Loose End

"YOUR STRING IS YOUR LIFELINE - FOLLOW YOUR STRING HOME - KNOTS NOT PERMITTED" GSA (governing string authority)

I can only imagine the absolutely incredible amount of time and effort that went into the set building that was needed to build a believable world where the strings that people followed quite literally guide their lives.

Every string tight and holy shit the eye for composition in each and every frame would make John Carpenter proud; a mosaic of 1984 industrial greys and blues popping against the thin but bold red lifelines. Particularly effective was the depth of field and edit, as laser sharp cinematography with triangular viewer eye direction showed a team in complete master of gripping their audience.

The mix of singular strings for highlighted moments and layered webs to foreshadow and then allow the chaos and freedom to break out was a particular highlight. Also whilst we got a verbal announcement, the very obvious "RED = WARNING" colour play is something that has been surprisingly lacking nz wide in this year's comp.

So the setup is fantastic, we're immediately in our armchairs with our jaws dropped at the killer inventive concept, but the kicker for me was the BRAZIL homages and really sublime performance by your lead actor. Showing the freedom of breaking free from the banality of white collar work was superbly done, and because you had the building blocks of your fantastical world, it meant that the comedic payoffs of the different strings hit all the right notes.

Inside to outside also a smart choice for that mental incarceration allegory allowing for the best use of the required traveler element so far in this year's comp. Don't let the man get you down hey?

Soundtrack killer (if original whoever made that needs to be rewarded, if not then a perfectly suited mood piece) and not a lot to complain about here. My partner wasn't a huge fan of the ending feeling it was a bit sudden and graphic, but it definitely worked for me as it kind of looped back around to the warning provided at the start.

Keep up the great work Great Lake Film Society!

In Swedish and other Nordic and European countries, the expression “red thread” refers to the core idea or theme of something - a “throughline” that makes it all make sense.

This is on display both literally and metaphorically in Great Lake Film Society's beautifully conceived, dystopian, film

It's a quite complex and confusing film in the sense that audiences members could come to multiple conclusions about what story is being told here. My take (and it may not have been the intention of the film makers) was a man trapped within a corporate entity unable to express his true self. When he finds himself following the strands of other people's private lives, he seems the world through a different lens and "disentangles" himself from society's requirements of him.

It has hints of Eternal Sunshine boiled down into a five minute period and for the most part does this extremely effectively. My only gripe would be that I'd love to have fully understood the ramifications of breaking away from one's string and what it would ultimately mean to follow another's. However, I believe the strings never existed and this was just a man peering into other timelines of his own future through the experiences of others.

- Sonder – n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

Gorgeous film that was only limited by the constraits of its running time.

Added kudos for beautiful use of POV shots, inventive camera angles and techniques.

Congrats on the finals!

This film is an absolute delight! I watched it twice and still found myself eager to watch it again. It's packed with so many tasteful elements waiting to be interpreted and decoded by the viewer. The pacing is spot on, and the incredible art and whimsical touches really linger with you.

It's funny, has a strong message, makes great use of Warning, and possesses its very own likable bizarreness. And that ending—hilarious! What an accomplishment in those 48 crazy hours!

Plus, the picture and sound direction are exemplary, making the whole experience incredibly enjoyable and fun. Well done Team Great Lake Film Society!

Wow! What an amazing film, I’m still absolutely blowing away by how these teams come up with such awesome storyline’s in only 48 hours! I think this is probably my favourite film I’ve seen so far in this competition, Such a great storyline well, done guys!! Great film, congratulations on making the finals, will be rooting for ya

Great Film Lake Society coming back with another banger.

A world governed by red strings.

We follow the day to day life of a man who plays with fate, tests boundaries and gets tempted by curiosity.

I thought that the film sold the genre, the splatter at the end was a nice cheeky hook too.

A great original entry this year from Great Lake Film Society, grand as always.

See your team at the grand finals :)

Raks

RS Productions.

If I know good cinema....and my mother says I do....then I'd say this is the best film I've ever seen in my life.

I believe we should all adopt their red string philosophy in our own world. It would make for a more just and simpler lifestyle. All we need are some ethics, values, and a higher power that we can all agree on. Seems so simple.

Nice job Great Lakes Film Society....and good luck with the Finals!

Just saw this on the GF livestream. Damn, such a cool concept. Might actually place 2nd or 3rd. Good stuff.

Loose End was a beautifully composed film with a strong concept and fantastic production design. It played to its concept strongly and the actor's gleeful performance provided fun energy that seeped into every aspect of the film. I felt like the story fell a little flat towards the middle of the film due to a lack of stakes / risk? There was a lot of build-up regarding the importance of following your string and not letting go, but when it actually happened, I think the sense of drama would have been heightened with the string police (lol) or whomever chasing the main protagonist. In saying that, the actor's strong performance carried the piece with strong editing making it a delight to watch. Great work GLFS!

A different - in a good way - kind of film from many of the other "skit" type films. With a full features length storyline crammed into 5minutes. The ending although shocking and thought provoking didn't feel setup well enough to be as satisfying as it could have been. Was that his string coming back to get him? The tone took a natural progression which was comforting until that final couple of shots though;-)

Thanks so much everyone for the support and love for our string film - too many people to individually name but we love you all:)

We have many awesome projects in the works and would love for you to follow our journey - greatlakefilmsociety.com

Credits for our film.
Director: Joel Corbett + Denise Edmonds
Written by: Denise Edmonds
Story by: Joel Corbett
Cast + Crew: Cameron Walton - Dervla Murtagh - Curtis Painter - Sarah Waller - Mandy Thomas - Roy Bowers - Kerence Stephen - Denise Edmonds - Tara-Lea Uebergang - Fake Arm - Holly Houndstooth - Joel Corbett - Martin Grafetsberger - Carey Hollinger - Angela Loucks Alexander - Phil Sommerville

Dedicated to Katherine Ansley - Our beautiful, smiling friend who managed to escape her string and showed us how life can be when lived to its fullest.

What a ripper! Loved this one. They did an awesome job taking such a conceptual film and making it sentimental and touching - particularly given the time and budget constraints. I felt that the visual metaphor/imagery tied in (pardon the pun) innately to the story/concept. It’s difficult to create an affective response with allegory, but this team managed to do that with great humor and some broad thematics. Very deftly handled by the director. Great lake indeed!