MAKE IT SHORT | EPISODE 11

09.01.24 10:29 By Luiz Villar

THE LAST UNION:

A DEEP DIVE

MAKE IT SHORT

EPISODE 11

THE LAST UNION:

A DEEP DIVE

DIOGO BRÜGGEMANN

CenterFrame Team

Welcome to a new episode of Make It Short, this time a very special one. Not that our previous episodes were not special - we love all of them equally - but now we decided to make things a little bit differently, focusing on only one short film. We call it a deep dive - we have invited more guests to discuss the filmmaking process and share their opinions about one short film, always aiming to give constructive feedback and learn from each other's experiences. So, joining me, we have CenterFrame co-founder and filmmaker Bernhard Pucher, CenterFrame’s Script Club host and screenwriter Luke Foster, and, also in the studio in London, Mexican writer-director Rodrigo Fiallega.

And to start off our deep dives, we selected a very unique short film submitted to us some time ago: The Last Union. Written and directed by Liam Abbott, the film was a product of the 48 Hour Film Project London 2021, an annual competition where filmmakers get together to write, shoot, and edit a 7-minute short film in 48 hours. As Liam explained his experience in the project, he told us that filmmakers are also assigned two genres, as well as random characters, lines of dialogue, and props that have to make their way into the final short film. In his case, his team was assigned dystopian and action/adventure as the genres of the short, which, in turn, helped in shaping its story.

THE LAST UNION - Directed by Liam Abbott

The Last Union takes place in an alternate dystopian future where the government has strongly cut social liberties of its population, including the right of getting married to whoever you want, apparently. In this grim context, we follow a couple on the run, trying to find some help to finally be together. As they find a church that seems to work as a safe haven, the couple will need to overcome one last obstacle in order to achieve their goal. We all loved how the short film was developed in such a short time and were impressed with the results. Luke, by the way, pointed out that at first he did not think that writing the script was something included in the 48 hour time constraint.

One of my questions was about the casting process, as the film has an interracial couple, I asked Liam if the marriage prohibition had something to do with that in any way - as if the dystopian society portrayed in the film was reflecting some racist politics from real life. Rodrigo was curious about getting the right location to shoot the film in such a short period, while Luke focused on the differences from the script to the final product. Bernhard asked Liam about what he would have done differently in his film now that some time has passed and he can look back at it in hindsight. Make sure to watch our show to see Liam’s answers! As usual, we also nitpicked on the things we thought that could have been done in some other way.

Now that you know a little bit more about this incredible short film, do not wait to dive into our conversation as well. Take some time to learn from Liam’s experience in producing such a great short film in only 48 hours. Also, take advantage of our guests' feedback and insights about filmmaking and on how to get seen. And if you are a filmmaker yourself or have worked in the production of any short film as a director, writer, editor, cinematographer, sound editor, or any kind of producing credits, please, get in touch and submit your film to us. Get a chance to feature in our show to share your experience and hear from film experts from all over the world!