do you see anything on my head?

the answer is no. know why? because my hat is off to jesus beltran, writer-director of the grass grows green.

hearing about a successful* filmmaker with a background in engineering is even more exciting than hearing about one from ohio. a lot more exciting, really. none of us choose where we’re born, but engineering to film is a strange path. so i like knowing that mike judge did a little cube time before getting into animation, or that primer’s working-in-the-garage scenes felt right because director shane carruth has been there.

still, is anyone truly surprised to hear that the creator of beavis & butthead was an engineer? in some ways it would be surprising if he wasn’t.

but there’s not a hint of the geek world in jesus beltran’s the grass grows green, a simple, elegant, character-driven short. the film (available on iTunes) does the seemingly impossible, taking on the most political of subjects without falling into any of the usual “political film” traps.

catch a great interview with beltran on the new blog PrizeWriter.



* successful, adj. having finished a film of any length that i personally liked.