Filmmaker Spotlight: “Zero/Intuitions” by FunMill Films
In honor of Cleveland’s edition of the global 48 Hour Film competition, which took place this past month, my filmmaker spotlight for August 2021 is a short that was created and submitted for the competition back in 2019.
“Zero/Intuitions” is a short film produced & directed by Kinsley Funari & Josh Miller (the creators of February’s spotlight short). The short stars Robbie Barnes (who you may have seen in last month’s spotlight short), Funari, Chris Ross, Miller and Fred Munkachy.
The first part of the short, a black comedy entitled “Zero Intuition,” occurs over the course of roughly two days as a 48 Hour Film team attempts to make a short film within… …well, 48 hours. The second part, a dramatic thriller entitled “Intuitions,” is a film-within-a-film that involves a woman named Claire being stalked by a new neighbor named John McClain.
I don’t want to give anything away about the plot-twisting madness of “Intuitions,” so this review will be about “Zero Intuition.” It begins with Funari and Barnes (playing fictionalized versions of themselves) arguing with each other over who should play Claire. Eventually, they make a deal: Funari will play her in the first half of the short and Barnes in the second half and the audience can decide which performance was better. But the quarrelling doesn’t stop there.
Much to the exasperation of the rest of their team, the two of them continue their bickering with Funari labeling Barnes a “princess” before & after filming and Barnes scolding Funari for getting to act in five of the script’s nine pages. Eventually, with the deadline approaching and having irritated everyone else on the team (some of whom ended up quitting), the two are able to reconcile during post-production and work together to complete the short.
Not unlike Francois Truffaut’s “Day for Night,” “Zero/Intuitions” highlights just how difficult filmmaking actually is. Although done through a comedic lens, the short does a brilliant job presenting real issues that can arise on sets. Arguments and debates over creative choices, having to make split-second decisions that can make or break your project, team members suddenly quitting either at the last minute or during production, and post-production woes. Now imagine having to deal with all of that, and probably more, within two days.
Having directed my very first 48 Hour Film project last month, I can attest to just how stressful these things can be and how rewarding they are when they’re finished and submitted. It’s a testament to the considerable talents of this team that they were able to create this entire project within that 48 hour timespan and produce a tremendous two-part short film that entertains and delivers funny-yet-painfully-relatable moments for those of us who have been in the trenches.
Anchored by strong writing and excellent performances from its two leading ladies, “Zero/Intuitions” once again displays the marvelous creativity of the folks at FunMill Films and captures the frustrations and joys that come with the maddeningly beautiful art of filmmaking. Anyway, I’ll be back next month with another spotlight short. But for now…
Click on this link to watch “Zero/Intuitions!”
(Correction: “Zero Intuition” and “Intuitions” are actually two SEPARATE 48 Hour short films made by the FunMill Films team, making them the first Cleveland team in history to submit two short films in one year for the competition.)
