Talking About the Weather (found short film; 1994)
Cropped version of an image used to promote the film in the November 4, 1994 issue of The Bay Area Reporter.
Status: Found
Date found: 13 September 2017
Found by: LoneWolfMoonlight, senshisun, eletrikfiyed, RikIsMajorDrama
Talking About the Weather is a short film made in 1994. After an initial showing at the Film Arts Festival in San Francisco, California, it was considered lost. The short was cataloged on many websites about movies, including IMDB, but information about it was scarce or inaccurate. It was uploaded in its entirety to YouTube on September 13, 2017.
Plot
Two unnamed men meet at a train station after the April 1993 Rally in Washington, DC. They talk casually about the march, and the man in the button-down shirt (Rikkard Olafson) starts to flirt with the boy in the t-shirt (Carlo D’Amore). The conversation takes a more serious turn when the man asks the boy if he’s positive. The man reveals he just got his HIV results, and he is positive.
To lighten the conversation, they change the topic to San Francisco, which is described as a beautiful city with a large LGBT community. The boy talks about the gray skies, but the man can’t keep his mind off his diagnosis. When the boy’s train arrives, the man helps him leave. The boy kisses the man before getting on the train. He is seated next to another man who starts hitting on him, implying that the story is not over.
Loss
The Bay Area Reporter reported on the short as a part of their coverage of the 10th Annual Film Arts Festival. Reporter Paul Bollwinkel called it a “modest, well acted 11 minute slice of life.” [1994] A still from the film was used to promote the festival.
Some information about the film was released on the Internet. It was cataloged by various online movie databases, but over time, mistakes were made, and misinformation started to spread. This lead to reports that rock star Joan Jett was involved with the project. As everybody associated with the production had moved on, and it was technologically impossible to put the movie on the Internet, nobody could verify what information was correct.
Discovery and Release
On June 7, 2017, Lost Media Wiki user eletrikfiyed posted that he was curious about the film, believing it had starred Joan Jett. Users LoneWolf Moonlight and senshisun started to research it, but initially found little. The discovery of a YouTube video [www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlo2mlM85J4] that appeared to have clips from the film helped lead the researchers to Olafson, now going by Rik. [1] He had a copy of the film, which he digitized. He asked to get permission from the producers, Bob Smith and Carl Forest Sandler, before he would release the film. The producers gave their permission on September 13, 2017, and the film was uploaded later that day.
Gallery
References
1. Paul Bollwinkel. Film Arts Festival '94 Highs and Lows. The Bay Area Reporter. November 4, 1994, page unknown. Print.
2. "Party Monsters, Freaks, & Creeps". Youtube, uploaded by RikIsMajorDrama. December 22, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
3. @RikMadDrag. "I was in that film - my name is Rik". Twitter, June 16, 2017, 9:30 p.m. Retrieved September 13, 2017.