In October of 2008, New Paltz resident Tim Mattson produced, wrote, directed and edited a one-minute film called “CONFINED” in Secaucus, New Jersey that this year made the Top 25 out of more than 1500 submissions for this year’s Filminute competition and has won the AMC Editor’s Pick in the contest.
Filminute is an international one-minute film festival that challenges producers, writers and artists to confine their material into a one-minute masterpiece.
Mattson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film, Video and Animation from the Evergreen State College in 2002. He has worked with feature length documentaries to online educational videos and is currently running his own production company called Roaming Studios.
“One of my greatest fears is claustrophobia. As I was contemplating the idea I noticed the concrete pipe lying by the side of the road and that’s when it all came together for me,” Mattson said.
According to Mattson, the short film is any claustrophobic’s worst nightmare. A city worker wakes up trapped in a sewer pipe, as there is an incoming storm approaching.
Caesar Garcia, the star of the short film, said that when they were coming up with the idea he asked many people their biggest fear, and the most popular answers he received were being buried alive and claustrophobia.
“We combined both fears and ended up with something pretty terrifying,” Garcia said. “The story is being told with visuals and minimal dialogue. When I saw the finished product, I was blown away.”
Mattson said it’s a great experience for him to make a one-minute short that has the potential to leave a lasting impression. He hopes to not only win this competition but also get the exposure needed to progress his feature films.
“It shows what you can do in a short amount of time and it really uses the medium very well,” Garcia said.
As a Highland resident, Mattson is an active member in the New Paltz film community. In 2013 he started the Hudson Valley Filmmakers Meet-Up Group that meets a few times a month at Cafeteria Coffee House.
“We managed to create a short film together, “Marrow,” and it’s now touring the film festival circuit around the world,” Mattson said.
If Mattson wins he hopes to create more films with the $2,500 he would receive.