Need For Speed

Three girls drive around Hollywood without paying much attention to the road.

  • Christian Meola
    Director
  • Christian Meola
    Writer
  • Heather Cunningham
    Key Cast
  • Savannah Wong
    Key Cast
  • Olivia Crews
    Key Cast
  • Nicola Newton
    Cinematographer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    experimental, comedy
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 12 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 25, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • NoBudge
Distribution Information
  • NoBudge
    Country: United States
    Rights: Internet
Director Biography - Christian Meola

Christian Meola is a writer/director from Albany, New York.

Christian's work focuses on marginalized characters who search for grace and happiness under the weight of social constructs, as well as privileged elitists who undergo spiritual transformations. He's also interested in contemporary American life and our relationship to social media and technology.

In 2015 Christian wrote, produced, and directed "Kiki on a Bad Day" which screened at festivals such as the Mindfield Festival in Los Angeles and The New York State International Film Festival. His film Wild Nights is in festivals, and his short Violence is in post-production.

Christian curates a monthly screening called Midnight Movie, in which experimental filmmakers are invited to screen their work. He also makes work online with his collective Troupe4606.

Christian is passionate about the arts and is currently working on developing an online art space for young filmmakers and artists to show their work. Christian is also a film/theatre production teacher, and has worked with several theatre institutions and California's Youth Policy Institute to create enriching arts based programs.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The image of young women joyously driving through Hollywood in a convertible is an American tradition. It is upheld in music videos, commercials, ads, and films as an attempt to glorify the young, rich and famous and maintain Hollywood's magical image. Too often I see young people trying to replicate this image in reality. I'll be stuck in traffic wishing I didn't have to go to work and a mustang with five girls packed in it will fly past me. These people are always having the time of their lives, recording every minute of their trip on their phones. I'm always fascinated because it never seems authentic. It's as if these people and many others in Los Angeles are trying maintain a lifestyle that's contrived from the movies. In this way these encounters are always surreal experiences: How are they taking this seriously? Aren't they worried they're going to get hurt?

In 2016 Snapchat introduced the controversial speed filter, which became the cause of many road accidents and deaths. What made this significantly disturbing was that people could record the moment before a life-shattering accident, in contrast to the people who document their glamorous cruises down Hollywood Boulevard. Those that text and drive, and those that perform this Hollywood convertible cruise image assume that they're safe, and that they won't become one of the media's tragically familiar stories. They buy into a contrived fantasy but disbelieve the potential of a tragic reality. This contradiction between fantasy and reality was my main inspiration for Need For Speed.