HollyShorts: The Replacement - Naz Khan & Mike McNamara Interview

Photo Credit: JBN Media

Named by New City as one of the top 50 people in Chicago's booming film industry, Mike McNamara is an actor and producer in independent film. Mike is also the co-founder and executive director of the Midwest Independent Film Festival and serves on the screening committees for the Sundance and Austin Film Festivals. Acting credits include Matt Casey's questionable brother-in-law Jim Jordan in the NBC series Chicago Fire and festival winners Qwerty, The Lake Effect and The Alley Cat. Producer credits include Cannes Film Festival 2017 selection They.

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Naz Khan is a Chicago based filmmaker with over a decade of experience in independent features, shorts, music videos and commercials. An SAIC alumni, she is a creative first, with a deep love for image design and an understanding of audience expectations. Naz’s latest production ‘The Replacement’ illustrates both her aesthetic flair and her approach to story-telling from an unconventional point-of-view. Over the years, her work on both international and domestic productions has developed her into an adaptive filmmaker. Having experienced American and Pakistani culture has allowed her to notice blind spots in society, compelling her to tell stories about the clash of values where we least expect to find them.
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THE REPLACEMENT
RT: 15 mins

On election night 2036, a janitor just watched his own clone become President. He feels cheated out of a life he might have lived and goes on a bender to seek justice. But having the same face as the most powerful man on the planet has its consequences...

The Replacement is a film about how the best of intentions can get us into places we didn't expect, and how some visions of progress can lead to the abandonment of many. The Replacement reflects this danger with a fanciful world of advanced clones that can out-perform their originals at everything. With their humanity making them the stars of a new social movement, the world quickly accepts all the progress they offer and elevates them to the top of society, with less and less for natural born humans.
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ABOUT THE WRITER/DIRECTOR
SEAN MILLER ― WRITER / DIRECTOR

Sean is drawn to stories that create new worlds and challenge audience perspectives. His latest film, The Replacement was inspired by an interest in technology outpacing society, and the idea that we each have many lives we could have chosen. His work on action / adventure shorts has given him a unique approach to filmmaking that allows for ambitious projects to be realized at a fraction of the professional price. A Columbia College Chicago graduate, he has produced and Assistant Directed over 40 short films, commercials, and music videos, working on brands such as Volkswagen, Budweiser, and Air National Guard.

Naz Khan and Mike McNamara on the Red Carpet with JBN Journalist, Americo Galli.

 Naz Khan and Mike McNamara on the Red Carpet at HollyShorts.

 Naz Khan and Mike McNamara at HollyShorts.

THE JBN TEAM INTERVIEW WITH NAZ KHAN AND MIKE MCNAMARA
JOURNALIST: AMERICO GALLI
LOCATION: HOLLYSHORTS, THE CHINESE THEATER, HOLLYWOOD, CA ― AUGUST 9TH - 18TH
INTERVIEW: AUGUST 10, 2018

HollyShorts takes place August 9-18, 2018 at the TCL Chinese Theater, Harmony Gold Theater and other locations in Hollywood. Nearly 400 short films will compete for the festival’s top prizes. Last year HollyShorts finalists included 3 out of the 5 Live Action Oscar nominees and the winning short Silent Child from Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton. This year, HollyShorts received an all-time record 5,000 submissions from over 80 countries. The competition will feature Live Action, Animation and Documentary Shorts as well as web series, student shorts, music videos, TV pilots, and VR. The festival also features a screenplay competition where the winning short gets greenlit, shot and shown at next year’s festival courtesy of Seattle Film Summit.

Video/Edit: James Vallesteros (@jamesvallesteros). Audio: Edward Chung.

ABOUT HOLLYSHORTS
HollyShorts Film Festival is an organization devoted to showcasing the best and brightest short films from around the globe, advancing the careers of filmmakers through screenings, networking events, and various panel and forums. The Oscar Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival showcases the top short films produced 40- minutes or less. Categories include Short Animation, Short Live Action, Short Documentary, Music Video, Webisode, Commercials, TV, and Digital Microbudget.

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