by Bri Castellini
Sometimes I worry that the things I write/create and publicly promote are too weird. My short film Ace and Anxious (spoiler alert) ends with a visual gag implying a man has had sex with a playing card. My web series Sam and Pat features escalating and absurdist visual gags set against two characters being mean to each other and talking about therapists. My web series Brains is a narrative vlog from the perspective of a narcissistic sociopathic YouTuber trying to get a boyfriend post zombie apocalypse.
The worry about the weird comes not from a worry that the things I make aren’t good. I think they’re quite good- I’ve even got some awards to prove it!
The worry comes more from the fact that it’s very hard to succinctly explain these projects and their value to people more successful than me. “Oh, you make films too? What are they about?” “You better sit down for this.”
Other times, I am delighted by the weirdness, because it sets me apart and is true to my voice, which is also very weird. And honestly, every time I’ve tried to write something earnest and straightforward it’s sucked. Weird used to be an insult, but now it’s literally my brand.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Speaking of Bri’s weird brand, it has come to our attention that her fine, weird web series Sam and Pat has started a crowdfunding campaign to finance its upcoming Season 2. As Bri put it:
Sam and Pat season 2 is coming! And to celebrate, we launched a Seed&Spark campaign! This way, you get to be involved early in helping us make a frank, funny, and f-very weird second season. Season 1 happened so quickly you didn’t get a chance to be part of the excitement, but not so this time!
Where do you go to participate? RIGHT HERE.
What will you see there? Something like this:
Why should you participate? Here are a few more words from Her Briness Herself:
I wrote Sam and Pat Are Depressed during one of the least creative years of my entire life, deep inside one of the most crushing depressive episodes I’ve ever experienced. Trump had just been elected, I’d lost my job at MTV, and I was burning through my savings account at an alarming rate.
Sam and Pat is a love letter to myself, and to my dear friend and muse Chris Cherry (“Pat”), to remind us that even during the darkest moments, we are not alone, and we are funny as hell. I have been truly and genuinely humbled by the response to season 1, and I cannot wait to share season 2 with you as well.
Any hand you can lend our strange little passion project is a hand we appreciate more than any other hand we’ve ever seen. We want to continue to talk frankly about mental illness, we want to continue to increase representation for the asexual community, and we want to continue to make you laugh.
This TVWriter™ minion is with Bri on this and hopes you will be too. After all, the more everyone gives, the less guilty I’ll feel about how little I can afford to ante up. And you don’t want yers truly to join the ranks of The Depressed, do you? Isn’t my inherent weirdness enough?
Bri Castellini is an indie filmmaker and Community Liaison at Stareable, our favorite web series hub. Watch the remarkable Ms. Castellini’s award-winning web series, Brains, HERE. See Sam And Pat Are Depressed HERE. This post first appeared on her seriously cool blog.