The Show Me Shorts Film Festival kicks off in Wellington at the Rialto Channel Wellington Opening Night tonight (Thursday 14th November) at the Paramount Cinema where the award winning films from this year’s festival will be screened.

Included in the lineup, is director Joe Lonie’s impressive debut short film Honk If You’re Horny. Following on from its success at the Sorta Unofficial New Zealand Film Awards 2012, Honk If You’re Horny scooped the Rush Monro's Best Film Award as well as the SDGNZ Best Director Award at the Rialto Channel Auckland Opening Night and Awards Ceremony last week.

Andy Anderson also won the StarNow Best Actor Award for his performance as Terry, a ballsy taxi driver who tells a hilarious and raunchy story to a young musician he’s driving across town. A fast paced, beautifully told and completely compelling short film – don’t miss this opportunity to catch this excellent film.

The Show Me Shorts Film Festival kicks off in Wellington at the Rialto Channel Wellington Opening Night tonight (Thursday 14th November) at the Paramount Cinema where the award winning films from this year’s festival will be screened. 

Included in the lineup, is director Joe Lonie’s impressive debut short film Honk If You’re Horny. Following on from its success at the Sorta Unofficial New Zealand Film Awards 2012, Honk If You’re Horny scooped the Rush Monro's Best Film Award as well as the SDGNZ Best Director Award at the Rialto Channel Auckland Opening Night and Awards Ceremony last week.

Andy Anderson also won the StarNow Best Actor Award for his performance as Terry, a ballsy taxi driver who tells a hilarious and raunchy story to a young musician he’s driving across town. A fast paced, beautifully told and completely compelling short film – don’t miss this opportunity to catch this excellent film.

I had a quick chat with Joe after the awards, and it’s great to hear his next short film is ready to go!

Rialto: Congratulations, another win for Honk If Your Horny. This is your first short film – how do you feel about the fact you’re now eligible for an Academy Award nomination?

JL: Thank you very much! I feel great about Honk going in front of the Academy. I’m sure they’ll be suitably appalled by it. The Oscar accreditation says awesome things about the vision and ambition of the Show Me Shorts crew. I’m very impressed that they could make that happen and I feel extremely lucky that our movie will be the first to benefit from it.

Rialto: The idea for this film came from an autobiographical experience right?

JL: Honk if you’re Horny is loosely based on true events. It’s about a funny thing that happened to me on the way to band practice one night.

Rialto: Was it hard convincing Andy Anderson to take on the role of Terry – because he looks like he’s having a blast!

JL: Andy was our first choice for the part. We made no secret of this and he appreciated the compliment. He was a big fan of the script from the first read. He was extremely motivated to do it but he was not keen to audition for it. Auditioning can be a tough process for actors and sometimes they will avoid it if they can. We had enough confidence in Andy to be able to take a slight gamble and give him the part with no audition. The gamble paid off because Andy felt respected and valued. He paid us back with a huge, whole-hearted effort.

Rialto: You’ve made a career out of directing television commercials and music videos, which are like mini short films; what was it like to shoot something a little longer?

JL: It was a dream come true! I’ve had a great career in Music Videos & TVCs but it took me ages to get my first break in longer form filmmaking. I fought hard for my shot so I wanted to be damned sure and make the most of the opportunity. There was a bit of learning on the job but I am completely self–taught so that’s the way I’ve always done it. There were things I’ll do better next time but it turned out pretty good.

Rialto: How hard was it to keep up the cracking pace of the film? It plays such a large part in telling this story.

JL: I have a short attention span. The thing I hate most in the world is to be bored, so the last thing I wanted my movie to be was boring. I may have overcompensated a bit but it did make for a fun ride.

Rialto: Short films often travel the world – where else has this film screened and have you been lucky enough to travel with it?

JL: I went with the film to Melbourne, which was awesome, but the film has done most of the travelling on it’s own - Palm Springs, San Fran, San Diego, Miami, Italy, Barcelona & Brisbane so far. It’s going to New York next year. Maybe it will need some company on that trip?

Rialto: Who would you like to thank for helping you make this film?

JL: So many people to thank but most of all I have to thank my family for sticking with me and supporting me while I chase the crazy and unlikely dream of being a film maker. They share all the heartbreaks, knock-backs and kicks in the teeth with me, and they occasionally also get to share in the good things too – like the Show Me Shorts awards last week.

Rialto: So what next – how are you going to top Honk If You’re Horny?

JL: The follow–up short is ready to go. Shout at the Ground is another wild and crazy comedy based on a true story from the early days of Supergroove. This one is wilder, crazier and even more disgusting than Honk! In Honk if you’re Horny we mostly just talk about it, in Shout at the Ground – we show it!

For more information on the Show Me Shorts Film Festival schedule, head to www.showmeshorts.co.nz