short film – The Comedy Bureau

Pick of the Day 5/7/25: Club Video (in NYC) 5/17

May 7, 2025

brooklyn, club video, screening, short film

The cool kids at Club Video are back at it again.

That’s to say they back at throwing an extravaganza of a short film showcase/variety show/beautiful Brooklyn party (the sort that makes you feel like you don’t have Stockholm Syndrome from living in NYC). Though they have relocated to a more formal venue, it’s still got those warehouse vibes from the original Club Video that you know and love. The run of films is going to be fast and furious as they will all be under three minutes, but rest assured it’s going to be a wild ride worth taking.

This edition of Club Video is set for Saturday, May 17th @ Silo at 8PM. Tickets are $15 and you can (and should) snag them here.

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 206: Club Video & Keeping the Club Actually Cool (and Inviting)

March 6, 2024

News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report

club video, nyc comedy, short film

Club Video is the latest welcoming, short film/video/sketch showcase that’s as inviting and low key as it is cool and the place to be in NYC, at the intersection of film and comedy and wanting a great weekend hang with good folks. This week’s TCB Field Report is dedicated to how the hell one strikes that balance and we talk to Club Video’s Whitley Watson and Micah Phillips how they manage to keep Club Video in the creative and good vibes sweet spot.

Follow Club Video @clubvideoshow, Whitley Watson @videotapezzzz, Micah Phillips @micahrockandroll, and Marshall Louise @marshalllouise

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and Jake Kroeger
Photo by @allierosejokes

Pick of the Day: Sandy Honig’s SandyFest (in LA) 8/3

July 26, 2023

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echo park, film screening, heavy manners library, la comedy, sandy honig, short film

Whether it’s through Three Busy Debras, her very own comedy, her works as a filmmaker, or her stunning photography portfolio, you really ought to know the name Sandy Honig if you don’t already. Honig is an endlessly innovative, creative voice and force that LA comedy is lucky to have these days.

Another reason to know her name just popped up with the introduction of her own evening of short films, SandyFest at Echo Park’s magical art and design book resource, Heavy Manners Library. It’ll be a very special, exclusive night of the absurd, the out-there, and the hysterical and captivating of short films, handpicked by Sandy, from many other original visionaries whose names you should know. That’ll include Phoebe Parsons, Philip Steiger, Graham Mason & Ike Ufomadu, Joe Pelling, Eytan Boclin & Liam Klinkenberg, Sarah Squirm, and, of course, Sandy Honig.

SandyFest is set for Thurs. Aug. 3rd with doors at 7PM. Pay what you can for admission and get more details here.

Pick of the Day: Club Video (in NYC) 7/29

July 20, 2023

News

club video, experimental film, nyc comedy, short film

When it comes to making community out of watching weird comedy videos, LA has gotten to enjoy the long standing institution of Channel 101 and the IYKYK underground Show & Tell for several years. The same can’t necessarily be said for NYC (even though there was a NYC off-shoot of Channel 101 for awhile).

Thankfully, there are some fine East Coast folks (Whitley Watson, Micah Phillips and Marshall Louise) under the banner of Club Video that are changing that. They’re gathering as many filmmakers (some are beloved NYC comedy staples) as they can to show off all things indie/experimental/comedic when it comes to short form videos/films in and around NYC. They really go out to make it a big time offbeat film hang as they’re going to open their upcoming live, in-person Club Video with three local bands (Star80, Coal Bed, and Matthew Danger Lippman) and then having over 25 different creators/filmmakers share their video wares.

That line-up includes:

Matthew Albino
Andrew Bourne and Connie O’Connor
Kate Costello
Grier Dill
Emily Wirth and Annie Downey
spike einbinder
Isaac Ingle & Christine Fiala
Theo Frorer
Will Duncan & Jake Gibson
Lucas Harvie
Hotel Art Thief
Jake and Adam
Tej Khanna
Simeon Kondev
Let Me Think… Coco Pink!
Marshall Louise
Ben McCarthy
Tim Myer
Victoria Pandeirada
Andrew Shearer & Liam Paris
Reece Parsons
Public Access
Sarah Bex Rice
Matthew Saucedo
Sam Schild
Alex Senti
SODAKYS
Stark Brothers Productions
Whitley Watson
Skeeter Stevenson with Kevin Wingertzahn
@soygoblin fka Miranda Amey

This iteration of Club Video is going to happen Sat. Jul. 29th at 8PM in East Williamsburg at 79 Grattan Street. All this show/community/fun is all to be had for just $10 at the door. Get more details and info on their IG @clubvideoshow.

Please Enjoy the Absurdist Twin Joy of “Pennies From Heaven”

April 24, 2023

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annabel meschke, sabina meschke, sandy honig, short film, sxsw, twins

If being a Vimeo Staff Pick and a SXSW prize winner isn’t enough to peak your interest these days, let us give you an additional vote of confidence/plea for your consideration in watching the wacky, yet sparkling gem of a short film that is Pennies From Heaven. Co-written by real life twin comedy duo Annabel Meschke and Sabina Meschke and Three Busy Debras’ Sandy Honig, this award winning short revels in the comedic nuances that can only come from seeing how the world sees twins and then adding as many pennies as you’ve ever seen in your life.

Honestly, we don’t want to tell you anymore lest we risk spoiling the magic of Pennies From Heaven for you. Please enjoy it now and repeatedly here.

Pick of the Day: Channel 101 Live & In Person (in LA) 7/31

July 26, 2022

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channel 101, indie film, los angeles comedy, short film, short form tv

Thankfully, more and more comedy things are finding their way back to in-person happenings on this side of the pandemic. A LA comedy and indie film institution, Channel 101, had gone virtual and adapted even further to going for audio series during quarantine/lockdown. The long-standing completely indie-run, short form TV series was started by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab and has been a torch that has kept much of the most experimental and fiercely imaginative comedy and genre-bending programming that has ever been made.

Never forget that the roots of Rick & Morty started at Channel 101.

So, they’re finally having an in-person screening over at The Virgil on Sun. Jul. 31st with doors at 7PM, a departure from their back-to-back screenings at the Downtown Independent. Tickets are $5 and, as always, you, as part of the audience, will get decide what shows get renewed for another month or not.

Please Enjoy Sara June’s Short “Bathroom Time”

April 7, 2022

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anna seregina, bri pruett, christine medrano, sara june, short film, sketch comedy, steph tolev

It’s unfortunate that the scarcity mentality that so many of us live under extend to every bit of our lives. We center our lives on how much money or power or water we have left. We especially anxiously ration time to go the bathroom while at work. That’s a very powerful stressor in an economy of scarcity.

Thus, comedian/filmmaker Sara June made a hilariously morbid short film, Bathroom Time, that captures this ever present feeling many of us have with pitch perfect performances from Anna Seregina, Christine Medrano, Steph Tolev, and Bri Pruett.

It recently got to be a Vimeo Staff Pick and we fully co-sign their pick. Enjoy June’s timely short satire here.

Please Enjoy This Short Film “Lipstick City” from Courtney Karwal

January 19, 2022

News

courtney karwal, lipstick city, short film

The hellscape that is auditioning in LA (or anywhere really since it’s mostly self-tape these days) is a special ring of hell that is chock full of horror stories that make you question your very essence. As such, some of the best comedic catharsis can be found in whatever the hell people are reading/going in for. It’s essentially a time honored tradition of acting.

Courtney Karwal‘s award winning comedy short, Lipstick City, captures the spirit of that very tradition in an especially hysterically awkward story of one incredibly ill-fated commercial audition. While the audition here does not takes place in a literal hellscape, it would almost seem that some levels of hell would be better than this particular casting session (though it’s pretty damn funny for any of us watching).

So, without further adieu, please enjoy Lipstick City here

Please Enjoy Sarah Squirm’s Hysterical Grotesque Voyage “The Sarah Vaccine” (and Also Get Actually Vaccinated)

July 9, 2021

News

means.tv, sarah squirm, short film, sketch comedy, the sarah vaccine

America currently hovers at just over 48% fully vaccinated against COVID-19 despite Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines being readily available to the majority of Americans at this very moment.

Rather than obsess over the reality of science and the disparity of vaccine hesitancy (especially in the face of lack of access to the most effective vaccines in several dozens countries around the globe), why don’t you dive into the wildly absurd, marvelously horrifying, and hilarious world of Sarah Squirm’s latest work, “The Sarah Vaccine”? We could go into lurid detail about it, but we’ll let you just enjoy the 13 minute ride (which, if you love I Think You Should Leave, we think you’ll love).

Why worry about protecting yourself against one of the deadliest viruses in our lifetime when you can go out with a really messy bang? Find out with watching The Sarah Vaccine, fresh from Means.TV, the very first worker owned streaming service.

Also, seriously, get vaccinated against COVID-19 if you haven’t already. Cases are already ticking back up worldwide.

*NOTE: if you have to go back into the office to work for some reason, you should probably go watch this in your car on break.

Please Enjoy Short “Zigman vs. The Spacecraft” Where Being a Super Hero All the Time is Kind of Tiresome

April 12, 2021

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brain dead, demorge brown, jonny look, randy liedtke, reebok, short film

No matter what type of super hero one may be, the reality of having to be super all the time is taxing, maybe even impossible?

That is more than clear in Jonny Look‘s latest short film, made specifically for the launch of Brain Dead x Reebok’s latest sneaker, that follows Zigman (DeMorge Brown) and his companion (voiced by Randy Liedtke) who will not take even a little bit of a break from being on the job of saving the world, no matter what the “crisis” may be. The balance between nostalgic otherworldly-ness (going back to 90s style Power Rangers) and the grounded minutia of everyday life is that off-beat sort of wonderful you get from Jonny Look.

Give it a watch and enjoy Zigman vs. The Spacecraft here.

Please Enjoy This Great Short “Two Pan Dan” From Sergio Cilli with Rory Scovel and Drew Tarver

November 11, 2020

News

drew tarver, rory scovel, sergio cilli, short film

Even in the midst of everything that’s going on right now, there are people who still don’t want to admit that they’re having problems or maybe that they’re truly wrong about something.

This marvelous short film, Two Pan Dan, from writer/director Sergio Cilli shows how absolutely ridiculous that can be even when it comes to as simple as delivering a belated wedding gift. Rory Scovel and Drew Tarver continue to shine as they have in Robbie or The Other Two as close friends, supposedly.

There is a deftness in the writing and performance in this short that had us laughing in a way that has been so incredibly rare in quarantine. So, we highly urge you to take ten minutes to enjoy Cilli’s latest here.

Please Enjoy This Joyfully Bonkers Short Film “Gone Fishing”

August 24, 2020

News

jake disch, jasper sams, mark kadlec, nick gligor, phillip clark davis, short film

The outdoors and the accompanying activities of going outdoors seem to be quite in style right now, especially since that’s pretty much one of the only things we all can do somewhat safely during this pandemic. However, people are quite in the stir-crazy, traumatized daze of these times because of COVID-19 and everything else that’s going on the world.

So, going fishing these days might not be just “going fishing” as it is in this great wild, silly, and darkly comedic short film “Gone Fishing”. OK, we don’t want to give too much away, just trust us that Gone Fishing really captures the spirit of how cooped up some of us feel and that Nick Gligor plays what might be your new favorite psychopath.

Watch Gone Fishing here.

Directed by Phillip Clark Davis
Written by Davis, Nick Gligor, and Jake Disch.
Starring: Nick Gligor, Chance LaSalle, Jasper Sams, and Mark Kadlec

Pick of the Day: Sixteen Thousand Dollars (Screening & Discussion)

June 16, 2020

News

dsa, screening, short film, sixteen thousand dollars

This comedy short film Sixteen Thousand Dollars directed by Symone Baptiste has been our radar for a long time as many LA comedy favorites are featured throughout including Brodie Reed, Ellington Wells, and David Gborie and it has gone through the film festival circuit all across the country (back when you could watch a screening at a film festival in real life). Also, the premise of what reparations for slavery might look like already had us drawn in and is more timely than ever right now as white supremacy is getting dismantled more so than it has before in recent years.

So, there will be a virtual screening of Sixteen Thousand Dollars, courtesy of DSA Afrosocialist & Socialists of Color Caucus, and Q&A discussion to follow, which ought to be more crucial of a Q&A than your typical film screening Q&As.

Sixteen Thousand Dollars is set to screen on Sun. Jun. 21st at 12PM PT/3PM ET. Get more details and RSVP here.

By the way, here’s a trailer.

Please Enjoy Electric Television’s “Freeway to Hell”

May 13, 2020

News

chris fairbanks, electric television, emily maya mills, freeway to hell, mike upchurch, rotoscope, short film

Several years ago, some real cinema magic got blended with some incredibly clever humor in Cocktails & Dreams. It featured Chris Fairbanks squeezing his way, pretty seamlessly, into various scenes of Cocktail and it was pretty damn great.

Just today, the same folks behind Cocktail & Dreams, released their latest work Freeway to Hell, which is their longest and most ambitious piece yet and part of their Electric Television anthology series. The visit to an alternative cinematic universe is bewitching and sure do have fun messing around in said universe “telling a new story out of recycled parts”.

Please watch and enjoy the comedy pastiche of Freeway to Hell and we’re pretty sure you’ll be transported to some other reality that’s free of a pandemic and only troubled by a B-movie version of the Hell’s Angels.

Enjoy Todd Glass’ Life in Quarantine with “Pandemic Tips with Todd Glass”

May 5, 2020

News

documentary short, pandemic tips, short film, todd glass

Seeing people’s lives in quarantine through Zoom or Instagram Live has been the new normal for almost months now. That amount of time has also been enough to figure out how to safely distance and document someone, perhaps a hysterical comedian, in their life while being “safer at home”.

Director Scott Moran (Robbie, Modern Comedian) got to capture, while maintaining extra safe social distancing and document the life of the one and only Todd Glass in this documentary short film “Pandemic Tips with Todd Glass”. Even while hunkered down, Glass is still clearly himself and can make bits, bits within bits, commentary in between all of that from thin air (or whatever just happens to be around him like donuts or a bull horn). This docu-short is equal parts a delightful-day-in-the-pandemic-life of Todd Glass as well as a great preview of what you can pull off in filming while maintaining proper health and safety measures.

So, enjoy Pandemic Tips with Todd Glass right now right here.

Paul Feig’s Powderkeg Looking to Feature “Shut In” Short Films Made in Quarantine

April 6, 2020

News

film festival, open call, paul feig, powderkeg media, short film

Depending on where you are in the world, you might have been locked down in your house for several weeks or even months at this point. With all of that time on your hands, especially if you’re part of the millions of people out of work, you might have gotten into baking, learning a foreign language, or even tried to make a comedic short film or sketch.

If you happened to have done the latter (or plan to do so), you’ll be happy to know that Paul Feig’s Powderkeg is looking for such short films/sketches to screen/spotlight as part of their new Shut In Short Films program. We will say that, having gotten a number sketches sent to us for potential posting here at TCB, if you are thinking about doing or sending sending up Tiger King, you will be far from alone in doing so.

Here are the details below:

“The guidelines are simple: Filmmakers grab a phone and make a comedic short inside the confines of where you are sheltering in place. Shorts should be under five minutes. Shorts will be screened by us and we will spotlight the filmmakers on our website and twitter/IG. You can email a link to your short at shutinshorts@powderkegmedia.com”

View this post on Instagram

Filmmakers and storytellers! My digital company Powderkeg has launched the Shut In Film Festival. We are looking to spotlight people who are getting creative while they are sheltering in place. For more info, visit powderkegmedia.com or head to @powderkegtv! We want to hear and see your voice!‬

A post shared by Paul Feig (@paulfeig) on Apr 3, 2020 at 6:50pm PDT

Please Enjoy This Latest Short from The Dress Up Gang “A Day with Demorge”

March 24, 2020

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demorge brown, dress up gang, short film, sketch

Not only is this a marvelous short from The Dress Up Gang (NOTE: TBS continues to keep their show on their shelf even though this is an even better time to put their entire brilliant series out on some sort platform) starring DeMorge Brown that is so playfully strange and offbeat, but it has absolutely nothing to do with COVID-19.

Enjoy 5 minutes and then some of DeMorge being an absolute joy and The Dress Up Gang nailing the weird minutia of daily life with A Day with DeMorge here.

Please Enjoy David Brown and Mike Lane’s Delightful Short Film “Ants”

February 6, 2020

Uncategorized

david brown, mike lane, short film, sketch comedy

Just when we needed to watch something abjectly silly and absurd and brilliantly dumb today, long time sketch comedy collaborators David Brown and Mike Lane delivered this short film, Ants.

If you need a pick me up today for some reason, this might do the trick.

Enjoy Ants here.

Please Enjoy Joey Clift’s Short Film/PSA “Telling People You’re Native American When You’re Not Native Is A Lot Like Telling A Bear You’re A Bear When You’re Not A Bear”

November 11, 2019

Uncategorized

animated short, animation, cultural appropriation, joey clift, native american, native american heritage month, psa, short film

While it’s Native American Heritage Month right now and it’s pretty opportune timing to post something like this, Joey Clift’s animated short film “Telling People You’re Native American When You’re Not Native Is A Lot Like Telling A Bear You’re A Bear When You’re Not A Bear” is pretty damn great during any time of year.

In fact, it just wrapped up a great festival run and even got to screen at the Smithsonian.

So, enjoy, listen to, learn from, and enjoy some more of “Telling People You’re Native American When You’re Not Native Is A Lot Like Telling A Bear You’re A Bear When You’re Not A Bear” here.

Please Watch and Enjoy “The Lot”, a Short Film from David Gborie and Steven Feinartz

November 7, 2019

Uncategorized

david gborie, james austin johnson, short film, steven feinartz

The tapestry of David Gborie’s life is full of many a colorful, colorful threads (some of which are a little darker than the others) that each have their own very enticing story.

Even the time that David spent gathering shopping carts for a grocery store has a great tale to it. Hence, the short film “The Lot” from Gborie (whose is the voice of Comedy Central and has a half hour special this year) and co-writer/director Steven Feinartz (The Bitter Buddha, director of many a great comedy special) hilariously draws from that particular vignette in the life of David Gborie (and just scored itself a Vimeo Staff Pick).

So, without further adieu, please enjoy this short film The Lot here.

Please Watch and Enjoy Matt Kazman’s Latest Short Film “Father Figurine”

October 15, 2019

Uncategorized

amy landecker, David rasche, katherine reis, matt kazman, Ryan Foust, short film

Matt Kazman, who we really dig around here (ex. his last film “Killer”), has a brand new short film, Father Figurine, that, once again, is, in a word, magnificent.

Kazman manages to soak up marvelously dark humor from the driest, tension filled moments in this latest work. It’s no surprise to us that Kazman is getting to round the film festival circuit yet again with Father Figurine.

So, without further delay, please watch and enjoy Matt Kazman’s Father Figurine here.

Please Enjoy Mike Lane’s Dark Comedy Short Film “Picture Frames”

September 30, 2019

Uncategorized

mike lane, picture frames, short film

Mike Lane, who you might have seen on a handful of great LA sketch teams, has cooked quite the short film with Picture Frames that takes the idea of “strolling down memory lane” a little, if not a lot, further than most others folks would ever do, recalling both good and bad times.

Please watch and enjoy here.

Please Enjoy Courtney Karwal’s Mockumentary Short Film “Homer”

September 7, 2019

Uncategorized

courtney karwal, short film

Courtney Karwal is a dreamer and has a (mostly) can do attitude. Thus, this mockumentary short Homer is a testament to that spirit (and how funny Courtney is).

Without further adieu, please enjoy Homer here.

August 28, 2019

Uncategorized

bitter buddha, film screening, free screening, okay fine, please understand me, short film, steven feinartz, the lot

Steven Feinartz (director of The Bitter Buddha and co-creator of Please Understand Me) and David Gborie (had one of our favorite sets on Conan, New Negroes, All Fantasy Everything, and upcoming half-hour special on and current voice of Comedy Central) are two people who we can’t wait to see whatever they’re up to whether it be live shows, short films, docs, etc. etc.

So, they wrote a short film together that Feinartz directed, The Lot, and they’re having an exclusive screening of it (along with a bangin’ stand-up show) next week that you absolutely shouldn’t miss.

Best of all, it’s FREE to attend.

Go RSVP for your tickets right here right now.

Please Enjoy Alex Kavutskiy’s Award Winning Dark Comedy Short “Squirrel”

July 31, 2019

Uncategorized

alex kavutskiy, andrea rosen, max jenkins, short film, squirrel

Since we’ve first caught wind of Alex Kavutskiy years ago at Channel 101, we were blown away at his cinematic prowess, especially when it comes to nailing dark comedy so exquisitely.

All these years later, Alex is still perfecting his gallows humor touch and it’s so damn good as we just saw with his latest short film Squirrel, which just happens to be making quite the rounds on the festival circuit (and is a Vimeo Staff Pick). We’d also like to note how pitch perfect both Andrea Rosen and Max Jenkins are in this, drawing out every bit of tension possible with their performances.

So, please enjoy Squirrel here.

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