Experiencing Interruptions?

Man of La Mansion

Man of La Mansion is an 8 part web-series about Steve, a suburban dad in advertising who takes up screenwriting as a means of blunting his impending mid-life crisis. Told entirely in photographs, Man of La Mansion illustrates the the subjective mania of artistic aspiration, homeowning, parenthood, and the utter blindness particular to white male privilege.

  • Brian Padian
    Director
    The Black Sea (feature), Microaggressions (web-series)
  • Brian Padian
    Writer
    The Black Sea (feature), Microaggressions (web-series)
  • Brian Padian
    Producer
    The Black Sea (feature), Microaggressions (web-series)
  • Reginald K. Butters
    Key Cast
    "Steve"
  • Project Type:
    Web / New Media, Other
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    10 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    still photos
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Brian Padian

BRIAN PADIAN’s recent credits include the microbudget feature film THE BLACK SEA, two seasons of the webseries MICROAGGRESSIONS, and MAN OF LA MANSION, a webseries told entirely in still photos. He is presently in production on his second feature SISTER/BROTHER. Brian's work has played at Stareable Fest, SoCal Film Fest, Seattle True Independent, Blowup Chicago, Local Sightings, NYC Webfest, and many others. Upcoming projects for Brian as writer/director include the sci-fi series LOST LAKE, the horror/thriller DEVIL’S BEND, a short film CHILD CARE based on fiction by Margaret Malone, and a feature documentary about artmaking and survivorship called PAST THE SHATTERED DOOR. Winner of the 2022 Final Draft Fellowship for Stowe Story Labs, Brian is a Nicholl semi-finalist, Project Grant recipient from the Regional Arts + Culture Council, short-lister for the Moviemaker production grant, and former research assistant to screenwriter/producer Barbara Turner. Brian holds an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute, where he was awarded the Jack Oakie Memorial Scholarship for Comedic Screenwriting, and he studied filmmaking and theater arts at Humboldt State University. His films and screenplays all put focus on people learning to navigate situations and scenarios beyond their control. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Director Statement

This was inspired by the constrictions of Covid-19. Stuck at home with no idea how or when to ever return to set to finish my feature Sister/Brother (much less anything else) I began thinking of ways that I could make something with no resources. La Jetee never far from my mind, I considered making a project solely of photographs and voiceover. Eventually, the dollhouse my mom made many years ago in a carpentry class (and which she gifted to my kids complete with furniture and plastic malleable figurines) came to mind. One day I set up the dollhouse and some lights in the garage on our ping-pong table and took around 400 images, moving the figurines around the house randomly. I had no narrative or storyboards or even idea yet what it would be or even if it could be anything. A couple months later I began to review the images and cut them slowly together. A story formed around the man, who I named Steve and who I assigned the idealism and naiveté of a new screenwriter. Like me, he’s middle-aged, a parent, a white dude, and a little self-consumed. Unlike me, he is upper middle class, in advertising, and a bit of a dipshit. Once I had the storyline down, I wrote and recorded the voice-over, had my kids help with a painting for the title sequence and cut 8 episodes. It was very freeing to make this project - no paperwork, no payroll, no catering, no locations, no hassle, no production exhaustion, no crowdfunding, no grantwriting - though it came with baked-in limitations. World Premiered at Local Sightings Festival in September 2021, played at Stareable Fest in October 2021, NYC Webfest in November 2021, and Stareable LA in April 2022.