Other Worlds Film Festival / Morbido Film Fest 2019 – The Obliteration of the Chickens
The universe does not care. The abyss is stupid. Narrated by author Bracken MacLeod, this Herzog-inspired fever dream uses 100% stock footage to reflect on the banality of existence.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Izzy Lee
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made it as a joke because the world is a damn joke, because I either have to laugh or cry at daily life, and film is my catharsis.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you have a spare 3 minutes and want a laugh at the absurd society we live, in, check it out.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
They're there front and center: existentialism, loneliness, nihilism, and finally post-nihilism, which is really recognizing that the world is screwed but that I want it to be better.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
My friend Bracken and I had a blast watching Werner Herzog videos and I got inspired. Then I wrote it and recorded him doing a pretty good Herzog impersonation. It took a while to find all the stock footage, sound effects, and music I wanted, but then I had it edited together, and something pretty weird was born.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
It's gotten a ton of laughter and support. I'm surprised that it's been a hit with so many audiences and filmmakers.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
In Mexico City where the film played at Morbido, an audience member asked me about God and religion, because in the film, the narrator says that there is no God, which is influenced by Nietzsche. He asked me if I really believed that there's no God, and I replied that depression and anxiety and the state of the world led me to believe that there might be nothing out there, and that I have no idea what's out there --- but I hope there's something, and that it's good for all of us.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
To say hello, and here's this weird thing that's out there.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Would love to have the film in even more festivals! Come at me for links to both The Obliteration of the Chickens and Re-Home.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
To make the audience laugh and think about life.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Do you like Herzog?
Would you like to add anything else?
Be kind to each other and make the world a better place before it all burns.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
The other short I have on the circuit is Re-Home, which stars Gigi Saul Guerrero, Morgan Peter Brown, and Kasey Lansdale. Synopsis: In the near future, the U.S.-Mexico border wall has been completed and the high cost of living has skyrocketed. As a result, loved ones are re-homed like pets.
I'm attached to a feature that we're hoping to get funding for, and in talks to direct another. I'm not sure what my feature debut will be just yet. Additionally, I have short stories in several horror fiction anthologies. The Dark Lights in Dark Moon Digest; Demons of 1994 in Tales From the Crust; I Did it for the Art in Fright Into Flight; Famous Last Words in Lost Films; Tilberian Holiday in Wicked Witches; and The Lake Children in both Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep and Hydrophobia.
Interview: December 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
The Obliteration of the Chickens
The universe does not care. The abyss is stupid. Narrated by author Bracken MacLeod, this Herzog-inspired fever dream uses 100% stock footage to reflect on the banality of existence.
Length: 3:19
Director: Izzy Lee
Producer: Izzy Lee
Writer: Izzy Lee
About the writer, director and producer:
Named as one of ten female directors Blumhouse should hire by the A.V. Club, Izzy Lee is a writer and twice-Rondo Award-nominated filmmaker. She has written for Birth.Movies.Death., Rue Morgue, Fangoria, and Diabolique, and is an editor for ScreenAnarchy.
You can find her stories The Dark Lights in Dark Moon Digest; Demons of 1994 in Tales From the Crust; I Did it for the Art in Fright Into Flight; Famous Last Words in Lost Films; Tilberian Holiday in Wicked Witches; and The Lake Children in both Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep and Hydrophobia, with more to come. She’s currently at work on several short stories and scripts.
Key cast: Bracken MacLeod (narrator)
Looking for: film festival directors
Facebook: Nihil Noctem Films
Twitter: @NihilNoctemFilm
Instagram: @nihilnoctem
Hashtags used: #herzog, #chickens, #nihilism, #existentialism, #cultfilm
Website: www.nihilnoctem.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? TBA