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LA LOTERÍA SERIES OF SHORTS
"Twelve are the winning numbers in this audiovisual lottery in the key of agit-pop, created from remains of media trash and starring Jim Finn. Write it down: 5, 11, 21, 23, 25, 28, 36, 38, 39, 16, 48, 52. All of them last less than four minutes but, according to its utopian assignment of preference, together they're much more, because in the eventful and episodic universe of Finn's cinema, everything's possible. Thus, TV appearances from Fidel Castro, Donald Rumsfeld and Saddam Hussein, are contrasted with home movies (which range from a choreography in front of the bathroom mirror to a relationship with the nicest squirrel in the world), and silenced by the soft melodies –now involuntarily subversive- of Ana and Juan Gabriel, Rocío Durcal, Los Guaraguao, The Weavers, Leonard Nimoy and even the beloved Argentine duo Pimpinela. Like the rest of his work, La lotería shows that Jim Finn has one of the most original and quick cinematic minds in present day." —Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente
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25. el valiente is a collection of the 70's Bond girls who never knew loneliness "until I met you." (3:45, 2004) |
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28. el pájaro. A red-state playoff game is the excuse for a world uprising. (2:00, 2005) |
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39. la ardilla. "La Ardilla (2004), an entry in Jim Finn's "lotería" video series, samples a glowing Rocío Durcal and Juan Gabriel duet while the lovestruck Finn courts a skittish amour. As the legends croon, "desde el principio / te quiero, te quiero, te quiero," Finn beckons tenderly, patiently, and finally has you, and the squirrel, nibbling from his seductively pursed lips." — Senses of Cinema (2:00, 2004) |
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21. el moro. "Deep down, we have always suspected there must be some connection between J.R.R. Tolkien, Star Trek, and the rise of the radical Left. Leave it to Jim Finn to bring it all together." —New York Underground Film Festival (2:30, 2004) |
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52. la mano. A religious revival in the O.C.: "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!" (2:00, 2005) |
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48. la corona. The Bush inner circle at Crawford moving to the sounds of the Mexican Frank Sinatra. (1:30, 2005) |
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11. el azteca. Ricardo Montablan’s Khan in the 60s and the 80s is still fighting the good fight: "It's not enough to pray!" (3:10, 2005) |
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46. la calavera. "The repetitive missile from a war plane blurs into a war game. Add an uplifting song to it and you have a perfectly entertaining video game. Or is it reality?" —L.A. Freewaves (3:00, 2004) |
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27. el corazón is about a mustached man who loves his team and his girl. (3:15, 2004) |
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5. el paraguas Donald Rumsfeld and Saddam Hussein met in 1985: "Oh the wind and the rain." (3:45, 2005) |
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44. la rosa. A cautionary tale of an emperor from a great state who takes whatever he wants. (3:00, 2004) |
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36. la estrella. Cosmonaut stamps and communist icons turn a Frank and Nancy Sinatra song into another Internationale. (2:30, 2005) |
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38. la cobra. A love song about a drowned girl is illustrated in a bath and tanning booth. (2:30, 2004) |
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42. la bandera. American imperialism reveals itself in a small inlet in Florida. (2:10, 2005) |
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20. la palmera. A love letter from a Florida car wash. (1:45, 2004) |
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5. el payaso. Every day in the habitrail is like the 1967 NFL Championship game. (2:54, 2005) |
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SELECTED SCREENINGS
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Film (BAFICI) 2008 (series)
BAFICI touring program 2008 (series)
Cali International Film Festival, Colombia 2009 (series)
Impakt Festival, The Netherlands 2005 (el moro, la estrella)
"Quantum Leaps" screening at The Kitchen, NYC, March 2006 (la estrella)
NY Underground Film Festival 2005 (la ardilla, el moro)
PDX Festival 2005, Portland (la ardilla)
Cinematexas 2004, Austin (la ardilla, el moro)
Florida Experimental Film Festival 2004 , Gainesville (el valiente)
Chicago Underground Film Festival 2004 (la ardilla, la calavera)
Microcine Festival. Baltimore 2005 (la estrella, la palmera)
L.A. Freewaves (la calavera)
Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison 2005 (la rosa, el valiente, el moro, la ardilla)
Monster Loter̀a Tour 2005, traveling including Aurora Picture Show, Houston; Cornell Cinema, Ithaca; Galapagos, Brooklyn;
Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago; Squeaky Wheel, Buffalo; Cable Car Cinema, Providence; University of Illinois, Urbana.
Contact: finn.jim@gmail.com | Design by Arthur Jones with a grant from free103point9 and the New York State Council on the Arts