Mom Dad Johnny little Zoe are going on a little trip…

June 9, 2013 4:49 PM

An excerpt from the short film 5000 Feet is Best by Omer Fast.

A story told in a documentary style, based upon interviews with military drone operators. There’s also a book with the script, and some of the interviews:

As a Predator Sensor Operator you’re always at the butt end for a lot of things. A lot of people just think, “Oh, you’re back there with the joystick playing video games. I mean, how hard can that be?” For fourty-eight hours straight! (laughs) Should be fun, no? I guess it is similar to playing a video game. But playing the same video game, four years straight, every single day, on the same level? (laughs) Gets kind of tiresome.

posted by ovvl (8 comments total)

I'm 100% certain you could do a movie about Afghanistan with the roles recast as "American patriots" and "foreign occupiers" on a completely one to one basis and clean up at the box office because $AMERICA
posted by dhartung at 5:16 PM on June 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Interesting. Thanks.

I like that main actor. He's in Michael Clayton and is quite good.
posted by dobbs at 6:23 PM on June 9, 2013

I'm 100% certain you could do a movie about Afghanistan with the roles recast as "American patriots" and "foreign occupiers" on a completely one to one basis and clean up at the box office because $AMERICA

Are you sure that isn't the old cliche about Americans that they believe everyone is just like them and correspondingly you don't have to learn anything about the world because it's just like some situation back home... WOLVERINES!

But why not roll with it, although I think you would have to drill down to the state level to make any sense. The movie would be called:

Gangbangers vs. Hillbillies.

Synopsis: Latino gangs are fighting a longstanding war against local cops in West Virginia. But, after a school shooting in a Texas school by a young transplant from Akron, Ohio, with family ties in West Virginia, the state of Texas sends in the "Rangers" in West Virginian on the side of their traditional enemy: latino gangs (the "Northern Alliance" was actually seen as a client of Russia before 9/11) defeats the small town sherriffs and helps the drug trade to flourish once again. But CUE 'squeal like a pig' (or if you like, the rape of afghani dancing boys), the hillbillies are strong with Jesus and fight back against the Texas Rangers and their drug running Mexican bully boys, now running the WV state police.

Now, who is the audience going to cheer for?
posted by ennui.bz at 10:32 PM on June 9, 2013

Now, who is the audience going to cheer for?

Nobody, because people would look at the ads, go "WTF?" and find something else to watch.

Real life doesn't translate into dramas all that well. Now, if you were to do a modification of Romeo and Juliet - the hillbilly daughter falling in love with the son of the head Latino, that might be worth watching.

Or maybe not. (Shrug.) Hard to tell any more...
posted by JB71 at 6:28 AM on June 10, 2013

dhartung: I'm 100% certain you could do a movie about Afghanistan with the roles recast as "American patriots" and "foreign occupiers" on a completely one to one basis and clean up at the box office because $AMERICA

So, just curious... do you have an agent?

Here's my card. Let's do lunch.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:28 AM on June 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

Omer Fast is a brilliant artist. I learned more about drone warfare from this video installation than I did from everything I've read on the topic.
posted by aunt_winnifred at 5:29 PM on June 10, 2013

So... How do I see the whole movie instead of just Vimeo's 10 minutes?
posted by surplus at 5:02 PM on June 11, 2013

It might be difficult to find a way of viewing of the entire film at this point in time, but this might change in the future. The 30 minute version has been presented as a continuous loop in screenings in art galleries exhibiting Fast's work, and I saw it at The Power Plant in Toronto last year.

The 10 minute excerpt on Vimeo has the most interesting scenes from the film included, in my opinion. But what I find interesting does not apply to all.
posted by ovvl at 4:23 PM on June 13, 2013