L-R: Joaquin Cardoner (Director of Photography), Ricardo Carneiro (Producer), Chris Lorenz (Writer/Director). Photo credit: FIPR alumni Farhad Ghaderi
Roadside Deadguys is a darkly comedic web series that lampoons the absurdity of life by looking at the absurdity of life after death. The web series was adapted from Chris Lorenz’s Fourth Year UBC Thesis Film of the same name, produced by fellow UBC classmates Ricardo Carneiro and shot by Joaquin Cardoner.
In a reality where spirits remain in the spot of their death for eternity, Robbie and Patrick are unfortunate enough to have crashed in the same spot of a lonely road 25 years apart. Given their situation, the two disparate souls must learn how to stave off the boredom of eternity. Or at least how to get along with one another. Actors: Ilias Webb (Patrick), Nate Kelly (Robbie), Mark Miguez (Wayne).
Shortly after screening at this year’s Point of View (POV) Festival, the concept for the short was pitched as a web series pilot for TELUS STORYHIVE. As part of the STORYHIVE competition, Roadside Deadguys was voted on by the public and went before a board of judges before receiving a $10,000 grant to make a pilot episode.
The pilot episode, though based very much on the original short, departs from it in a number of ways. Shot on location outside of Kamloops, BC, the episode has a strong and evocative visual style, sharing with the short, its use of black and white cinematography.
The pilot episode is now streaming on STORYHIVE.com, where it will be competing against 14 other teams from BC to earn a $50,000 grant to be used to complete the season. As with the preliminary round, the winner will be determined by a mixture of community votes, social media score and judges’ deliberation. Voting for the pilot can be done on STORYHIVE.com this week from now until August 12th at Noon (PST).
Please assist the team in their quest for the grand prize. Your votes, likes and shares could give them the opportunity to complete their season.
Links:
- Storyhive (Video & Voting Page): http://www.storyhive.com/project/show/id/1201
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RSDGseries/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rdeadguys
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roadsidedeadguys/
Bio: Christopher Lorenz was raised on a bison farm outside of Lloydminster, on the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. In 2012, he moved to Vancouver to complete his BFA in film production at the University of British Columbia. During his time at UBC, Chris wrote and directed a number of shorts that screened across Canada. Roadside Deadguys was completed as his fourth-year thesis film. In the future, he hopes to write and direct more films.
Thoughts on his time at UBC:
“My time at UBC was critical in my approach to filmmaking. I always knew that I wanted to make movies and tell stories, but it was during my time in the FIPR program that I truly honed in on what stories I wanted to tell. Being around a class full of gifted students, each challenging the other to create better and better projects, I learned that the best approach to filmmaking is to rely on personal experience to tell stories that matter to you. After all, if you choose to tell stories that only you can, then there will be no one around to do it better! I’m very grateful to the UBC Film Program for shaping me the way it did. I’m also thankful for the bonds that I made there. I know that I will continue working with and relying on my fellow classmates for as long as I live. “
