Austin Film Festival - 5 Doctors
Convinced that he's dying from a bizarre array of symptoms, struggling comedian Spencer Kaminsky returns home to visit his five childhood doctors in a single day, all while desperately trying to avoid the friends and family that he left behind.
Interview with Director Matt Porter
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Max, Phil, and I have been making short films together for years, and we’ve already tried to keep our films honest, sincere, and of course funny. When this idea came up, it felt like the perfect fit for our first feature length film.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It hopefully tells a universal story about growing up, learning to be self-sufficient and confident but without losing your roots. Learning how to be there for other people without losing yourself.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
As young filmmakers, these themes are important to us, and hopefully for anyone who has struggled against their own ego, and their own fear of failure.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
It took us 4 years to develop the script and ultimately raise the money and make it. The story has stayed the same in many major ways, but still, every step in the process has been a chance to simplify, revise, and re-think what is essential to our story.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Our reception at AFF so far has been wonderful!
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
We were approached by a few people after our premiere who told us that they were deeply moved, almost to tears. This was very surprising, but very meaningful.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Always happy to share our movie with people!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Distribution is the next step, so we’ll see.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We hope that it finds an audience and that people who see it find it funny, heartfelt, and memorable.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is it possible to build your own identity without leaving behind some aspects of where you came from?
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Everyone is doing something different, working on things together and separately. Stay tuned for more work from all of us!
Interview: October 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Film Title:
5 Doctors
Convinced that he's dying from a bizarre array of symptoms, struggling comedian Spencer Kaminsky returns home to visit his five childhood doctors in a single day, all while desperately trying to avoid the friends and family that he left behind.
Length:
1hr 34mins
Director:
Matt Porter & Max Azulay
Producer:
Joe Greco
Writer:
Phil Primason, Max Azulay, & Matt Porter
About the writer, director and producer:
Max Azulay has been writing and performing comedy for as long as he can remember. By the time he graduated from High School, his odd adolescent obsessiveness had yielded a long filmography of extremely low-budget films and videos, and sporadic paid work writing comedy. In the following years, his work has been featured at the LA Comedy Festival, on The Onion, Channel 101, Splitsider. com, Funny or Die, The Nerdist, and at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Matt Porter is a director, writer, and comedian of average height living in New York City. He is the director, co-writer and co-star of the Comedy Central web series NEW TIMERS. He has directed content for Funny or Die, MTV, Adult Swim, and Sony Music. His sketch series GOOD COP GREAT COP, a collaboration with writer/ cartoonist Charlie Hankin, has been screened at SXSW and was an official selection at the New York Television Festival. His short films have screened at JFL Montreal, IFF Boston, Austin Film Festival, Hollywood Film Festival, and the LES Film Festival. You can contact him at mrmattporter@gmail.com.
Phil began his professional comedy writing career at the age of 16, when he and Max were the youngest ever freelance contributors to The Onion. Since graduating from Columbia University, he has written short fiction, plays, and work for the screen in every form. In 2012, his short story “Embarcadero” was published by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, where it won an award of distinction. Phil lives and works in Harlem, where he freelances as a criminal investigator and directs content for the Webby-nominated HENRY Review, a digital reading series.
Known for wielding a heavy axe in the editing room, Greco’s approach to producing is largely informed by his extensive experience working in post- production. He’s an alumni of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where he cultivated a passion for film editing while also studying business. His short film Sin Dolor, which was adapted from the popular short story by T.C. Boyle, garnered awards from film festivals around the world, including an award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He’s a commercial producer and director based in New York, working mainly with Clear Channel Media + Entertainment to produce nationally programmed video content.
Key cast:
Max Azulay, Matt Porter, Emily Walton, Bobby Moynihan, Eddie Pepitone, Adam Dannheisser
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Distribution, sales agents, buyers, festival directors, journalists.
Funders:
Made in association with:
Release date:
Oct 2016