Madeleine Zabel (Short)
Writer-director Chris Shimojima has done in less than 17 minutes what other filmmakers have been unable to do in two hours in his gripping short film, “Madeleine Zabel.” That accomplishment is a biting satire of mainstream media obsession, as a free-lance reporter (Chris Henry Coffey) engages in a phone interview with Maddy Zabel (Jenna D’Angelo), a paparazzi favorite whose sister has legitimately succeeded in hitting the big time; the general consensus is that Maddy is merely riding her sister’s coattails to fame. If you aren’t thinking of the Kardashians after the brilliantly edited faux-tabloid TV montage at the beginning, then you’re a better person than I am. Shimojima and his cast seem to have an insider’s perspective on how this sort of journalism works– the journalist tries getting to the heart of the matter, while the subject and their handler spins things the way they want a story to go. Unfortunately, Shimojima’s film ends before we see the end result of the interview, but the riveting truths he captures before the credits roll keep you on the edge of your seat. I will still probably be avoiding TMZ like the plague, however.
