Every year Film Independent’s Project Involve, Filmmaker Labs and other Artist Development Programs help promising young filmmakers get their films out into the world. But we’re not alone in our efforts to offer a shot to those who might not otherwise have one.

For the fourth straight year Jameson has partnered with Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti of Trigger Street Films in giving three undiscovered filmmakers a chance to break into the film industry.

Spacey, who was on hand for the premiere of the three short films at Paramount Pictures last Saturday, said the program started after he was invited to do a Q&A for a Jameson Cult Film Club screening of The Usual Suspects in 2011.

“It was this really interesting night where they screened the film in an old warehouse down by the docks,” said Spacey. “So the notion was that you were kind of in the Usual Suspects motif. And then they went beyond that, and actually had actors portraying characters from the film during the film. For example, when the guy’s on the stretcher saying, ‘Keyser Soze, Keyser Soze,’ there was a guy on a stretcher coming down the aisle, with doctors and he was going, ‘Keyser Soze!’ It was a very interesting, interactive evening.”

It was after the event—and after a few drinks—that Spacey had the idea that Jameson should start making films. “I said to the Jameson people that maybe, instead of just supporting film festivals, which they’d been doing very generously for a long time, that they should actually [start] supporting movies, not necessarily producing them, but sponsoring them on some level.”

And with that, Jameson First Shot was born. Spacey said he’s pleased with the results thus far. “It’s a fantastic platform for emerging talent to be able to tell stories and to write for specific actors.”

In 2012, Spacey himself starred in the three films. In 2013, Uma Thurman took the lead roles. Last year it was Willem Dafoe, and this year Adrien Brody signed on to the contest.

The Academy Award winner said he’s happy to provide encouragement to those with the determination to pursue their passion. “We all started somewhere and it’s a fiercely competitive industry,” said Brody. “I think the pursuit of any artistic goal should be encouraged.”

Each year the competition selects short scripts from three different countries. This year’s winners were Travis Calvert from the United States, Stephan Tempier from Canada and Mark Middlewick from South Africa.

Calvert’s film, The Library Book, tells the story of a modest man returning a long overdue library book. It’s a meditation on our changing times. Brody said it’s been “some time” since he last checked out a book from the library.

“We have so much access to information, and I think the younger generations today are blessed and cursed by that,” said Brody. “It changes your whole approach to everything—what’s accessible, how quickly you can look something up, [the fact that] you don’t need to retain [anything]. It’s a different ballgame now.”

Middlewick’s The Mascot, tells the story of Adam, a mascot for the Pittsburgh Pandas basketball team, who is fired from his job and decides to do something about it. While it sounds like the beginning of a broad comedy, Brody plays the character with all the pain of someone who’s just been stripped of his identity—all while wearing a panda suit.

In Tempier’s film, Boredom, Brody plays a 40-year-old who chooses to remain a child despite what anyone else thinks. The film doesn’t condemn the character’s decision.

“That’s what I think is so wonderful about it,” said the actor. “What is normal? And why should anybody aspire to be normal? In certain neighborhoods and places, it’s very difficult to be outside of the societal norm, and there’s tremendous pressure to succumb to it. So that spoke to me.”

Tom Sveen / Film Independent Blogger