![\"solondz\"](\"http:\/\/smugfilm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/solondz.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As of the time I\u2019m writing this, Todd Solondz on Becoming a Filmmaker & Welcome to the Dollhouse<\/a> has 412 views in the 6 months it\u2019s been online. That is a travesty. It\u2019s one of the best short films I\u2019ve seen in ages, albeit an unintentional one.<\/p>\n It\u2019s basically just Todd Solondz being interviewed by a film major at Drexel University, Zachary Shevich, but really it\u2019s so much more. It contains all the precise uncomfortability you might expect from a Solondz film, but wholly organic. For starters, it\u2019s as though Solondz is being interviewed by one of his characters\u2014Zachary\u2019s vibe and mannerisms and attire are similar to that of the protagonist of Dark Horse<\/a>\u00a0and certain side characters from Storytelling<\/a>, Palindromes<\/a>, and Life During Wartime<\/a>. Then, there\u2019s the production values\u2014the setting, a college screening room, is uncomfortably overlit; Solondz\u2019 lavalier microphone is placed on the wrong side of his lapel for the direction he is speaking, as though they were nervous to be interviewing him and weren\u2019t thinking, and maybe even switched sides last minute; the lower third graphic stating their names is a depressingly ugly, brown, clipart film strip, with a bland font; there are random mic rumbles here and there from breathing and fidgeting, and at certain points, Solondz bows his head and accidentally talks quite loudly into his mic. On top of all of this, you of course have Solondz\u2019 calmly dour and intimidating demeanor. It\u2019s a must-watch.<\/span><\/p>\n My favorite moment is the cut at 1:23 where we see the exact distance and body language of our two characters. That\u2019s the shot at the top of this post. By the way, there\u2019s a Part 2! You can watch both parts below:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n