Since before they can remember, Philip Gunn, Daniel Gutierrez and David Valdez of Emptyv.org have made movies.
Valdez and Gunn grew up in Rio Rancho making short films and documenting everything with a camcorder. Gutierrez didn't meet the other two until later, but was also into film.
"When I was a kid, I always set up my video camera and a whole bunch of animation stuff," he said. "I was always animating my little Ninja Turtles and things like that."
Back then, the trio never guessed that someday their films would be released internationally on DVD.
Two of Emptyv.org's short films have just been released on "The Best of Troma Dance Film Festival: Volume 3." "Kung-Fu Kitties" is a half-animated ninja movie in which two cats fighting over food end up joining forces to fight another, fatter cat. "Marijuana's Revenge" parodies anti-drug commercials with the slogan "Propaganda: The Anti-Drug" recurring several times throughout.
The DVD is a compilation of the best films from the Troma Dance film festival in Park City, Utah, a festival referred to as the alternative to Sundance.
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The three filmmakers said they thoroughly enjoyed themselves at this year's festival. They stayed in a two-story condo with about 75 other people and slept wherever there was room.
"The parties raged on until about four or five o'clock in the morning, and I caught a bunch of people sleeping in the midst of the party," Gutierrez said.
They spent their time in Park City getting their names out. They handed out hundreds of DVDs and key chains. They introduced themselves to anyone with any status they saw, including Lloyd Kaufman, the creator of "The Toxic Avenger" and director of Troma Dance.
Even though the group's fame is rising, the trio still works regular day jobs. Gutierrez is a D.J. at Wild 106.3. Valdez is a projectionist in a Los Angeles theatre and worked in a Warner Bros. archive for a while. Gunn does freelance graphic design.
Along with making movies, the group works on other creative projects. They often print quality CDs and DVDs and screenprint T-shirts for local bands.
Gutierrez, Gunn and Valdez have set themselves a few goals. First, they want to be noticed at Troma Dance New Mexico in October. Their short-term goal is making a full-length feature sometime within the next year. They already have a script titled "Mormon Bachelor Party," but they want funding and guidance from Kaufman.
Their ultimate goal is to help others who are in the same boat as them. Eventually they plan to own their own film company.
