It’s the stuff that new short films are made of

Lolita Harper

Like all filmmakers taking part in the Newport Beach Film Festival,

local director Mike Goedecke wants to attract attention to his short

film.

Unlike other filmmakers, however, Goedecke has embarked on this

endeavor by allowing other creative forces to create the final

product.

Goedecke’s short film, “Untitled: 003 -- Embryo,” follows various

characters through a series of dreams and scenes that were each

created by other filmmakers, animators and studios.

“This film involves various artists creating a film and not really

knowing how it would all come together,” Goedecke said. “We had a

narrative and then incorporated all these dream sequences and so the

movie has a very unique feeling because of that. It is very magical

as a result.”

Goedecke, who grew up in Huntington Beach, and Kane Roberts, who

co-wrote the screenplay with him, forged the outline for the story

and then contacted various studios to contribute dream scenarios for

the assorted characters.

Goedecke said the film received very positive feedback during its

showings earlier in the week that reaffirmed his belief that the

collaborative process was one worth pursuing.

“This festival has been great and really a lot of fun,” Goedecke

said. “People really seem to be into it.”

Kane said the final product far exceeded his expectations.

“We were truly blown away by the dedication and artistry of the

cast, crew and graphics contributors,” Kane said. “When Mike and I

dreamed of this movie, we never could have imagined that the heart

and soul of it would lie in the people who worked so hard on it,

motivated only by the push of the creative process.”

Goedecke said it was heartening to see people’s reactions to the

film and to hear them laughing in the right places and perhaps

gasping in others. The personal interaction with the audience is the

culminating experience of filmmaking, he said.

“You make these films in a vacuum, so I am just excited to get it

shown to others,” he said.

The festival awards ceremony will be held Friday, but Goedecke is

not too concerned with that formality. While it would be wonderful to

take home an honor, it is more important for him to make connections,

show his film, meet his audience and share his unparallel filmmaking

concept with others.

The Newport Beach Film Festival has allowed him to do all those

things, and the Orange County local is grateful for that, he said. An

award would be nice, though.

“The key for us is just trying to showcase a new way of filmmaking

that is not traditional, but still very entertaining,” he said.

“Hopefully, someone in Hollywood will take notice of this new way and

parlay it into something else.”