BE MORE WITH MEMORE was the winner of BEST PERFORMANCES at the September 2020 Under 5 Minute Film Festival.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
SNL’s second at-home episode really motivated me on this particular project. Suddenly all those famous comedians were making shit in their houses, just like I’d been doing during quarantine. I had the idea already in a list of comedy ideas I keep, but it was Kyle Mooney’s sketch “What’s My Name” that sparked something. He duplicated himself in his house for this party where all the guests were him. The second I saw it, I was like, “Oh shit that’s right you can do that!”
From there, I became highly motivated once I got other people involved. I asked a neighbor to do the voice-over, and she said yes. She does professional voice work, so I realized I’d better have a script to show her. She sent back the recording pretty quickly, and then my friend put music behind it, and it was off to the races.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
Oh god, probably two months. It’s always longer than I’d like.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?Pharmaceutical Nightmare.
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Aside from figuring out the effects (which was actually fun for me), and how to have my neighbor shoot me safely during quarantine in New York, my biggest obstacle tends to be myself. Gotta fight fear and laziness constantly.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
Pure joy and gratitude. It’s such a treat to have that video. You can never hear enough about your own work, especially when it’s positive, but this festival is special because of this feature. So cool to hear the things people noticed or appreciated, and the different ways the film registered with different viewers.
WATCH THE AUDIENCE FEEDBACK VIDEO:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
I’ve always wanted to parody a drug ad–those barrages of side effects are so crazy. There’s one out there now that says, “Do not take this drug if you’ve traveled to a country where fungal infections are common.” What countries are those? I probably wrote the idea down late-night while I was watching something like that on TV. I kept looking at the note I wrote and thinking, “That one might work.”
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Dazed and Confused. I love movies that make you feel like you’re living in the film with the characters, and Dazed and Confused does that better than anything I’ve seen.
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
I love it. It’s like the common application for college–one click and you can send everything over. It’s very labor-saving.
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
No One Knows, by Queens of the Stone Age. It never gets old.
10. What is next for you? A new film?
I have a French chef character, Guillaume Robert, whom I created at some open mics just before quarantine, and I’ve made a couple shorts featuring him since. I took a family vacation and got a bunch of footage for Guillaume on Cape Cod, which I’m trying to edit into something coherent now.
Matthew Toffolo's Summary 