Driver Les
When their getaway driver leaves them stranded after a bank robbery,
two thieves unknowingly hijack a driverless car with a mind of its own.

Cars, more specifically driverless cars, feature prominently in film. From Johnnycab, the ventriloquist-like dummy of Total Recall, to the flying cars of Minority Report and Blade Runner, to quirky KITT in Nightrider, and Herbie, the titular sentient anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle of the movie of the same name.

We generally associate driverless cars with science fiction, however the horror genre introduced us to Steven King’s homicidal Christine, Pixar gave us Cars, and Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends is a beloved children’s favourite.

And now, writer, Larry Postel expertly blends futuristic with comedy crime-caper and introduces us to the aptly named: Driver Les.

We open on two bank robbers who may well go down in the annals as two of the ‘world’s dumbest’, but also lovable criminal characters. They’ve just ‘won the lottery’- so to speak – only to discover their getaway driver has done a runner, and they’ve been left high and dry in the middle of the street, bag of money slung over a shoulder – notes threatening to spill out onto the pavement – and sirens pealing in the near distance.

Things are not looking good for our guys…

They’re just about to give it all away when quite suddenly and fortuitously they happen upon Driver Les, a fully automated driver-less vehicle rolling down the road without a fare.

In their hour of need Driver Les appears to be a dream come true. He’s amiable and accommodating – if bordering on a little needy – and eager to please, offering a library of music available for the boy’s listening pleasure, and an equally impressive selection of refreshing beverages on hand.

When the boys discover the car is equipped with cameras and their driver possesses a photo-memory, the boys freak out, until Driver Les reassures them

DRIVER LES (V.O.)
… you gentleman are very pleasant.
There is no suspicious activity here.
(pause)
Other than the fact that you are skiing in the middle of July.

ROBBER 2
Huh?

ROBBER 1
(mutters)
The ski masks, numbnuts.

Destination reached, our robbers are so impressed the decision is made to book Driver Les as getaway driver for their next bank heist.

Hmm, whatever could go wrong?

In a funny and ironic final-act twist, just when we think our robbers are into the home stretch and going to get off scot-free, yet again, one of our dim-witted robbers makes a serious error in judgement. It’s a mistake that offends Driver Les – in fact it’s one of Driver Les’s ‘pet peeves’. It’s a big boo-boo that has both boys wishing they’d taken the bus, hailed a cab, or otherwise just hot-footed it up the road with the loot.

Written with perfectly timed humour and wit, Driver Les is sure to be a crowd pleaser at festivals.

Filmmakers: It’s time to take this one to the finish line. Hop in the driver’s seat, get behind the wheel, and put your foot down fast, lest you get run over in the rush.

Production: You’ll want to be a little ingenious with the shoot, but Larry’s made it easier for you with most of the action focused on the two leads in the back seat. Three main characters. One character: V.O. only. A car, some cold hard cash of the counterfeit variety, a couple of ski masks, and you’ll be ready to hit the road.

Midnight Clear
Nearing Christmas, a man with a peculiar talent attempts
to give his grieving wife the most precious gift of all.

“Stages of grief” have become a popular way of describing the numerous ways people navigate the loss of a loved one. But grieving is rarely unidirectional. Within moments of profound sadness, there can be instances of peace and even joy; flashes of happiness torn asunder when the reality of loss manifests again.

Steven Clark’s Midnight Clear beautifully captures the melancholic twists that the path of grieving often takes.

Married couple Steve and Bryn’s shared life seems ideal. When the script opens, they’re home together for the holiday. The house itself is cute; chock full of character and charm. Steve sips on champagne as he puts the finishing touches on a model village. He taps gently on the church steeple, the entire town lights up like a million dots of fairy dust. Magic. Or so it seems.

Bryn compliments her husband on the amazing dinner he prepared. Effortlessly, she clears the table and starts the dishwasher. As a favorite LP plays, the two embrace and affectionately reminisce about their first dance.

Continuing the late night celebration, Bryn and Steve take a walk together with their son to a nearby park. Steve leans back against the car – while mother and child play a game of hide and seek.

Basketball, tennis courts. See-saws and swings.

Bryn meanders around a jungle gym, searching. Another tug at her coat.

BRYN
There you are!

She giggles and gives chase.

But the specter of grief haunts them all – and in very different ways.

Maybe Bryn and Steve don’t realize it (or perhaps they do), but the harmony of their picture perfect evening will soon come to an end. The reality of their loss will return full force, leaving audiences surprised… and deeply moved.

Are you a director with a preference for naked, true drama – yearning for a story with soul? Then give Midnight Clear a read. If you’ve got a poet’s touch, maybe you’re fated to shepherd it to the screen.

The Painful Side of the Pillow
Pillow Girl is determined to fight to create a better society.
But, evil is lurking in some very unexpected places…

Who has never experienced a desire for superpowers to miraculously make the worst of their troubles merely disappear? Most comic strip and film superheroes fall into “superherohood” because of some unplanned event-such as being born with superpowers, drinking some potion, or suffering an accident- that permanently alters their physical constitution and consequently limits their ability to pursue other less noble career goals. Sometimes reluctantly, other times enthusiastically, they choose to pursue their calling and bravely set out to eradicate evil.

For Tabitha, the protagonist in Jason K. Allen’s latest work, The Painful Side of the Pillow, becoming a superhero is a conscious decision. From a young age, she knows that she would like to deploy her budding pillow-fighting abilities “… to make a positive impact on society.” She determinedly develops her skills to become the superhero she always wanted to be …Pillow Girl.

In the tradition of superheroes like the Electric Company’s Letterman, Pillow Girl is a gentle superhero. She doesn’t kill off villains or save the world from total destruction. She simply encourages people to do the right thing. And, she achieves that with a superpower that is comic. Viewers will love the campy humor as Pillow Girl thwarts everyday minor transgressions to the raving praises of the witnesses to her noble deeds.

There is so much fun in this piece that viewers will be surprised when the story twists to reveal a dark side to Pillow Girl’s trajectory of which even she was unaware, along with an enemy she had no idea existed. 

The Painful Side of the Pillow proves both entertaining and extremely provocative as it probes common understandings about heroes and villains, strength and weakness, and good and evil. You won’t rest until you see this one!

CALLING HOME
A driven depression therapist enjoys her star client's final moments with her at the top of a bridge.

On the surface, Calling Home by Nikki April Lee is a timely tale about the tragic implications of the psychological suffocation inherent to trauma. An intense, invisible pain that erodes the soul, causing such suffering that sometimes there is only one way out.

But beneath the veneer of Lee’s story is something more sinister and fatalistic that poses a unique question about the ultimate value of trying to help those who are beyond salvation.

The story starts with a set of women sitting in circle, attending what must be a support group lead by Mya Sanders. A thoughtful, quietly strong spiritualist determined to impart her affirmative wisdom on the women who attentively hang on her every word.

MYA
Everyday is a struggle, but we must remember not to think of our lives in weeks, months, and years.
It only increases this pressure that is on your mind.
Think of life in minutes, hours, and days.

Mya grabs her necklace’s heart pendant with a semicolon carved out of the center.

MYA
Every minute your heart beats, is another minute you are stronger; a warrior; a survivor.

One of the women in Mya’s group is Skylar; a young lady in her late 20s, who has been attending the group over the past year.

She alludes to having two young kids and a husband. With Mya’s help and the support of the other women, she’s in a much better place now with herself and her family.

SKYLAR
I am. I feel so much better ever since I started coming here last year.
I didn’t think I was going to make it, but here I am.

MYA
That’s right, and here you will stay.

Mya indefatigable commitment to the cause of helping women suffering deep psychological wounds is admirable and inspiring. Nowhere is this more apparent than in her own home, when she interacts with her dutiful husband Charlie. He isn’t just supportive of his wife, but is in awe of her superhuman selflessness. 

CHARLIE
You are a hero without a cape, my love. Don’t ever forget that.

It would seem no matter the time or day, Mya is the perpetual harbor in the tempest for the women under the protection of her emotional bulwark.

So, when Skylar texts Mya in the middle of the night, with a cryptic message that reads: ‘The Angels have called…’, Mya immediately jumps out of bed, called to action to rescue one her flock.

Or so it seems.

Calling Home takes a unique, yet brave moral turn that’ll leave the audience feeling unsettled and baffled simultaneously. Lee deftly sets up the story in such a way that when the morbid end comes, it’s jarring and disquieting, with far more unanswered disturbing questions than satisfying, yet obvious answers.

Stories like this rarely come along. A chance to make a movie that forces the audience to get out of their comfort zone and ponder some of humanity’s more complex debates, is the sort of opportunity a brave, filmmaker should tackle… especially if they’re craving to make a short film that will leave their audience speaking about the story long after the credits roll.