Cinema Brut
From the Archives
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Comedy, Short Films, 27-Mar-2018
Setting out to “make a movie” on the streets of NYC, a man recruits strangers to act alongside him in “movie scenes”. Using a hidden camera prank show format, “Cinema Brut” is notable for capturing the strange ways people respond when asked to perform, and for the highly committed performance by Bennett Clarkson beaming with manic energy and repartee. The scene of choice calls for a dad to be unhappy about his son’s report card. With Bennett playing the son, he goes in search of someone for the dad. After a few misfires, he finds gold in a man in dark sunglasses not only willing to play along, but to take control of the scene adding out-of-nowhere backstory and family expectations (“we are honing you for massively big things”). Later, Bennett enlists a young woman to act out a make-believe trip to an apple orchard with similarly awkward results. Depending on your tolerance for the cringeworthy, it's either hard to watch or impossible to look away from. Made by Dustin Waldman, Nicholas Nazmi, and Bennett Clarkson.
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