“The Jokes” by Eli Speigel
Beyond the Short Official Premiere
A man struggles to focus on watching a movie while cooking breakfast. He opts to go to a nearby cafe, yet continues struggling to focus on a graphic novel while overhearing conversations from fellow patrons. A woman struggles to get out of bed, resorting to doom scrolling on her phone and writing her thoughts in an email. After summoning the strength to get to a nearby market, she eavesdrops on a couple bickering in line. While commuting on the streetcar, she imagines herself as a line cook. Her daydream eventually begins to warp as other thoughts and memories bubble up.
FROM THE DIRECTOR:
“I decided to make “The Jokes” because it was all I could do with the amount of money I had while I was waiting for funding for a larger project. The crew consisted of me, a sound recordist, and an assistant; and we shot everything on my Sony a7s iii. The film is a loose adaptation of a collection of 4-10 sentence short stories by Stephen Thomas (also called The Jokes). The stories don't have beginnings, middles, or ends; they are moments more than anything else. I singled out the moments 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 dance on their phone could cause one 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. In short, I'm attempting to see if there's some comedy in struggling with mental health.
The actors were an assembled group of friends and peers, and their dialogue was a combination of words straight from Thomas’ pages and improv. I enjoyed making this film because I was making it completely on my own volition. I didn’t need to rent any equipment, just a few hours in two locations. The extent of the prep work (after scouting locations) was charging camera batteries, and checking if my friends were available on a given day. Upon finishing The Jokes, I have been encouraged to shoot all my future films in a similarly simplistic and stripped-down manner.”
-Eli Speigel
CREDITS:
Cast, In order of appearance:
Conrad Osei
Becca Willow Moss
Alex Filtsos
Shelby Wilson
Tom Lute
Emma Qulaghasi
Margaret Rose
Nate Wilson
Lea Sebastianis
Don Sitter
Ethan Speigel
Callum O’Neil
Josh Hendel
Noa Zelikovitz
Paula Gotshal
Based on short stories by Stephen Thomas
Produced by Joshua Rosen, Daniel Feldman Green, Conrad Osei
Direction & Cinematography// Eli Speigel
Sound Recordist// Ryan Barnes, Alex Hennessey
Production Assistance// Sacha K. Wayne, Danielle Racine
Editor// עלאי שפּיגל
Sound Design// Rudiger F. Rose
Sound Mixing// Deanna Marano
Colourist// Erik Bayley
All music by danshee, except for “Axxon N.” by Inge Marie
Special Thanks:
Stephen Thomas, Danielle Racine, Hare Patel, Josh Zelikovitz, Mick Robertson, Shelby Wilson, Stephen Pitman, NutHouse
Imglick, 2023
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