Experiencing Interruptions?

NO SIGNAL

NO SIGNAL - 04:59 David Ellis, Filmmaker/director
FamilyCat Productions Released 2016.
Awarded for Experimental Short at the Prague Independent Film Festival and Honorable Mention at the US Super-8 and Digital Film Festival.

Dedicated to the invisible and the forgotten, NO SIGNAL is as much a metaphor as it is a narrative about about what we do see and what we choose not to see. In the words of Sherlock Holmes - “ I see no more than you but I have trained myself to notice what I see.” With poetic sensibility and contemplation replacing traditional storytelling in this experimental work, the interplay of image, sound and atmosphere leaves the viewer to create their own narrative by searching their imagination and personal experiences to find meaning. It is a look at passage of time, separation and connection, and at the thin line between the objective and the subjective, and between narrative and poetry.

Shot on Super-8 film and iPhone Super-8 apps and crafted with avant-garde, cubist and Russian Suprematist influences, NO SIGNAL is superbly complemented by the electronic music of Warsaw’s Bartosz Dziadosz (Pleq&Hakobune).
https://pleq.bandcamp.com/album/adrift

All Rights Reserved by David Ellis & FamilyCat Productions. Contact: davidellisimages@gmail.com

Director's Note:

At the time of filming, this work was created with the idea of pure observation, pure art with no agenda, as a watching of humanity and the recording of random snippets of life pulled from its continuum. Upon examination, however, the images here begin to reveal some deeper implications and meanings, becoming a metaphor about really seeing, looking deeper, about hope and belief, and whether they seem relevant as things in life are taken for granted. But, will hope and belief provide when what is taken for granted is stripped away? Is choosing not to see indicative of deeper events in our psyche?

  • David Ellis
    Director
    2023 - JÁ FEST International Poetry Film Competition - Lisbon - Long Departure 2022 - AIDFF Athens Int. Digital Film Festival -Long Departure 2021 - OneTakeFilmFestival,Zagreb, Croatia 2021 - Suspaustas Laikas, Vilnius, LT - NO SIGNAL 2019 - New Filmmakers NY - Lamentation For Lost Dreams - 3 Études 2018 - VIFF Vienna Independent Film Festival - Lamentation For Lost Dreams 2018 - SENE Film Festival - Providence, RI - Time Retrograde 2017 - SENE Film Festival - Providence, RI - Long Departure 2017 - Open Air Film Festival, Minsk, Belarus - Long Departure 2017 - London International Short Film Festival - Time Retrograde 2017 - Girona Film Festival,SP - Time Retrograde 2017 - Prague Independent Film Festival - Time Retrograde - Best Experimental Film 2017 - Vienna Independent Film Festival - Long Departure & Time-Retrograde 2017 - US Super8 Film & Video Festival - Long Departure - Winner Best Film 2016 - PIFF Prague Independent Film Festival - NO SIGNAL - Best Experimental Short 2016 - Boston Short Film Festival, MA - Long Departure - Winner Best Experimental Short 2016 - Dallas VideoFest, Dallas, TX - Long Departure 2016 - VIDEOMEDEJA, Novi Sad, Serbia - Long Departure 2016 - Cannes Short Film Festival, Nice, FR- NO SIGNAL 2016 - Blow-Up Arthouse Film Festival, Chicago - UHF 2016 - Experimental Superstars Film Festival, Novi Sad,Serbia - XdubX 2016 - SENE Film Festival, Providence,RI,USA - NO SIGNAL - Audience Award 2016 - U.S. Super 8 Film & Video Festival - NO SIGNAL - Honorable Mention 2016 - Manchester International Film Festival,UK - XdubX 2015 - 401 Film Festival, Providence, RI - UHF 2015 - New Jersey International Film Festival - U H F- Honorable Mention 2015 - Festival Parachute Light Zero, Paris, France - U H F 2015 - HANGAR Centre de Producció, Barcelona,SP - Solo screening 2014 - LIVEMEDIA- Webcast interview & screening - Palabras Perdidas - Barcelona, SP 2014 - HANGAR Centre de Producció, Barcelona - Awarded 3 month filmmaker residency. 2014 - VIDEOFORMES International Digital Film Festival,Clermont-Ferrand, FR - U H F 2013 - RhodyWood Indie Film Makers, Providence, RI 2012 - Gallery Eva, Provincetown, MA. - Selected Shorts 2012 - Indie Fest, La Jolla, CA. Award of Merit - FLASH-FILMS 2012 - Atlanta Shorts Fest, Atlanta GA. - FLASH-FILMS 2012 - Oak Cliff Film Festival, Dallas TX. - FLASH-FILMS 2011 - Provincetown Int. Film Festival, US - NEON 2010 - BAC-11 Festival, Barcelona, Spain - NEON 2010 - DNA Gallery, Provincetown, MA - FLASH-FILMS
  • david ellis
    Writer
    2023 - JÁ FEST International Poetry Film Competition - Lisbon - Long Departure 2022 - AIDFF Athens Int. Digital Film Festival -Long Departure 2021 - OneTakeFilmFestival,Zagreb, Croatia 2021 - Suspaustas Laikas, Vilnius, LT - NO SIGNAL 2019 - New Filmmakers NY - Lamentation For Lost Dreams - 3 Études 2018 - VIFF Vienna Independent Film Festival - Lamentation For Lost Dreams 2018 - SENE Film Festival - Providence, RI - Time Retrograde 2017 - SENE Film Festival - Providence, RI - Long Departure 2017 - Open Air Film Festival, Minsk, Belarus - Long Departure 2017 - London International Short Film Festival - Time Retrograde 2017 - Girona Film Festival,SP - Time Retrograde 2017 - Prague Independent Film Festival - Time Retrograde - Best Experimental Film 2017 - Vienna Independent Film Festival - Long Departure & Time-Retrograde 2017 - US Super8 Film & Video Festival - Long Departure - Winner Best Film 2016 - PIFF Prague Independent Film Festival - NO SIGNAL - Best Experimental Short 2016 - Boston Short Film Festival, MA - Long Departure - Winner Best Experimental Short 2016 - Dallas VideoFest, Dallas, TX - Long Departure 2016 - VIDEOMEDEJA, Novi Sad, Serbia - Long Departure 2016 - Cannes Short Film Festival, Nice, FR- NO SIGNAL 2016 - Blow-Up Arthouse Film Festival, Chicago - UHF 2016 - Experimental Superstars Film Festival, Novi Sad,Serbia - XdubX 2016 - SENE Film Festival, Providence,RI,USA - NO SIGNAL - Audience Award 2016 - U.S. Super 8 Film & Video Festival - NO SIGNAL - Honorable Mention 2016 - Manchester International Film Festival,UK - XdubX 2015 - 401 Film Festival, Providence, RI - UHF 2015 - New Jersey International Film Festival - U H F- Honorable Mention 2015 - Festival Parachute Light Zero, Paris, France - U H F 2015 - HANGAR Centre de Producció, Barcelona,SP - Solo screening 2014 - LIVEMEDIA- Webcast interview & screening - Palabras Perdidas - Barcelona, SP 2014 - HANGAR Centre de Producció, Barcelona - Awarded 3 month filmmaker residency. 2014 - VIDEOFORMES International Digital Film Festival,Clermont-Ferrand, FR - U H F 2013 - RhodyWood Indie Film Makers, Providence, RI 2012 - Gallery Eva, Provincetown, MA. - Selected Shorts 2012 - Indie Fest, La Jolla, CA. Award of Merit - FLASH-FILMS 2012 - Atlanta Shorts Fest, Atlanta GA. - FLASH-FILMS 2012 - Oak Cliff Film Festival, Dallas TX. - FLASH-FILMS 2011 - Provincetown Int. Film Festival, US - NEON 2010 - BAC-11 Festival, Barcelona, Spain - NEON 2010 - DNA Gallery, Provincetown, MA - FLASH-FILMS
  • david ellis
    Producer
    2023 - JÁ FEST International Poetry Film Competition - Lisbon - Long Departure 2022 - AIDFF Athens Int. Digital Film Festival -Long Departure 2021 - OneTakeFilmFestival,Zagreb, Croatia 2021 - Suspaustas Laikas, Vilnius, LT - NO SIGNAL 2019 - New Filmmakers NY - Lamentation For Lost Dreams - 3 Études 2018 - VIFF Vienna Independent Film Festival - Lamentation For Lost Dreams 2018 - SENE Film Festival - Providence, RI - Time Retrograde 2017 - SENE Film Festival - Providence, RI - Long Departure 2017 - Open Air Film Festival, Minsk, Belarus - Long Departure 2017 - London International Short Film Festival - Time Retrograde 2017 - Girona Film Festival,SP - Time Retrograde 2017 - Prague Independent Film Festival - Time Retrograde - Best Experimental Film 2017 - Vienna Independent Film Festival - Long Departure & Time-Retrograde 2017 - US Super8 Film & Video Festival - Long Departure - Winner Best Film 2016 - PIFF Prague Independent Film Festival - NO SIGNAL - Best Experimental Short 2016 - Boston Short Film Festival, MA - Long Departure - Winner Best Experimental Short 2016 - Dallas VideoFest, Dallas, TX - Long Departure 2016 - VIDEOMEDEJA, Novi Sad, Serbia - Long Departure 2016 - Cannes Short Film Festival, Nice, FR- NO SIGNAL 2016 - Blow-Up Arthouse Film Festival, Chicago - UHF 2016 - Experimental Superstars Film Festival, Novi Sad,Serbia - XdubX 2016 - SENE Film Festival, Providence,RI,USA - NO SIGNAL - Audience Award 2016 - U.S. Super 8 Film & Video Festival - NO SIGNAL - Honorable Mention 2016 - Manchester International Film Festival,UK - XdubX 2015 - 401 Film Festival, Providence, RI - UHF 2015 - New Jersey International Film Festival - U H F- Honorable Mention 2015 - Festival Parachute Light Zero, Paris, France - U H F 2015 - HANGAR Centre de Producció, Barcelona,SP - Solo screening 2014 - LIVEMEDIA- Webcast interview & screening - Palabras Perdidas - Barcelona, SP 2014 - HANGAR Centre de Producció, Barcelona - Awarded 3 month filmmaker residency. 2014 - VIDEOFORMES International Digital Film Festival,Clermont-Ferrand, FR - U H F 2013 - RhodyWood Indie Film Makers, Providence, RI 2012 - Gallery Eva, Provincetown, MA. - Selected Shorts 2012 - Indie Fest, La Jolla, CA. Award of Merit - FLASH-FILMS 2012 - Atlanta Shorts Fest, Atlanta GA. - FLASH-FILMS 2012 - Oak Cliff Film Festival, Dallas TX. - FLASH-FILMS 2011 - Provincetown Int. Film Festival, US - NEON 2010 - BAC-11 Festival, Barcelona, Spain - NEON 2010 - DNA Gallery, Provincetown, MA - FLASH-FILMS
  • david ellis
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Other
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 29, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    France
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Super8 and iPhone Super8 apps
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 2016 Prague Independent Film Festival - Winner Best Experimental Film
    Prague
    Czech Republic
    August 15, 2016
    EU Premiere
    Winner Best Experimental Film
  • 2016 US Super 8 & Digital Film Festival - Honorable Mention - Rutgers University
    New Brunswick, NJ
    United States
    February 20, 2016
    North American Premiere
    Honorable Mention
  • 2016 SENE Film Festival, Providence, RI, USA - Audience Award for Experimental Film
    Providence, Rhode Island
    United States
    April 20, 2016
    Audience Award - Experimental Films
  • 2016 Cannes Short Film Festival
    Nice
    France
    September 17, 2016
    French Premiere
Distribution Information
  • David Ellis - Familycat Productions
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - David Ellis

BRIEF BIO
DAVID ELLIS is an accomplished international film-maker and photographer who has been exploring alternative image capture for the last 15 years. His current experimental work explores alternative and analog techniques such as super8 film, use of expired film stock, pinhole still and video photography, Polaroid and self-fabricated hybrid cameras, vintage box cameras and experimental cell phone video. Self taught as a film maker and photographer, his films screen internationally and he has been the recipient of various grants and awards including the Indie Fest Award of Merit, La Jolla, CA; the National Endowment for the Arts; University of Texas Hogg Foundation; the State of New Mexico AIPP; and the City of Austin, TX. He has exhibited extensively, and his work is held in many public, private, corporate and notable museum collections, including the Getty Collection, Los Angeles, the City of Austin, TX, the State of New Mexico, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Mexico City, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Patzcuaro, Mexico and he was selected for induction to the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Artists, Washington DC. He also attended the University of Mexico San Carlos National Academy of Fine Arts (UNAM) and the Art Institute of Boston, and was especially influenced early on as an assistant to notable fashion designer Charles James in the Chelsea Hotel, NYC while working on James’ Sound of Shape and Design Project. He has taught photography at Rhode Island School of Design, lectured and conducted workshops at numerous locations including Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill on Cape Cod, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, AS220 Providence RI, and the Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA. In 2014, he was awarded a three month international residency for film making at Hangar Centre de Producció, Barcelona, Spain.

DAVID ELLIS
Selected Film Festivals

2023 - JÁ FEST International Poetry Film Competition - Lisbon - Long Departure
2022 - AIDFF Athens Int. Digital Film Festival -Long Departure
2021 - OneTakeFilmFestival,Zagreb, Croatia
2021 - Suspaustas Laikas, Vilnius, LT - NO SIGNAL
2019 - New Filmmakers NY - Lamentation For Lost Dreams - 3 Études
2018 - VIFF Vienna Independent Film Festival - Lamentation For Lost Dreams
2018 - SENE Film Festival - Providence, RI - Time Retrograde
2017 - SENE Film Festival - Providence, RI - Long Departure
2017 - Open Air Film Festival, Minsk, Belarus - Long Departure
2017 - London International Short Film Festival - Time Retrograde
2017 - Girona Film Festival,SP - Time Retrograde
2017 - Prague Independent Film Festival - Time Retrograde - Best Experimental Film
2017 - Vienna Independent Film Festival - Long Departure & Time-Retrograde
2017 - US Super8 Film & Video Festival - Long Departure - Winner Best Film
2016 - PIFF Prague Independent Film Festival - NO SIGNAL - Best Experimental Short
2016 - Boston Short Film Festival, MA - Long Departure - Winner Best Experimental Short
2016 - Dallas VideoFest, Dallas, TX - Long Departure
2016 - VIDEOMEDEJA, Novi Sad, Serbia - Long Departure
2016 - Cannes Short Film Festival, Nice, FR- NO SIGNAL
2016 - Blow-Up Arthouse Film Festival, Chicago - UHF
2016 - Experimental Superstars Film Festival, Novi Sad,Serbia - XdubX
2016 - SENE Film Festival, Providence,RI,USA - NO SIGNAL - Audience Award
2016 - U.S. Super 8 Film & Video Festival - NO SIGNAL - Honorable Mention
2016 - Manchester International Film Festival,UK - XdubX
2015 - 401 Film Festival, Providence, RI - UHF
2015 - New Jersey International Film Festival - U H F- Honorable Mention
2015 - Festival Parachute Light Zero, Paris, France - U H F
2015 - HANGAR Centre de Producció, Barcelona,SP - Solo screening
2014 - LIVEMEDIA- Webcast interview & screening - Palabras Perdidas - Barcelona, SP
2014 - HANGAR Centre de Producció, Barcelona - Awarded 3 month filmmaker residency.
2014 - VIDEOFORMES International Digital Film Festival,Clermont-Ferrand, FR - U H F
2013 - RhodyWood Indie Film Makers, Providence, RI
2012 - Gallery Eva, Provincetown, MA. - Selected Shorts
2012 - Indie Fest, La Jolla, CA. Award of Merit - FLASH-FILMS -Three Video Shorts
2012 - Atlanta Shorts Fest, Atlanta GA. - FLASH-FILMS
2012 - Oak Cliff Film Festival, Dallas TX. - FLASH-FILMS - Three Video Shorts
2011 - Provincetown Int. Film Festival, US - NEON
2010 - BAC-11 Festival, Barcelona, Spain - NEON
2010 - DNA Gallery, Provincetown, MA - FLASH-FILMS - Three Video Shorts

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I see film and photography as artifacts, records of experiences where, the process of recording the moment is at-the-same-time the creation of the moment. This process is the documentation of my presence in the experience as much as it is of the image that is recorded. My current work is non-narrative, has its own voice and speaks to each viewer individually. I feel that the experience of the viewer viewing IS the narrative as is my experience with the subject and the creation of the work. With my background being experimental photography using pinhole cameras, Polaroid, box cameras and a variety of hybrid home made cameras, the exploration of pinhole, low-res and computer generated video came as a natural progression. I started with the cheapest "off -the-shelf" Wal-Mart digital web-cam (at $18 dollars) and soon moved up to cheap throwaway video cameras purchased at a local (CVS) pharmacy that I adapted to shoot as pinhole. Lens-cap pinhole Mini-DV High8 videos then followed. The very first were lit using only a flashlight (Voyeur, 2006) employing vintage anonymous snapshots as subjects to zoom in on as if they were actors and sets and (Glamour Girl, 2007). Soon, I began creating short-short clips of ordinary subjects that would have been great just as still images. I named these short works Flash-Films as a nod to the literary genre "flash-fiction".
In the experimental videos that followed, I began exploring the breaking down of the image into its most basic digital elements. Layers of effects are added with random imperfections and glitches welcomed as further enhancements. The videos often have a dreamy "noire" feeling, much like that of early 20th century avant-garde films, and sometimes are merely glimpses into the "essence" of a moment. These works are fascinating cyber explorations into the exciting and uncharted fringes of new 21st century filmmaking. While created with much different technology and tools, they are, at heart, still embodied with the same spirit as those flickering, grainy black and white experimental films that were so passionately created in the beginning of the 20th century. Current projects explore shooting in Super8 film, the usage of out-of-date films, and shooting with vintage forgotten cameras. My projects are a continuation of my fascination with the mono-no-aware sentiment in the obsolete and the abandoned - qualities inherent to analog processes. For me, the excitement is in discovery, process and exploration. In the end, it is the journey and not the destination that really matters.
Contact: davidellisimages@gmail.com