Experiencing Interruptions?

Punchline

An insecure dinner party host uses advanced technology to control the eventful night of his unsuspecting guests.

  • Andrew Lamping
    Director
    Wildlands, Sign Here
  • Andrew Lamping
    Writer
    Wildlands, Sign Here
  • Jeff Stolhand
    Producer
    They Never See It Coming, Seeking the Cafe Bob
  • Andrew Lamping
    Producer
    Wildlands, Sign Here
  • Ethan Fritz
    Producer
    The Water Bottle, Wildlands
  • Jeff Weber
    Key Cast
    "Arthur"
    His Stretch of Texas Ground, They Never See It Coming, Deadly Charter
  • Ian Loyd
    Key Cast
    "Connor"
    Super Therapy
  • Tricia Yudell
    Key Cast
    "Angie"
  • Rosemary McGraw
    Key Cast
    "Trisha"
    The Brazilian Connection
  • Stephen Bennett
    Composer
    Rain, Wildlands
  • Robert Wynne
    Director of Photography
    Serenity
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 10, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Andrew Lamping

Andrew Lamping is an award winning writer, music producer, and filmmaker best known for his work on YouTube where several of his videos have gone viral gaining millions of views. Most notably a film called “Crazy Killer Clown Kills Kids” which peaked at 1.2 million views before getting taken down during YouTube’s "adpocalypse." The found footage film capitalized on the crazed clown phase in 2017 and played to the internet’s gullibility much like the Blair Witch Project did to their audience. Growing up, Andrew always had a video camera in hand, apprenticing under filmmakers Steve Scoggans and Jeff Stolhand for a combined eight years. In 2021, Andrew graduated from Full Sail University with a Bachelor’s degree in digital cinematography along with working on projects like His Stretch of Texas Ground, Wildlands, Punchline, Sign Here and over twenty commercials where he oversaw its concept to completion. In addition, he was a semi-finalist in both the HCF Screenplay Competition and BAFF film festival for his original sports drama screenplay “Play Ball”. Andrew also wrote, directed, and edited the short film Wildlands, featuring talents Martin Dickinson (Go Go Buster on Netflix) and Patricia Vonne (Sin City and Spy Kids).

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Director Statement

Punchline is a story about insecurity and choice seen through the setting of a dinner party.

At its core, Punchline is everyone’s journey. A journey of deteriorating self confidence and the nightmare of forever trying to live up to certain expectations in front of peers.

I wanted to make this movie for many reasons. Firstly, I confronted the challenge of telling a story with only one principal location and very few actors. How broad, expansive, and detailed can this world be in such a small environment and in a bitesize amount of time? There is something unique about films that do this, whether it be in worlds like John Wick that allude to bigger tales or Harry Potter which always has a new avenue to explore. That’s why I chose to have the primary portion of this film be captured at a dinner table with four characters.

Secondly, I believe audiences want to be given the keys to a world and explore it on their own. No black and white rules, limits, and theories on what it all means. Let their own experiences reflect back at them while watching this film and decide what truly is real or purely… a simulation.