It’s Awkward, but not short on laughs

Payman Benz and Sean Becker stood before an audience who had just finished viewing a number of their films, fielding technical questions and mounds of praise to a packed theater at the Newport Beach Film Festival Sunday.

For the last three years the duo from Studio City has attended the festival presenting a small number of comedy shorts and gained quite a cult following in a short amount of time among event regulars and organizers. This year Benz and Becker came to not only present the largest collection of their films in one sitting, they also had the entire program devoted to their work and a few outside films of their choosing.

“A lot of these guys never had a film on the big screen,” Becker said. “They’ve only seen them on the web, at MySpace or YouTube.”

Applause broke out after every one of the 12 shorts showcased during “Awkward Pictures presents Comedy Gumbo.” But they did not hog the spotlight, having included four films from friends they had met over their two years in Los Angeles.

The pair has little connection with the city of Newport Beach during the following 51 weeks of the years, but none the less the city holds a special place in their heart. For Benz, the festival is responsible for his production company and his best friend, Becker.

When they first attended the festival in 2005 to screen one of Benz’s shorts, they were barely more than college acquaintances, Becker being Benz’s teaching assistant in television production class.

Last month marked the one-year anniversary of their production company, Awkward Pictures. What a way to celebrate.

“We wanted to make a program where you’d be laughing for an hour, more comedy-based than film-based,” Benz said.

During a chance encounter with festival director Greg Schwenk at the Sundance Film Festival in January, they pitched the idea of showcasing an entire program of their films at the festival in Newport. To Benz’s great surprise Schwenk accepted before he finished selling the idea.

“I still can’t believe it happened,” Benz said. “When he shook my hand I was like, ‘Are you sure?’” But he was and after the screening — which even drew comedy giant Adam Sandler, there to view one of the shorts written by and starring Sandler’s nephew, Tyler Spindel — Schwenk has no regrets.

“The guys from Awkward Pictures have more than exceeded out expectations. They are great filmmakers and amazing marketers,” Schwenk said, adding that the size of the crowd, even without the star power showing up was more than enough to please him.

“Every time they laughed, I relaxed a little more,” Benz said. “And my hero showed up,” he added, referring to Sandler.

Receiving some of the highest praise among the audience, Spindel’s piece — less than seven-minutes in length — touched on the deep topic of a baseball player who soils himself because he can’t find a toilet on time.

Although not produced by Awkward Pictures, this film definitely meshed with their style of humor. Most of their shorts focus on drawing the humor out of the bizarre and awkward. Among the plot lines: a guy discovers he’s a virgin on the way to fulfill a craving for chicken, a guy loses a battle with a rival over wearing a unique Halloween costume, and a cartoon -- drawn completely in Microsoft Paint -- on how hell is actually a better party than heaven.

“When we first thought about doing this I knew it would not survive with just our stuff,” Benz said. “I love these guys. We had so much fun and wanted to share it,” plus these guys deserve it. Becker and Benz chose to include guys they want the industry to get a glimpse of. What better setting than at the festival that has shown them so much love over the last three years, Benz added.

“If it hadn’t been for Newport, literally Awkward Pictures wouldn’t exist,” Benz said. “I don’t know where my life would be if I did not get into this festival.”

For them this screening allowed them the opportunity to show their first film together after forming Awkward Pictures in 2006. “Tuesday” offers a slice of life in the day of a telephone customer service employee who seems might get a moment to have an honest conversation with one of the people he calls, when, slam! The guy hangs up on him.

That moment pretty much sums up the quick wit of the two Studio City roommates.

To get a look at some of the shorts visit www.myspace.com/ awkwardpictures.