Limerick cinematographer on the world movie shortlist

A LOCAL cinematographer is just days away from being the best short film director on the planet, as a worldwide competition comes to a close this weekend.

Jason Reddan, of Kileely, is currently ranked sixth in the My Rode Reel short film competition, out of an astonishing 1,200 entries from around the world.

Jason, who entered the competition with his dark, exciting and numbing short drama Streetlights, aims to beat last year’s record, when he finished in the top 20 with The Snowman’s Gift.

On Sunday, Jason will know if he will be crowned champion film director with his three-minute short, which features eminent actors Liam O’Brien and Graham Gill, and young actor, Ethan Cassley. The short tells the story of a troubled man, looking back on a traumatic past, with a signature twist by the director.

He said that it is “all about how we perceive people. I just wanted to do a clever story that wasn’t too visual. And I wanted to leave it up to the imagination, rather than being gory about it”. 

The film frequently uses visuals of streetlights. Where light would usually be seen as a sign of hope, Jason uses it as a symbol of “revenge and darkness”. 

“You will find that the audience is feeling sorry for the wrong person and, in actual fact, they are feeling sorry for the predator. And I was hoping that, with one flip of the camera, the twist will happen.”

He said that the post-production of the project was the most difficult aspect of the film.

“I am not going to lie, but it took me forever. It took about four days’ shooting, and then two days again to re-shoot certain things. I had to shoot it backwards. I got the ‘reveal’ first, and I shaped and editing everything around that big reveal. 

“But it really took the bones of three-and-a-half weeks to edit the project,” he said, adding that he was assisted by acclaimed local producer, Philip Shanahan. 

Jason is urging the public to vote for Streetlights online.

People can do so by visiting http://www.rode.com/myrodereel/watch/entry/2564.