It has been a long minute. It seems like just yesterday I shared the PEN15 pitch video and I was looking forward to them hiring me for the second season. (Spoiler alert: the second season is out and I didn’t direct any of the episodes… BUT THERE’S ALWAYS SEASON 3!)
Since then, I directed a short horror-comedy BOT PROX during a 48 hour blood and guts themes competition, got a gig on a Netflix limited series, stayed home for five months like I was told – –
BECAUSE COVID-19 IS REAL SO WEAR YOUR DANG MASK & WASH YOUR HANDS LIKE YOU’VE BEEN CUTTING JALAPENOS AND ARE ABOUT TO TAKE OUT YOUR CONTACT LENSES
– – and have since started back on said Netflix show, played New Filmmakers Film Festival (virtually) with BOT PROX, and also finally finished the film! (It may have been a work in progress at the fest…)
And this week is the opening of the 27th Austin Film Festival and guess what? BOT PROX is an official selection! Woot woot! Who knew that a little 48 hour horror-comedy film would get into one of the most esteemed film festivals in the world?
Well it feels pretty freaking great.
Having been officially selected at Austin in 2017 with my digital series YOUNG & RECKLESS, I can say from experience that getting into Austin Film Festival is a huge honour and attending is a privilege any filmmaker should fucking make happen.
BOT PROX is programmed for its World Premiere in Shorts Program 5: Over My Dead Shorts. I love it when they get punny with the program names. This is sure to be a horrorific treat.
The program includes:
The Internet Kills
directed & written by Eren Celeboglu & Ari Costa (United States)
The Last Starship
directed & written by Eric Haywood (United States)
The Recordist
directed & written by Indianna Bell & Josiah Allen (Australia)
Hey, It’s Me
directed & written by Courtney & Mark Sposato
Oh Deer
directed & written by Richard C. Jones (United States)
Bot Prox
directed by Brianne Nord-Stewart, written by Riley Madincea (Canada)
Carmentis
directed & written by by Antony Webb (Australia)
Yandere
directed & written by William Laboury (France)
All the films in this program are eligible for audience awards so be sure to watch and tell @austinfilmfest how you feel about it. While your at it, tell me @bnordstewart how you feel about it.
The program will be available to watch online starting October 23, 2020 through till October 29th. Just the program is $12, but you can entertain to your hearts content with their Film Pass for $30 or all of the amazing panels and conferences with WORKING & ACTUALLY SUCCESSFUL film industry folks with their Virtual Badge for $200
To check out what else the 2020 Austin Film Festival has to offer head to: watch.eventive.org/austinfilmfestival2020 and tell me about how amazing it was as I’m on set 16 hours a day and sleeping all the rest.
That’s definitely not a complaint.
More on that gig another time.
Brianne Nord-Stewart 