Beth and Jerry MacKay of Littleflick Pictures are premiering their latest endeavor, Release the Funny, this weekend. Beth (producer) and Jerry (writer/director) are a husband and wife team Though the Buffalo premier isn't coming for another while (all a matter of logistics and available venues) the ten short films that comprise Release the Funny were all made in and around Buffalo, with Buffalo actors and techies.
Two bonus shorts will screen before Release The Funny. One was directed by another Buffalo filmmaker and played at the Buffalo Infringement Festival. The other was the winner of the recent 48-hour film project in Buffalo, produced by another Buffalonian and utilizing the talents of Littleflick.
Begun in April of 2006, the ten short films are unique, singular endeavors that are comedic in nature, an earmark of Littleflick productions due to the MacKay's' wry sense of humor.
Beth and Jerry premiered their first film, The Cramshaft Meeting at the Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre in Buffalo in 2005. When the film was made an official selection of the 2006 Moondance International Film Festival in Hollywood, the MacKays decided they were on the right track and were hooked on making films.
Setting out to make just a few shorts, the project took on a life of it's own until it grew to ten films. That's when the MacKays decided to combine them into one collection. They recognized that their chance of getting their films in front of the general public, whether in theatres, on DVD, television, or even for Internet download, depended on making them feature-length.
With plans to show Release The Funny in Buffalo theatres in early 2008, Beth and Jerry will be able to judge crowd reaction at the Riviera Theater in North Tonawanda this Saturday at 7PM, and are looking to get the shorts into film festivals around the country. They also hope to make the film available on DVD and online rental through Netflix and over the Internet.
Part-time filmmakers at present, the MacKays would like to make this their day job as well. "The best compliment we've received for our work is that our films actually look like films you would normally see at the movies," MacKay said. "When you hear that, you know you're doing something right."