Content warning: Partial nudity, weapons and firearms, depctions of violence and assault
The short film was originally a short story published in decomp, https://decompmagazine.com/america.htm. It’s a satire of the American gun culture, how we’re supposed to be safe if everyone is armed, which, for anyone who appreciates comedy, is basically stupid thinking. And stupidity does well with satire. The writing was inspired by Donald Barthelme and Jim Jefferies. I thought it worked as a short story, but it felt very cinematographic, so I submitted it as a screenplay to mc² film in Romania and was overjoyed when they said, yes, they wanted to film it. Subsequently, it got picked up for distribution to open up for feature films throughout France, which was incredible for me, particularly at the time, because my girlfriend was French. The film has done particularly well in the film festival circuit overseas, getting into 26 festivals including the Brussels Short Film Festival, Très Court International Film Festival, and L’Etrange Festival. Subsequently, the follow-up I wrote for mc² film (entitled Thank You For Your Teeth!) was accepted into 89 festivals and was distributed throughout Greece, so it has been a wonderful partnership with mc² film.
Producers
Alin Boeru … executive producer
Ayrton P. Bryan … producer
Horia Cucuta … producer
Vlad Ghinea … executive producer
Valentin Paduraru … executive producer
Ron Riekki … producer
Cast
Daniel Popa Daniel Popa … Frederik
Octavian Botel Octavian Botel … The Assaulter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eli Lester Eli Lester … Frederik (voice)
Directors
Horia Cucuta and George ve Gänæaard
Writing
Ron Riekki
Music
Kyle Preston
Cinematography
Constantin Ene Jr.
Editing
Horia Cucuta
Michael Locksmith
Production Design
Bogdan Mosorescu
Art Department
Laura Iane … typography
Sound Department
Cezar Botel … recording engineer
Codrut Dubat … sound mixer
Mihnea Teodor Rusu … sound recordist
Editorial Department
Constantin Ene Jr. … colorist
About the author
Ron Riekki has been awarded a 2014 Michigan Notable Book, 2015 The Best Small Fictions, 2016 Shenandoah Fiction Prize, 2016 IPPY Award, 2019 Red Rock Film Fest Award, 2019 Best of the Net finalist, 2019 Très Court International Film Festival Audience Award and Grand Prix, 2020 Dracula Film Festival Vladutz Trophy, 2020 Rhysling Anthology inclusion, and 2022 Pushcart Prize. Right now, Riekki’s listening to Elliott Smith’s “Between the Bars.”