"Don Circles the Drain" to Screen in Madison!

Don Circles the Drain was chosen by the Critical Edge Film Festival as one of the top three films in their Madison shorts category. It will play in a special pre-festival screening of films this Saturday, December 3rd, noon to 3:00 pm. Venue: Marquee Cinema, Union South, University of Wisconsin campus. Don will play during the first half of the program between 12:00 and 1:30 pm.

"Don Circles the Drain" Accepted into Driftless Film Fest

Our short, Don Circles the Drain--co-produced with Rick Richards of C Side Films-- has been accepted into the 2016 Driftless Film Festival in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. It will screen in the Shorts Showcase at 5:30 pm on Saturday, November 5.

"Don" Wins Best Comedy at Wildwood Film Fest

Our short, Don Circles the Drain, won the "Best Comedy Award" yesterday at the 2016 Wildwood Film Festival.

Nicholas Wootton's 2015 Just God also screened at the fest and received a very enthusiastic audience response; they laughed in all the right places!

From left to right, Colin Cameron (Narrator/Associate Producer--Don; Co-star--Just God ), Rick Richards (Writer/Executive Producer--Don), Robert (Director/Producer--Don; Producer--Just God), and Nicholas Wootton (Assistant Director--Don; Writer/Director/Producer--Just God).

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Wootton.

Filmmakers on stage after the screenings.

Nicholas, Rick, and Robert.

Bryan Royston and Jeff Blankenship of Living Storm Productions won the "Founder's Choice Award" for their short drama, Full Circle.

Photos courtesy of Colin Cameron.

Mad City Chickens to Screen in River Falls

Just 45 minutes east of Minneapolis is the city of River Falls, Wisconsin--the home of a number of citizens looking to get their local ordinance changed to allow for backyard poultry. In an effort to raise awareness of this issue, they will be holding a public screening of Mad City Chickens on Wednesday evening, March 2, 2016. The event will take place 7-9pm at the River Falls Public Library, 140 Union Street.

Image via River Falls Public Library site.

"Don Circles the Drain" Accepted into 2016 Wildwood Film Fest

With the recent completion of an updated edit, our short film, Don Circles the Drain, will make its official premiere in three weeks at the Wildwood Film Festival. We'll be attending the event.

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2016
Venue: Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Kimberly Clark Theater, Appleton, Wisconsin
Showtime: 8:00 pm shorts block

Mad City Chickens Returns to Sturgeon Bay

Last year, our Mad City Chickens documentary screened in Sturgeon Bay, WI as part of their EGGStravaganza event. It's been asked back again and will play this coming Saturday, April 4th at 1:00pm. Free admission. Sponsored by the Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan Street.

"Just God" Screens in Green Bay

Just God screened at the Green Bay Film Festival on Saturday. Good people. Fun times.

A few of the Just God crew (L-R): Writer/Director Nicholas Wootton; Executive Producer Jill Wootton; Associate Producer Kelly Lajter; Pick-up shots photographer Jeff Blankenship; Production Manager Robert Lughai.

Photo by Colin Cameron.

"Just God" Accepted into Green Bay Film Fest!

We just learned that Just God has just been accepted into the 2015 Green Bay Film Festival! March 6-8 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Public Screening of "Beast Bike Beauty"

The High Noon Saloon film screenings tonight in Madison were well received. Five films played in all including our short Beast Bike Beauty. Filmmakers on stage for the Q&A after the screening. L-R: Robert Lughai, Bryan Royston, Jeff Blankenship, Joey Broyles, and Ben Wydeven.

Photo by Karla Siemering Bryant.

Test Screening of "Just God"

Against Robert's better judgement, we had the first test screening of Just God yesterday afternoon at the High Noon Saloon in Madison. In recent weeks, we've made some major editorial decisions and have trimmed a number of minutes off the total running time. Tighter is better and the film benefits from it. Yet, the movie is still a work-in-progress and not ready to be shown to the public. The rewards of having a test audience are somewhat wasted on the fact that the film is not in a finished form. Writer, Director, and Executive Producer Nicholas Wootton feels differently, though, and it's his decision to make.

Nicholas and Robert on stage during the Q&A along with host Francisco Torres. The humorous choke hold is done in fun but does represent some of the on-going creative differences we've had on this project.

Photos by Kelly Lajter & Zaher Karp.

Mad City Chickens in Sun Prairie, WI

Our Mad City Chickens documentary will play May 15th in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Screening is presented by the Sun Prairie Public Library. Films starts at 6:30 pm at the library, 1350 Linnerud Drive. The filmmakers will be on hand for a Q&A after the movie.

MCC to Screen in Door County

Mad City Chickens will screen April 19, 2014 in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Sponsored by the Door County Library, the film will play at the Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan Street.

Movie begins at 3:00 pm.

BBB a Success at Driftless Film Fest

Our short film Beast Bike Beauty screened today at the Driftless Film Festival in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The crowd was responsive and laughed when they were suppose to...success!

Beast Bike Beauty at Driftless Film Festival

Our short film, Beast Bike Beauty, will be screening at the 2013 Driftless Film Festival. The movie starts at 11:00 am on Saturday November 9th. The location is the historic Mineral Point Opera House in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Image via Mineral Point Opera House.

The filmmakers, Michael Haven and Robert Lughai, will be present for a Q&A after the screening.

"While It Lasts" to Screen at Milwaukee and Driftless Film Fests

While It Lasts is a short documentary that features the words and work of 81-year-old artist Jamie Ross. Robert was the editor on the movie along with filmmaker Marc Kornblatt.

It will have its premiere at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival, 3:15 pm October 26th in the Milwaukee Art Museum. Then on the evening of November 9th, it will screen at the Driftless Film Festival in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

MCC at Green Tuesdays Film Series

Public Screening of Mad City Chickens on March 19th, Oregon, Wisconsin. Sponsored by the Oregon Public Library. Film starts at 6:30 pm, 256 Brook Street. Part of the Green Tuesdays Film Series

BBB Premiere at 2013 Wildwood Film Fest

Our new short narrative/comedy Beast.Bike.Beauty. premiered Saturday afternoon at the Wildwood Film Festival in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Michael and Robert had a good time with the audience Q+A after the screening.

Robert...

Michael...

After the fest, we had dinner and drinks with several of our filmmaker friends to discuss the movies we saw and to hear their honest feedback about Beast.Bike.Beauty. Left to right: Michael Haven, Petrina Giese, Nicholas Wootton, Colin Cameron...

There was no shortage of spirits at the home bar where we all gathered.

Photos by Colin Cameron.

This was only the second time BBB has screened publicly. (The first was a test showing at the Froth House in Madison back in December 2012.) Sitting amongst a large audience is so damn helpful in learning if your edits actually work. The vibe of the crowd is palpable with the ebb and flow of the story.

At the December showing, we failed to elicit the big laugh we wanted at the film's climax. So we made the necessary adjustments and this time it worked. The crowd got it!

Now after today's Wildwood premiere, our group seemed to all agree on a few final edits that would help BBB hit it's stride. Michael and Robert will tweak it one last time before calling it finished.

Wildwood Festival Poster

Our short narrative film Beast. Bike. Beauty. is premiering tomorrow at the 2013 Wildwood Film Festival in Appleton, Wisconsin. Here's the festival poster...

Mad City Chickens to Screen in Belleville, Wisconsin

March 7th Public Screening presented by the Belleville Public Library, 130 S. Vine Street in Belleville, Wisconsin. Film starts at 7:00 pm.

Our 2005 "Barn Salvateers" Documentary

One of the first films Tashai & Robert ever produced together under the Tarazod Films name was back in 2005. Some friends of ours lived on an old farm with two huge historic barns. Both, however, were unfortunately in bad repair. Their idea was to salvage the usable materials from one to restore the second.

We'd just purchased our new Panasonic DVX camera the week before and asked if they would mind if we filmed the undertaking. No problem there. We arrived at sunrise on the morning of and went to work with camera in hand. The result was a 20 minute documentary entitled The Barn Salvateers which screened at the 2006 Wildwood Film Festival in Appleton, Wisconsin.


Tag line: Three women, two men, and one gigantic barn.

Synopsis: With two 90 year old barns in danger of collapse, a female-led crew of friends pulls together--with the help of a sizable crane--to aggressively salvage one structure so the materials can be used to restore the second (2005).


Since that time, the film was reedited down to a super tight miniature version of itself. Here it is...