The hidden potential of Independent Short Film (La Jetée & Peluca)

May 3rd, 2009

One reason I like Independent Short Films is because of what they represent in terms of influence and impact.

For example, the Independent Short Film La Jetée was made in France in 1962, a good location and era for interesting and creative motion pictures. This 26-minute film was made entirely from still photographs, with the exception of one moving shot. It’s title means The Jetty (or The Pier) which refers to the outdoor boarding platform at Orly airport in Paris, where the crucial scene of the film is set. However, the title also has a revealing twist because it sounds similar to the French phrase “There I was” or La J’Tais.

Itself being inspired from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, this film was the main inspiration for the film 12 Monkeys with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, and many plot elements were borrowed by Terry Gilliam (or rather David and Janet Peoples) for the feature-length film.

Peluca

Peluca was an Independent Short Film made in two days and with a budget of less than $500. It was shot in 2002 and featured in the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival, considered by some to be more “indie” than Sundance. This nine-minute Independent Short Film was then expanded into a feature-length film, Napoleon Dynamite, which was featured in the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and was sold on the opening day of the festival to Fox Searchlight for $3.2 million and later earned $44 million in box-office sales. Thus, it can be reasoned that Peluca was directly or indirectly responsible for the launch of the careers of Jon Heder, Jared and Jerusha Hess, and Jeremy Coon, as well as the aftermath of endless quoting, dancing, and nerd-off competitions around the world.