Ari Gold’s Helicopter is perhaps this year’s most honored short film. Having played more than 25 major film festivals, Helicopter has catapulted Gold to the forefront of emerging indie filmmakers. The most impressive thing about Helicopter is that it succeeds as a compelling drama — a far cry from today’s most popular short genre, the parody film.
What many don’t know is that Ari Gold is also an actor, having starred in the independent film Groove. After appearing in the film, he won the 2001 “Stoner of the Year” award from “High Times” magazine. His one-minute short film Culture received rave reviews when it premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival to spontaneous and sustained applause at every screening. The short actually inspired the production of opposition films in Yugoslavia. (A long story that is best heard from Ari himself.) He was quickly selected as one of “Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 Faces to Watch.” And to top it all off, Ari plays a mean ukalelee.
Check in with Gold as I try to get to the bottom of the story behind this year’s best short film…
Get the interview in part two of GOOD AS GOLD: AN ARI GOLD INTERVIEW>>>
