Cinema Brut
2018 · 10m · USA
Directed by Dustin Waldman, Nicholas Nazmi, Bennett Clarkson
Genres: comedy, documentary, experimental
Tones: absurdist, humorous, provocative
A hidden-camera prank show where a man pulls New York strangers off the sidewalk and into improvised movie scenes they don't know are fake. The reactions become the actual film.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Most short film comedy is just sitcom with cheaper lighting. This one actually treats the camera like a weapon you point at strangers, which I respect.
A hidden-camera prank where the bewilderment IS the medium — Waldman and company let unwitting civilians carry the project, which is the Sacha Baron Cohen move at Tisch-midterm budget. Curious, ethically slippery, occasionally inspired.
A hidden-camera prank show where the prank IS the medium, not the means — strangers pulled into improvised movie scenes they don't know are fake. The committed lead performance is doing the heavy ethical lifting; risky terrain but a real formal idea.