I'm Here (2010)

It's not in me to turn down the offer of a free film with free cocktails, so this weekend I found myself sipping Absolut vodka and espresso (it's dynamite by the way - a depressant and a stimulant all at once) in a basement and bearing witness to the most theatrical film screening I've ever seen.

The route in was paved with bubblewrap and the walls were decorated with a mixture of books, car doors and old fashioned office furniture. In front of a back-projected screen there was a carpet of AstroTurf with cardboard boxes dotting it; five minutes before the show they bloomed, revealing electric blow up mattresses to sit on while you enjoyed your drink.

All this was very impressive, and it made the experience that bit much more special.

The film itself was very Jonzey: earnest and occaisionally silly. The story concerns a robot in an American city where robots are second-class citizens. He meets and falls in love with a rebellious but accident prone girl robot and she brings excitement to his life, introducing him to all the fun a robot can have and bringing him out of his shell. Gradually, however, he loses more and more of himself to her.

I'm not sure what to make of that message, and that ambiguity could be because the short running time doesn't allow the theme to fully mature. But it's pretty bleak if what it means is that women will cut away at you until there's nothing left and give nothing back.

The whole was a very interesting look for me at alternative marketing. There is no traditional market for a thirty minute film, but this partnership with Absolut has brought it to a fairly large audience already, and the marketing it will be able to provide outstrips what an ordinary indie film could achieve by far. You could see it as selling one's artist soul, but there was no product placement in the film, just an association with a cool film, making them look cooler, and the opportunity to reach a market which may not normally buy their brand (because of it being so expensive!).

Everyone wins. Especially me.

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