Private Project

The Boondogglers

After the Civil War, three young bounty hunters reluctantly band together in search of a murderer.

  • Garrett Elmer
    Director
  • Garrett Elmer
    Writer
  • Garrett Elmer
    Editor
  • Edward Casto
    Key Cast
  • Maxim Chumov
    Key Cast
  • Ron Ford
    Key Cast
  • Adam Gaulke
    Key Cast
  • Trevor Rau
    Key Cast
  • Benjamin Thompson
    Director of Photography
  • Kendra Ann Sherrill
    Assistant Director
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 8, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    950 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:
    Yes
  • Seattle Transmedia & International Film Festival
    Seattle, WA
    United States
    Best Short Narrative Film
Director Biography - Garrett Elmer

Garrett Elmer has hungered for storytelling and filmmaking since the age of 10 when he filmed his first short on VHS. In high school his peers would turn to him if a teacher permitted film as homework. Ever since he’s been shooting short narrative and documentary films. In 2012 he was awarded the Twitter Award for his 50 Hour Slam competition entry Rodentia (2012) and has gone on to be a finalist for three more years. He recently graduated Eastern Washington University with a BA in Film Studies and plans on moving to LA for filmmaking. This past summer he directed a music video for Seattle electronic artist Sleepwalk City and began writing his second feature screenplay.

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Director Statement

I’ve always loved westerns and felt that filmmakers of my age look at it as archaic and irrelevant. I find this train of thought very disappointing. The genre is and has always been the most American of all, probing into our traditions and society with the aesthetic of a mythology. Furthermore, the revisionist era of the genre during the 60s and 70s is completely neglected in discussions today. I wanted to approach the genre with a similar sense of social critique and a modern sensibility in the young characters. The film reflects masculinity and self-gain as how I see it today and how it may be similar to the late-19th century. Not only did I want to experiment with genre and story, I wanted to challenge myself with the production. Westerns are period pieces and The Boondogglers pushed me to be creative in budgeting and finding how to make the most lavish student film with little means. I learned a lot from this experience, and I believe it shows in the final product.