, collaborators can swap contacts and investors can find their next project.
“Normally, you just make something and never see how people react,” Kanell said. “‘Spray Bottle’ is a queer and disabled story that’s not about being queer and disabled. And two women came up to me after to say how refreshing it was to see an action comedy with queer characters.”
Experiences like this are why Reel Talk audiences are growing. Eventually Shapiro and Bhatia hope to expand to a multiday event. What started as an alternative to the narrow format of festivals could be the next big festival.
Find your future favorite filmmakers at the next Reel Talk, Aug. 12 at the Tara Theatre.
IF YOU GO
Reel Talk
8 p.m. Aug. 12 at Tara Theatre. $10. 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, Atlanta. reelfriendsfilms.com.
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