THREE WORLDS pre-order is live!

Our second feature film for 2018 (Three Worlds) is now available for pre-order! Please show your support by committing early & locking into our lovingly easy pre-release rates. 

Available on Vimeo On Demand (worldwide) starting Sept 7th, 2018. (i think we'll let it drop Thurs ;) )

Premieres on Amazon Prime Video in the latter half of Sept, with a full digital rollout in the following months.

The full OST (soundtrack) by Julian DW Brink premieres on all music platforms Sept 14th, 2018.

This release marks the conclusion of the "Three Marks, Too Many Signals" series of works. 

PS: If you haven't yet watched MAN yet, now is a good time, after you pre-order this! 💚

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Synopsis

Three Worlds is a psychological science fiction drama that explores the three lives, or 'worlds,' of a man who undergoes an experiment that triggers haunting memories and alternate life 'memories.

Credits

Written & Directed by Amir Motlagh
Produced by ANIMALS, Amir Motlagh, Charles Borg
Director of Photography: Amir Motlagh

Starring:
Amir Motlagh
Samantha Robinson
Rey Deegan
Keaton Shyler
Gregory Linington

Editing: Bryan Tuck, Amir Motlagh
Original Score by Julian DW Brink

Sound Designer & Re-Recording Mixer: Stephen Holliger

Media Quotes

“It’s always exciting whenever a distinct new voice makes itself heard on the indie landscape. Amir Motlagh is such a voice.

honest and soulful.. ”

— Adam Schartoff FILMWAX RADIO

“It’s rare to mix rawness with beauty.”

— Pinnland Empire

““These unique experiences are made even more exceptional for their Iranian-American perspective.” 

...the experience of both films (MAN + Three Worlds) is one that any film connoisseur must have. To sit with an awareness of the film, and, an awareness of how you are watching it, is a surreal act that can only be described as “art.” Motlagh’s work is definitely a piece of art in the medium of film.”

— Jonita Davis THE IRANIAN

“there is without a doubt a definitive boldness to “Three Worlds”, both in its tone and aspirations, and it will certainly require viewers to lean in a little closer, which is never a bad thing…..a curious and fascinating watch.”

— David Fowlie KEEPING IT REEL

The Passing of A Friend - Things w/ Amir Motlagh Ep10

Was not going to do one of these this week, but then I figured that, knowing Chris, he would have been like, "fuck you dude, do one of these on me!" 

I just pulled up our last text message, in which he states that I owe him a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles dinner. I can't seem to recall why?

Still working out some audio drop-outs, but I think I figured that out. If you're interested in getting your weekly (bi-weekly) dose of these, please subscribe. 

Christopher Ad Castillo: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1779820/?ref_=nv_sr_2

Celso Ad. Castillo: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0145036/?ref_=nv_sr_1

MIRS video we co-directed on the set of his film LosAngeles7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_lyA...

RIP Christopher Ad. Castillo

MIRS - Singles 1218

MIRS (my ongoing music project + collaborations) just re-released 7 standalone singles (including a new soundtrack cut) on a single "disc". The record spans 2012-2018. 

Tracklist (with original release dates):
1) Kayla (2012)
2) Take Away (2012)
3) Summer God Complex (2014)
4) Woke up on the Moon (2015)
5) Moonlighting Mission Man (2017) ** - the link is to the visual short film**
6) Saturday (2018)
7) Hafiz Drinks from the Cup of Time (2018)

Where to stream (or buy)
- Itunes
- Spotify
- Bandcamp
- Pandora

MIRS - Singles 1218

Rest in Peace - Christopher Ad. Castillo

Chris loved cinema. He passed doing what he loved, (though that which he loved was immensely stressful), a quiet consolation. I hadn’t talked to him in quite a while, making this a bitter sting. He came from cinema royalty, his father being Celso Ad Castillo, the “enfant terrible” of Philippine cinema. Chris grew up as an actor, famous in his native country before making his way West and deciding that writing/directing was his calling.

Of course, I’d been meaning to call him for months now, to bury minor hatchets, every day putting it off for the unknowable future. He was in great spirits the last time I saw him at our mutual friend Rey’s play in Pasadena. Chris was one of the first people to screen a film of mine in LA (Still Lover), at a series he was curating at the ArcLight. He was also an OG member of LADS (L.A Death Squad), & had many great stories of 80’s LA punk street life (pretty hardcore stories I’d add).

May he rest in peace, the same peace he found on the 2d screen & while working to fill the flicker in his heart. A combination of sweetness and unpredictable anger rolled up in a soft Filipino shell. Rest in Peace, Christopher Ad Castillo. 

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Post Script:

While Chris was shooting a feature film (i had a minor acting role as MIRS), we teamed up to co-direct this MIRS music video (i just remembered  the name MIRS was, in fact, his suggestion after bouncing the idea of a solo music project I was pursuing). We had collaborated a few times prior & after, but this was my favorite, mostly because of the spontaneity. We shot the performance in-between setups for his narrative feature project. That project never saw the light of day I believe, but nevertheless, it was an interesting time & actually fun in hindsight (time softens blows). Chris had caught the DIY bug from a sort of bubbling cabin fever from having multiple projects fall through the Hollywood development crack, and without letting anything get in his way, he steamrolled through the project, much to his cast/crews terror. But it was a grand learning lesson for him, and a jumpstart to being prolific after many years sitting on the sidelines. 

The Resurrection of THINGS W/ AMIR MOTLAGH

A long while back, I tried my hand at creating an ongoing Youtube series that I titled, "Things w/ Amir Motlagh'. At the time, I was so excited about the start of a new journey into a world that had been closed off to me, as I was driven by a singular, inflexible focus for many years prior. It seems so completely innocent looking back, but it was shaped by some heavy things.

My life was in transformation, largely from a new desire to learn, non-fiction literature, some meditative practice and a general flexibility and openness that I had shut out completely. So, with unbridled enthusiasm, I started a Youtube series (on my main Youtube Page that was primarily for film/art) that lasted a few episodes and disappeared. At the time, I decided to turn my focus inward and started subtracting and an ill-conceived YT show was an easy, superfluous thing to scratch out.

Since that time, platforms have changed drastically. While I prefer Twitter as the purest broadcast channel, I'm going to test out YT again, in a similar capacity, though with more headroom of course. As I talk about on the video, I'm not quite certain if I can actually add any value, but at the least, it affords another opportunity to speak out, instead of leave in. It's selfish. We all need a nice mix of both.

I, like many other filmmakers of my generation never pursued YT, as the platform is personality-driven, and demands consistency. With self-contained film, you make one or two (if very productive) works a year, and that is no way to build on platforms that demand consistency. Plus, I came from the school of arts that championed mystery, not transparency. Though at the same time, I like the idea of a community, and a bottom-up approach is the new wave towards prosperity & understanding.

Click the image, go to the video. As they say, please "like & subscribe"!

Film Pipeline Interviews Amir Motlagh and Charles Borg about the feature film MAN

This is a recent article conducted on Film Pipeline (Script Pipeline) about my latest film release, MAN. Both Charles and myself answer great questions posed by Script Pipeline about the process of MAN. You can read the whole interview by clicking here: 

Here a small snippet:
"Options and possibilities have opened quite a bit. Filmmakers tend to idolize the big names because they like the toys and scale that comes with moviemaking. Most of the time, that’s just a hindrance because it gets in the way of truth."

MAN is available on Amazon Prime (US/UK) and Vimeo On Demand (worldwide) with a host of other platforms coming soon.

"Three Worlds" wins "Silver Award" for Best Editing at QPIFF

Following up on our "Best Feature" nod, we won a "Silver Award" at the Queens Palm International Film Festival, placing 2nd in the "Best Editor" Feature Film technical category. This award is shared between editor Bryan Tuck and me, though Bryan was the real workhorse in the post-production on this project. 

"Three Worlds" wins "Best Feature" at Queen Palm International Film Festival

"Three Worlds" wins a Gold Award for "Best Feature" in the Animation/Experimental category at the Queen Palm International Film Festival. Big congrats to the team. We also have a technical category win, a Silver Award for editing, so cheers to Bryan Tuck. 

"Three Worlds" Nominated at QPIFF

THREE WORLDS gets a Film Festival Nomination for "Best Editing" in the Feature Film category at the Queen Palm International Film Festival. Best of luck to Bryan Tuck, who put the most sweat equity.  

MAN receives an "Honorable Mention" at EF

While MAN is now available in the wild, it received an "Honorable Mention" a couple weeks ago at Experimental Forum.

Three Worlds is an Official "Crown" Selection at QPIFF

"Three Worlds" is an Official Crown Selection at the Queen Palm International Film Festival.

MAN is now Available on Amazon Prime

MAN is now available on Amazon Prime (US). If you are a member, it comes free per that service. You can also rent or buy ($2.99-$9.99) if you are not a member.  (Amazon Prime UK is live as well)

If you prefer Vimeo, the film is a bit cheaper for both renting and purchasing. ($2-$7)

My simple MAN viewing guide - Be patient, watch in silence. 

WHALE HD Re-Release Season

While MAN just launched, ANIMALS secretly re-released WHALE in HD. While I'm generally against revisionism in art, some very slight modifications have been made to the 2010 release. We are in the software eat world age after all, where things get continuously updated. Nothing is ever finished until it ceases to exist.

The project is available for $2 to rent, $7 to buy and is available in all territories on Vimeo. The original SD version has been and still is available on Amazon (along with a few rare DVD's), though the new HD version will be available soon and free to Prime subscribers. If I could dictate your direction, I would say, use the Vimeo route for now.

before.

after.

KEY ART REFRESH

Typography redesigned by Ali Sabet

Hafiz Drinks from the Cup of Time v1 - MAN (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The first release from the MAN soundtrack is from the quietly embedded MIRS track, HAFIZ DRINKS FROM THE CUP OF TIME V1. The full soundtrack releases early next week on all major platforms featuring the works of Chicago musician Stephen Holliger (swim ignorant fire).

Hafiz Drinks from the Cup of Time v1 - MAN (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by MIRS, released 28 July 2018 1. Hafiz Drinks from the Cup of Time v1 Original MIRS single from the MAN Motion Picture Soundtrack, directed by Amir Motlagh, produced by ANIMALS.

The feature film MAN is officially live!!!!

Here it is! The second of three releases of the THREE MARKS, TOO MANY SIGNALS series. Only available on Vimeo On Demand (worldwide) over the weekend, then Amazon Prime (US/UK), and then the rest of the digital platforms.

I wouldn't tell you how to watch it, but I do think a solitary experience heightens the effect, preferably with some headphones. 

The film is experimental in the structural sense, so, come with open eyes and let it unfold at its pace. 

$2 bucks to rent. $7 to buy. A steal! 

Enjoy luv. 

(ps: If you were part of the IndieGoGo campaign, we got cheat codes :) )