The creative team that's already attached to the project represents a wide range of ages, races, genders, and ethnicities. Not because its good PR - not at all. It's only because we live and work in progressive SF and will rigorously pursue diverse stories and, most certainly, diverse audiences.

 

"CA Shorts" is a rare opportunity for short film writers and makers to become part of a "high concept"* feature film.  Last January, I announced an OPEN-CALL for screenplay and film submissions to be considered for this project.  I am happy to report that many brilliant and diverse writers and projects have already appeared for consideration.

 

 *High concept" meaning the movie's basic idea is felt to have strong brand recognition and public appeal.

 

When I first got the notion of creating a high-concept compilation film called CA Shorts, I passed the idea by a trusted filmmaker friend who advised that I'd better be absolutely clear about (a) why the stories I'm assembling need to be told, (b) why I'm the one to tell them and (c) why I insist on setting them all in the state of California.  

 

Have I achieved that level of clarity?

You're my audience. I ask that you read on and be the judge of that. 

First of all, the stories I’m assembling for CA Shorts will all be very personal expressions of the love and respect I have for the great state of California. The stories that are presented will all be stories about a place where, as I’ve learned firsthand: if one is willing to jump in and engage with their interests passionately, they can find within themselves the capacity to reinvent their lives to mirror what we once imagined they could be.

 

Why am I the one taking-on this feature-film project?  I must confess my bias going in that I was born and, for the first 18 years of my life, raised in the very small California town of Porterville nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I didn't realize it at the time, of course, but I lived in a bubble where every minute of every day fulfilled all my young expectations. I absolutely took it for granted that everyplace in the world offered what California had to offer.  Life was fun, invigorating and brim full of adventure and opportunity for more. 

 

As I grew up and began to travel the world, I came to realize that what California had to offer was, in fact, much more uncommon than I thought and was, indeed, quite rare. I discovered that, around the world, anything is considered possible in California. I learned that the state of California has earned a reputation for the quickness with which something new can be devised and points to a willingness of the population to abandon the old ways.  It was Mark Twain and his writer friends that informed me that since well before the monumental Gold Rush of 1849, California had already developed its distinctive reputation as a place where anything is considered attainable. 

 

That's why, as an artist, I’m drawn to this project.

 

When asked, "Why this genre of film, Leo? Why a compilation film?" I ask you to consider that a compilation of short films, such as CA Shorts, when packaged together with a strong thematic glue and rooted to a firm sense of place such as California, is marketable. It's marketable primarily because it has such a distinguishable and recognizable brand.  Nowadays 'brand' is everything in the marketplace. 

 

Why a compilation film now?

The history of compilation film reveals a reoccurring cycle of approximately every ten years.  It's time again.  And we're ready.

 

To my way of thinking, Goethe says it best when he suggests that whatever we can do, or dream we can do, we should begin it. It's when one is committed in that way that all sorts of unexpected things will occur to assist our efforts that would never otherwise occur.  Goethe observation has never failed me.

 

I'm working with a growing number of creative screenwriters, directors, and producers who are drawn to the concept as strongly as I am.  We all ask for your support.