Best Star Wars tribute ever...
When a set of very talented brothers decided that a year was just too long to wait for the next instalment of the 'Star Wars' franchise, they decided to start work on their very own short film depicting a rebel pilot stranded on Hoth. As it turns out, it was both a brilliant way to pass some of the time, and an exceptionally professional result. Walt Disney Studios, eat your heart out.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the biggest fan event of 2015
Blood Brother Cinema Co. is a small-time filmmaking team made up of three brothers: Timothy, Paul and Daniel Nguyen - aka The Nguyen Brothers - who play the parts of director/editor/cinematographer, screenwriter/producer and production designer respectively. Their 'Star Wars' fan film, entitled 'Rebel Scum', is not their first movie but it's certainly going down as one of their best.
The film opens with the prologue, 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... on Hoth', and goes on to show a Rebellion pilot staggering through the snow, his vehicle lying in a smoking, wrecked heap behind him. He's attacked by a drone, which he shoots down, before discovering what appears to be a stormtrooper and shooting them too. He has mixed feelings about attacking the stormtrooper when it's revealed that it's a woman under her helmet, who consequently spits at him and asks if he's going to kill her. He doesn't kill her, but swaps outfits with her so that he can blend in with the other stormtroopers and find some way of getting home. Smart!
Watch 'Rebel Scum' here:
It's a staggering set-up production-wise, filmed entirely at Columbia Icefield (Athabasca Glacier) in Alberta, Canada in -30°C temperatures. Most of the visual effects were created via stop-motion animation, with very few CGI methods used at all. It took the brothers two months to film, travelling to the ice fields on weekends and building thermal rigs to avoid freezing their cameras.
More: Read our review of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'
The Nguyen Brothers graduated from the University of the Nations: School of Digital Filmmaking in 2013 but have spent almost a decade producing a total of 25 short films. They released their first feature, 'Lord of the Rings' homage 'The Lord Of The Rules', in 2012 and have been the recipients of several awards including three at the Irva Film Festival and four Remi Awards at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival.
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