The Atlanta Film Festival continues to show some of the most creative cinematic content we’ve seen in a long time. Among them is the short film “Who You Are,” from filmmaker Joel Blacker.
The hilarious short is about an artificial intelligence system in the late 1980s with just enough wit to bring its inventor to his wit’s end.
Short film ‘Who You Are’ screens at Atlanta Film Festival 2019
The movie’s premise stemmed from a concept developed by writer and film collaborator Sam Root dreamed up. AtlantaFi.com talked to Blacker about the making of “Who You Are” and what we can expect from him in the future.
With so many movies being produced in Georgia, it’s no longer a given that a filmmaker originates from the West Coast, so here’s the first question we wanted to know:
Where are you based?
I’m based in Los Angeles. I made “Who You Are” with Leviathan Filmworks based there.
What motivated you to get into filmmaking?
I’ve always known I was going to work in film. When I was a kid I shot movies with Legos based on storylines I stole from” Star Wars” movies. I got lucky that my parents moved me to California when I was 12. Living a couple hours north of L.A. allowed me the opportunity to work as a production assistant on sets during high school in the summer.
What inspired the making of this film?
Sam Roots (writer) and I have been friends since middle school. We’ve made various short projects together in the last few years that we’ve taken on the festival circuit and seen mild success from. ‘Who You Are’ was based on a short script Sam wrote in college that I absolutely fell in love with. Sam would say at the time he wrote it he was taking one too many religious studies courses and was inspired by a panic attack he had because of them. Since then, Sam and I have been refining the concept and constantly trying to find a way to execute it on a small budget.
Why did you decide to do ‘Who You Are’ as a short film?
We realized the concept lent itself more to an episodic format where we could grow and tell more of the story and so we created the short series (5x 5minute episodes) to give people a nugget of the world we want to create.
What are some other projects we can expect from you?
We have a pilot script for a longer version of ‘Who You Are’ that we want to create, so working to get that out there. We’ve also written a feature script for a short we made called ‘Let’s Do It’ about a couple’s failed attempt at an orgy. That one can be found online. As we work towards making the show and feature, I’m directing some music videos that people should keep an eye out for. I’m just obsessed with music videos and the possibilities they present to make statement pieces online. You can follow me @JoelJayBlacker to see them as they’re released, or go to my website JoelBlacker.com
The Atlanta Film Festival: What to do this week
The 43rd annual Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) continues through April 14. in Midtown. The event features 11 days of movie happenings, film screenings, educational workshops and more.
If you’re a movie buff, you’ll love the talent and filmmaker appearances as well as the special music, food, and art-focused presentations. But there are also FREE things to do.
Atlanta has become a movie mecca in recent years and Georgia has been a favorite location for TV productions since the state instituted generous tax breaks for film companies that agree to shoot locally. Projects from CBS, NBC, HBO, BET and more are slated to shoot in the metro area in 2018-19 and the foreseeable future.
With more than 700 movie and TV projects just in the last few years, the film industry has generated more than $9 billion for the state of Georgia.
There are so many movies filmed in Atlanta these days that it’s hard to keep up with it all. That’s why I suggest you subscribe to AtlantaFi.com to get all the freshest movie casting calls, celeb sightings and Atlanta happenings delivered to your inbox.
Got an event or know of something opening in and around Atlanta? Holla: CJ@AtlantaFi.com. See what’s poppin’ in the ATL! Subscribe to our news alerts here, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.