The Masked Villain of Sellwood

With echoes of Charlie Chaplin/Mary Pickford/Buster Keaton, and Our Gang … THE MASKED VILLAIN OF SELLWOOD slingshots silent movies into the 21st century!

It’s the height of the second industrial revolution. A genius boy’s broken home leads him to search for a mother’s affection. He invents an electronic device that alters parts of the brain responsible for love and memory. When Nora Flynn (The Bride) is kidnapped by the boy on her wedding day, it will take the bravery and nimble-wit of her young daughter — along with a bunch of little rascals — to save her.

Will these misfits rescue the bride before her memories are hijacked forever?

The film was produced by Ann Singer (executive director of the non-profit Rogue Pack which serves at-risk youth) and Randy Sean Schulman to give young people suffering from trauma an opportunity to express themselves. It is inspired by writings from 13-17 year olds in Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) custody.

Participants are kids of color, in foster care, formerly incarcerated, and those who have disabilities. Storytelling workshops allow these communities to be heard by the larger population, breaking down barriers of isolation, fostering understanding and acceptance.

Excerpts from the poetry written by teens in OYA were recorded by members of our cast and looped in over the end credit roll -- please watch/listen to the entire end credit sequence.

ALL MUSIC has been licensed and approved by the artist and/or label.

Thank you,
Randy Sean Schulman

  • Randy Sean Schulman
    Director
  • Randy Sean Schulman
    Writer
  • Ann Singer
    Producer
  • Randy Sean Schulman
    Producer
  • Raz Mostaghimi
    Key Cast
    "The Bride"
  • Sam Santner
    Key Cast
    "The Villain"
  • Lucy Lee Lamb
    Key Cast
    "The Daughter"
  • Randy Sean Schulman
    Key Cast
    "The Writer"
    Wild, Grimm, Cabin Fever, Cellar Door
  • Delcie Adams
    Key Cast
    "Mother of the Villain"
  • Kealan Fryer
    Key Cast
    "Young Villain"
  • Mladen Ocko
    Key Cast
    "Father of the Villain"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    39 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 21, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Randy Sean Schulman

Randy Sean Schulman (He/Him)

Randy's La Gioconda made its debut (2002) at Stages Theater Center in Los Angeles. The show, which ran for 17 weeks, received rave reviews from The Los Angeles Times, Backstage, and LA Weekly. In 2003, Randy was awarded several Ovation Awards for La Gioconda, including Best World Premiere (tying with August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean), Best Director, and Best Playwright. He went on to receive three Drama Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding World Premiere, Director and Actor. The Collective Theater Company, of which he was a founding member, won more than two dozen awards from his silent-style trilogy of plays: Infinity, La Gioconda, and Luminous Birch and the Splendor of the Colorless Light of Emptiness. From 2001 to 2004, the writer-director-actor was invited to teach, coach and mentor actors at Stages Theatre Center in L.A., founded by famed director, actor, and playwright: Paul Verdier.

In 2003, Randy directed the award-winning premiere of Jonna's Body, Please Hold at The Odyssey Theatre — a show that toured the U.S. and won several awards. In 2004, Cornerstone Theater Company — a leader in diversity and performance for more than 30 years in the L.A. arts community — commissioned Randy to teach acting to lower-income youth. And in 2005, producers at The Walt Disney Concert Hall commissioned Randy to perform his Tramp from La Gioconda in a duet with the L.A. Philharmonic — in seven sold out performances that captured the hearts of audiences young and old. At that time, he was the only actor in the history of the L.A. Philharmonic to be invited to perform onstage with the renown orchestra.

Randy was honored in 2006 with a United States Artist Fellowship Nomination. And in 2008, he served as guest director and producer at Greenway Arts Alliance. Since 2020, Randy has been teaching acting at the Portland non-profit theatre arts organization: Rogue Pack.

His recent co-starring film and television credits include Wild with Reese Witherspoon, Grimm, Cabin Fever, and Cellar Door with Laurence Fishburne (2024).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I wrote and directed THE MASKED VILLAIN OF SELLWOOD to give voice to disenfranchised teens who have been incarcerated and abandoned, who have suffered the trauma of domestic abuse, mental health instability, substance abuse, and being pitched around the juvenile justice system.

The main character in the film agonizes over the loss of his mother — she leaves him to an abusive father when he’s a child. He takes matters into his own hands.

Beyond that, however, one of the driving forces pushing this film was to show what can be accomplished creatively with a phone — to get kids (and adults) thinking ahead of their habitual scrolling on TikTok, Instagram, and whatever. According to Pew Research Center, “46% of parents say that children under the age of 12 using smartphones will hurt their ability to be creative.” And seven-in-ten parents believe kids using smartphones are damaging their propensity to learn effective social skills or develop healthy friendships.

It’s for that reason, I knew I had to make this film with the iPhone — to show people the magnitude (and power) of what can be achieved with this Star Trek-y piece in their hands — which most of us take for granted.

This was also an opportunity to bring community together just after the main thrusts of COVID, a time when we were — and still are — longing for connection. I want viewers to be excited by a visual experience they’ve never had before — and to shatter any expectations of what silent film should be.

It's ambitious. It's fast. It's fun.

On the surface THE MASKED VILLAIN OF SELLWOOD is a damsel in distress trope, a hero’s journey, dark vs. light, and so on — but with the short stories given to me by teens in Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) custody, it becomes something bigger, tackling how we can choose to accept our past so we’re not anchored by the pain of heartbreak. Confronting the storyteller within us — like these kids in OYA are attempting — becomes the foundation for change, and for how we can alter our own narrative, heal, and move forward.

Because I was working with more than a dozen kids in this film, I had to calendar out a 6-month shooting schedule — it was insane and a blast. We shot on train tracks, in 150-year-old homes, a late 19th century church, the attic of a 1905 community center, and crazily enough: Reed College, where Steve Jobs enrolled but never graduated from -- because, you know, the whole iPhone thing (insert smiley emoji right about now).

We were fortunate to receive funding for this film through two grants from Oregon-based organizations.

*Note: The quality of this uploaded screener is slightly reduced due to file size. Shot in 4K, a Pro Res file for large-scale projection is available.

Thank you,
Randy Sean Schulman
Writer/Director/Actor/Producer