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The High Rise Beckons
A sensual advertisement for the lofty high-rise buildings in an ambiguous metropolis. “The High Rise Beckons,” directed by Matt Barats, is a satirical commercial real estate ad where we’re tempted by an oddly erotic narrator and slow punch-in shots of various properties. Building to building, we ...
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Cash Cow
In the Fall of 2020, a financially struggling actor explores early Mormon historical sites as he anxiously awaits national broadcast for his Domino’s Pizza commercial. “Cash Cow,” directed by and starring Matt Barats, is an epic one-man comedy documentary overflowing with deadpan monologues and p...
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Here We Have Idaho
On a visit home to Idaho, Matt documents family dynamics and recalls scattered memories from childhood. “Here We Have Idaho,” made by and starring Matt Barats, is a witty self-portrait about small-scale resentments and feeling undervalued amongst loved ones. He leaves his “high-octane, balls-to-t...
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Seth's Prayer
After being fired as a school administrator, a man turns to modeling to spread the word of God. “Seth’s Prayer,” directed by Danny Scharar, is a ludicrous comedy about unblinking faith and Christian ambition. Canned from his job for trying to indoctrinate children with his religious beliefs, Seth...
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Farside
Two college freshmen say goodbye to their summer internship. “Farside,” written by and starring Matt Barats and Anthony Oberbeck (and directed by, you guessed it, Doron Max Hagay) is a short comedy about awkward farewells, the location of regional colleges, and who gets to keep the Farside calend...
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Reveries
A visual comedy album following two drifters across the American landscape lost in a state of reverie. “Reveries” is an admirably extended gag on the myth of the artist, the nomad, the philosopher. A series of musings and strange memories layered on top of abstract video montages and hypnotic sou...
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Family Is Stinks
Briant and Edo have kids and family now. Work, kids, life - will they survive? Director Tynan DeLong returns with this brilliantly ludicrous sequel to “Love is Stinks,” picking up twenty years after Briant and Edo began their passionate love affair. In “Family is Stinks,” we find the couple deep ...
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Fly on the Wall
An inspired photographer tries to connect with the working man. “Fly on the Wall” is the third collaboration from Matt Barats and Doron Max Hagay about struggling artists with misaligned priorities. Each film pinpoints and incisively exaggerates tension between the self-serious artist and the wor...
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Improv is Love
As his father suffers in the hospital, Dylan forgoes a chance to see him in favor of performing with his small-time improv comedy troupe at a local club. Brilliantly conceived as a comment on those of us so consumed by artistic pursuits (perhaps of questionable societal value?) that we fail to re...
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My Creation
A young creative working on an animation portfolio receives feedback from a friend and a stranger. Matt Barats and Andrew Tisher write and star in “My Creation,” a farcical comedy which highlights two radically different responses to an artist’s work. Dennis is passionate (perhaps overly so) abou...
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Trick
A man at the park wants something from a group of teen skaters. Johnny Frohman directs “Trick,” a comedy from a couple of NoBudge regulars that focuses on a shady exchange. Matt Barats stars as a man loitering around a trio of skateboarders, commenting on their form, letting the kids know that ba...
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Reveries: Going Deeper
In a dystopian society, two mysterious drifters transmit pirate radio broadcasts from their underground bunker, journeying deep into their own minds...deeper than they’ve ever been before...Written and Performed by Matt Barats & Anthony Oberbeck. Directed by Graham Mason.