Solved
A lonely young man dreams of one day becoming a Rubik's Cube champion, but his obsession soon turns deadly. This short horror film is made entirely of 11,000 still photos.
Interview with Writer/Director Michael Bartolomeo
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thanks so much! I had been making lots of experimental short films in this stop-motion style for years, but I wanted to finally make one with a narrative. To just tell a story. And I received a Rubik's Cube from a coworker as a Christmas gift one year and promptly became obsessed with solving it, day and night. It consumed my life for weeks on end. And so I thought, this is the story I want to tell. A horror-comedy about a guy who becomes dangerously obsessed with solving the cube.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I want people to watch "Solved" simply because I think it's a fun little story to watch unfold, and I think the pixilated visual style enhances the viewing experience. I've had several people tell me that the jittery, herky-jerky movement of the film perfectly reflects the main character's agitated psyche. I loved hearing that.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Even though it's about a guy's obsession with Rubik's Cubes, I think obsession with anything is universal. Anyone can relate to being overcome by repeated thoughts about the same thing, and how our thoughts can negatively and positively affect our actions.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Since the film is dialogue-free, the script only consisted of a series of visual descriptions for each scene, and at one point the climax called for a giant chess set, complete with human-sized chess pieces. We realized that would have been impossible to achieve with our budget so we altered the ending (no spoilers!) to be much more affordable. And I think it's more effective, too. Also, a fun fact, that as we began shooting, our lead actor Stephen could not solve the Rubik's Cube, so for some of the early solving scenes, he and I would just swap outfits and I'd stand in for him to solve it. As production progressed he got better and better and could start solving it on his own.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback from festival audiences has been amazing. We've screened primarily at horror fests and horror fans are the hungriest and most loyal of genre fanbases, so it's been heartwarming to receive their support for something that you could argue might not officially be Horror with a capital H. I'm curious to see how the speedsolving community responds to it. We were lucky to have worked with world champion speedsolver Rowe Hessler, who was incredible, and so I can't wait to show it to all the cubers out there.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
At first, I wasn't sure how audiences would respond to the visual technique, but they overwhelmingly loved it! So that's been pleasantly surprising.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I think We Are Moving Stories can help us reach some of the non-genre fans out there who might be surprised to enjoy the film too.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We've sort of closed the book on "Solved" so the need for any distribution or producer support at this point is long gone, however we do need people on board for our next short! I'm tentatively calling it "Washed" and it's going to feature flesh-eating piles of dirty laundry and lots of weirdness. It'll make "Solved" look like an episode of Doc McStuffins haha. We'll be launching a crowdfunding campaign hopefully early in 2018 and we'd love to have anyone's support, particularly those who enjoyed "Solved" and would like to see something even bigger and badder.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Any kind of impact! I want as many people to see it as possible. Especially horror fans and the speedsolving community.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
The theme of mental illness and obsession in particular, is front and center in "Solved." The main character is so consumed by his desire to speedsolve that he becomes a danger to himself and others. So in addition to simply enjoying the film as a darkly comic horror tale, if audiences ask themselves how they or anyone they know might be affected by mental illness or how society deals with mental illness, then it's a bonus, though I certainly didn't intend the film to be a PSA or to raise awareness in that capacity.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I recently wrapped production on a two-day green screen shoot for a project I'm dubbing "Michael Bay's The Very Hungry Caterpillar" So essentially I'm asking the question of "What would the Eric Carle children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar look like if it were adapted to the big screen by Michael Bay?" Like this big-budget CGI-filled monster movie about this gigantic caterpillar destroying a city and eating everything in its path. It's a hilarious concept to me so I wanted to make a trailer for this non-existent movie. So we shot a ton of really corny action-movie green screen stuff and I just have to find some time to sit down and edit it all into something. And then I'm also planning another film in the same pixilation style as "Solved" for 2019, which would also feature a lot of horror elements, practical FX and some big stop-motion sequences.
Interview: December 2017
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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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Solved
A lonely young man dreams of one day becoming a Rubik's Cube champion, but his obsession soon turns deadly. This short horror film is made entirely of 11,000 still photos.
Length: 7:44
Director: Michael Bartolomeo
Producer: Stephen West-Rogers
Writer: Michael Bartolomeo
About the writer, director and producer:
Writer/Director:
Michael Bartolomeo is a NYC-based filmmaker who creates visually unique short films in a variety of genres. His next stop-motion project will involve demonic laundromats and premieres in early 2019.
Producer/Lead Actor:
Stephen West-Rogers is a Charlotte, NC-based actor who has made numerous television and film appearances, most recently in the upcoming Audience Network series, Mr. Mercedes.
Key cast: Stephen West-Rogers, Terri Ann Peters, Rowe Hessler, Brendan Kissane
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Not looking for anything but an audience!
Social media handles:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/solvedmovie
Twitter: @TriangleFilmsNY
Instagram: @triangle_films
Other: www.trianglefilmsnyc.com
Made in association with: KitSplit (www.kitsplit.com)
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? "Solved" will be available to view online for FREE on YouTube and Vimeo at our channels! Please visit https://vimeo.com/user1808828 and www.youtube.com/physiciandirectory to see it!