Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Doodlebug - Christopher Nolan (1997)



This early short film from the director of Following (1998), Memento (2000), The Prestige (2006) and Inception (2010) was made when he was a student in London. Nolan was studying English Literature at University College London when he started to make 16mm films at the college film society, of which the surreal short DOODLEBUG was one. This early film shows the preoccupation with narrative boundaries Nolan would later explore in his feature films and has the simplicity common to many good shorts. The film was produced by his now-wife and producing partner, Emma Thomas.



A man waits patiently in his apartment to squash a bug, but he could be hurting himself more than he realizes.

"We did the effects on the best machines we could at the time, for free. We painted our own blue screen with paint from John Lewis shop that doesn't actually work very well. It's worth paying for the proper paint it you're ever faced with a similar dilemma." Christopher Nolan on Doodlebug


UK/1997/3mins/16mm/b&w

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