A New Poster for THE BROKEN TABLE...

Just thought I'd share this new poster for my 2020 short film, The Broken Table!

There are no plans to submit my project to any more film festivals or even shoot a sequel (considering the fact that I have no screenplay for one, and my lead actress, MJ, has been residing in her home country of Saudi Arabia since 2020), but I just wanted to use the latest wonders of technology to create new material for the film. Yes, I'm referring to ChatGPT.

Anyways, creating new posters for cinematic work that I did over half a decade ago isn't the only thing I used AI for. More illustrations to come later. Happy Monday!


Richard T. Par

Photos of the Day: Snapshots from THE MANDALORIAN's Panel at PaleyFest LA...

Happy April Fool's Day, everyone! Just thought I'd share these pictures that I took during Day 1 of PaleyFest LA...which was held at the Dolby Theatre (home to the Academy Awards) in Hollywood last night.

It was on Day 1 that a panel for The Mandalorian was held...right after the latest episode (Chapter 21—"The Pirate") was screened. In attendance at the panel were The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau, Lucasfilm executive Dave Filoni, director Rick Famuyiwa and stars Pedro Pascal (who plays the Mandalorian himself, Din Djarin) and Katee Sackhoff (who portrays Bo-Katan Kryze).

There were no juicy tidbits revealed in terms of where Season 3 of The Mandalorian was headed, nor info about other Star Wars Disney+ shows currently being filmed or in post-production, but it was great to see the cast and crew behind one of the most popular Star Wars shows ever in person.

There are only three episodes left in Season 3— Can't wait to see what kind of cliffhanger it will end with! Even though Season 4 probably won't premiere till late 2024 or early 2025...

And yes, that is my director's cap for my short film The Broken Table which I'm wearing in the photos below! Carry on.

Photos of the Day: L.A.'s Newest Bridge...

Richard Par

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Just thought I'd end 2022 by sharing these images that I shot of Los Angeles' newest bridge, the Sixth Street Viaduct, a few months ago.

The Sixth Street Viaduct, which opened to the public last summer, is a replacement for the Sixth Street Bridge that opened in 1932 and was demolished in 2016. The newest roadway opened on July 9.

I took these photos with my Google Pixel 4A smartphone on September 11, when I was working at a Los Angeles locale that was right next to this architectural beauty. I don't know when's the next time I'll visit this viaduct, so I figured I'll drive through it on the way home that day.

As shown at the bottom of this entry, I also shot a brief clip as I cruised along the Sixth Street Bridge...and decided to turn it into a short video that I edited through Lightworks, with music courtesy of YouTube's audio library.

Hey— I don't know when's the next time I'll shoot an actual short film like The Broken Table, and piece it together on my laptop, so I should might as well use this opportunity to keep my video editing skills from getting rusty!

Have a safe and happy New Year.


Richard Par


Richard Par


Richard Par


Richard Par


Richard Par


Richard Par


Richard Par

On This Day in 1997: I Earned the Right to Cruise the Road!

It was 25 years ago today that I passed my driving test at the Pomona DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles, for y'all non-Yanks reading this entry)! Obviously, I was totally excited considering the fact that this was my third attempt since my first exam in August of 1996.

Had I passed my driving test in the summer of Independence Day, I would've watched that sci-fi mega blockbuster at least two or three more times at the theater!

(Thinking more about it, I think August of 1996 was when I had my second driving test. Whatever. Either way, I would've watched ID4 at the multiplex as many times as I did the new Star Wars movies and Batman flicks like The Dark Knight if I had my license...and was able to borrow the family car.)

But I passed my driving test in the fall of 1997...during the first semester of my senior year in high school. That was definitely a memorable time for me.

Today also marks 20 years since I shot my student film version of The Broken Table! Click here for more details.

Gettin' Closure on LOVE...

Yesterday, I finally binge-watched the third and last season of the Netflix series LOVE.

Needless to say, I enjoyed it very much! It was a satisfying conclusion to the story of Mickey and Gus.

Along with the fact that I thought it was a nice touch that Mickey Dobbs (Gillian Jacobs) and Gus Cruikshank (Paul Rust) tied the knot at Catalina Island (yes, this episode was shot on location at California's famous off-shore tourist destination), as opposed to eloping in Las Vegas, I also thought it was cool that my lead actress from my short film Envious had a guest role in one of the episodes!

Congrats to Sheena Chou—who played Jeanine on Envious—for her role as Patty in episode 3.8: Stunt Show. Happy Hump Day!

Here's the poster for my short film "Envious." Awesome work on #LOVEonNetflix, Sheena! 😄https://t.co/7qil4QynDP#ShortFilm #Filmmaking pic.twitter.com/bT6MGqUZEx

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) September 14, 2022

I remember being this pissed on one of my student film shoots back in the day... 😆

(Not #BrokenTableFilm, FYI)#LOVEonNetflix #filmmaking pic.twitter.com/ZSLM9j7aL0

— Richard Par (@RichTPar) September 14, 2022

It's a Wrap on THE BROKEN TABLE!

With the final event that it was an Official Selection in (the Doge Film Festival, which occurred in New York City one week ago today) now in the books, it's safe to say that The Broken Table's festival run is now at an end!

Much thanks to the 31 film festivals that made The Broken Table an Official Selection and Award Winner. This wouldn't have been possible without the wonderful cast and crew members who made this project happen!

I look forward to my next cinematic project—whatever that will be. Stay tuned!

THE BROKEN TABLE Is An Official Selection At The DOGE FILM FESTIVAL!

I'm so thrilled to announce that my short film The Broken Table is headed to another screening event...this time the Doge Film Festival! In case you're wondering, this festival is indeed named after the meme coin made famous by such celebrities as Elon Musk and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

The Doge Film Festival is an online event that is based in New York City. The winner of this competition, which is scheduled to occur on June 30, will supposedly be awarded with Dogecoins!

All I can say is— I'll totally submit The Broken Table to a Shiba Inu Film Festival or Saitama Film Festival if these tokens sponsored such an event! But not an Ethereum Film Festival; I wouldn't be surprised if the submission fee and tickets to this event were as ridiculously expensive as the Ethereum gas fees you pay when you purchase Shiba Inu, Saitama or other coins like SHINJA directly on this blockchain.

Happy Tuesday!

Links of the Day: My Buddy MJ Will Help You Gain a Deeper Insight Into the Cycle of Life...

Good evening, folks! Just thought I'd share these links to help out Majdolene 'MJ' Abualfaraj, my very gifted actress from my short film The Broken Table.

Along with being a very gifted actress, Majdolene is also an awesome artist who'll draw any character for you (or of you), courtesy of her website listed here.

Along with being a very gifted actress and an awesome artist, Majdolene is also very passionate about astrology and will do a tarot card reading for you at the starting rate of $10! You can visit her website for general readings here.

Personally speaking, you should definitely seek a general reading from Majdolene. She was born in early February, which makes her an Aquarius. An Aquarius born in the Age of Aquarius? Well that makes MJ a starseed!

Contact MJ now and she can give you a really deep insight into the Age of Aquarius, as well as past eras like the Age of Pisces and future astrological periods as the Age of Capricorn!

According to MJ, the Age of Pisces began to transition into that of Aquarius two years ago—which would explain the COVID-19 pandemic, upheaval during the 2020 presidential election, the major rise of cryptocurrency, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Dodgers winning world championships within two weeks of each other that year... Well okay, maybe not that last part.

But yea, things are going to get so much more intense for the world in the near future (and I'm not just talking about that Russian madman Putin invading Ukraine) thanks to Aquarius, and Majdolene has the foresight to tell you all about them if you get a general reading from her. So contact her now!

Carry on.


Majdolene Abualfaraj

The Force Is Strong With This Tamagotchi...

So yesterday, I received an R2-D2 version of Bandai's Tamagotchi digital pet that I ordered through Amazon.com on Saturday—and received less than 24 hours later thanks to Amazon Prime's one-day delivery.

Majdolene, my very-lovely and talented actress from my short film The Broken Table, sent me an ad for this cool Star Wars collectible via Instagram over a week ago...and needless to say, I couldn't wait to buy it since. Of course, I still got ways to go in terms of learning how to properly take care of R2-D2, as I might've caused him to explode when I pressed the wrong button to do maintenance on the Astromech droid earlier today! My bad.

Tamagotchis were extremely popular during my last two years in high school (from late 1996 to early '98), but I never bought one till now. Better late than never, I guess!

Being a huge fan of Star Wars for the past 27 years will pique my level of interest like that. Happy Monday (and President's Day to my fellow Yanks)!

Link of the Day: Help an Amazing Woman Become a Beauty Queen in Her Hometown of Jeddah!

Happy Super Bowl Eve, folks! And a Very Happy Birthday to Majdolene 'MJ' Abualfaraj—my very-talented actress from my short film The Broken Table!

MJ is a Finalist for Binibining Turismo Filipinas KSA 2022...a beauty pageant that will be held in her hometown of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this spring.

MJ mentioned to me last December that I was the first person outside of her family whom she confided to about applying to this pageant, so it only makes sense to validate her confidence in me by doing whatever I can to show her support for this competition.

So click on this link to vote for MJ!

If you upgrade to premium (at the price of $2.99 USD for 30 days), you can vote up to 5 times a day and truly help MJ achieve one of her biggest goals for this year: Becoming a well-deserved beauty queen at her local pageant.

Even as a Finalist, I'm already extremely proud of MJ for this amazing achievement! Vote everyday for her till the March 24 deadline:

https://pageantvote.asia/pageants/1062/contestants/6243

Yes, this is the same link as the one I mentioned earlier. That's how much I want MJ to win.

Go Majdolene! And Go Rams!

THE BROKEN TABLE Will Be Screened in the United Kingdom Next Month!

This is a repost of an entry that I posted in my Film Notes blog earlier this morning:

Here are some updates regarding next month's screening of The Broken Table at the Haunted House FearFest! The event takes place in the UK's West Yorkshire from March 18 to 27.

PREVIEW SHOW FULL URL:

https://xerb.tv/channel/hauntedhousefearfest/virtual-events/2952

XERB DOWNLOADABLE PROGRAM HERE:

https://www.hauntedhousefearfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/HHFF-Program-2022.pdf

TICKET PRICES:

12 SESSIONS – $36$
6 SESSIONS – $24$
Plus a 3 For 2 – $12

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE:

https://xerb.tv/channel/hauntedhousefearfest/virtual-events

MERCHANDISE:

If you fancy, there are some horribly delicious merchandise in the form of Official Selection - Beer & Fear - Logo & Poster T-shirts at TEEPUBLIC

https://www.teepublic.com/user/haunted-house-fearfest

I hope that you partake in the festival and enjoy the screenings next month! Carry on.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Just thought I'd commemorate the first day of 2022 with this photo of me holding a printout of the certificate that I received from the EdiPlay International Film Festival last month. Hopefully, there'll be more awards to come for The Broken Table over the course of this year...as I submitted my short film to 37 film festivals in December alone!

We'll see what happens. As the film's poster below indicates, I don't think I'll have space to put laurels for that many festivals on it, anyway! Not to sound cocky, heh.

With that being said, have a nice New Year's Day...and hopefully y'all won't break your New Year's resolutions too soon! That is all.

THE BROKEN TABLE Film Festival and Awards Update!

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Just thought I'd provide this update letting you guys know where The Broken Table stands in regards to film festivals and its latest awards!

As of today, my short psychological thriller has been accepted by nine film festivals...the most recent one being the Blackboard International Film Festival. Of those nine festivals, six have bestowed awards upon The Broken Table: the Ediplay International Film Festival (for Best Seven Minute Film), the Red Moon Film Festival (for Best Short Thriller), the Krimson Horyzon International Film Festival (for Best Short Film), the Bright International Film Festival (also for Best Short Film), the Cult Movies International Film Festival (for Best Short Thriller and Best Cinematography) and the Medusa Film Festival (for Best Short)!

You can see the two awards given by Cult Movies Fest on this page, and the award handed out by EdiPlay in this Blog entry from over two weeks back.

Shown below are the certificates provided by Red Moon, Krimson Horyzon, Bright and Medusa earlier today, respectively.

There are about two dozen festivals that I still need to hear from, so until then, enjoy the holidays and have a Happy New Year!

Images of the Day: Accolades for THE BROKEN TABLE...

Just thought I'd share this amazing certificate that I received from the EdiPlay International Film Festival early this morning...plus The Broken Table's poster with an updated laurel!

Hopefully there'll be more awards to come for my short film over the next few months! Stay tuned.

THE BROKEN TABLE Is Headin' to a Film Festival!

Good evening, everyone! Just thought I'd let y'all know that my short film The Broken Table has been selected for inclusion by the EdiPlay International Film Festival! This amazing, Paris-based event will be held from December 15 to 19...with the chosen films available to view online.

For more information about this festival, visit EdiPlay's website here. If you watch The Broken Table (plus the other amazing cinematic projects that will be shown) during this exciting event, I hope you enjoy it!

Parman's Links of the Day!

Happy end of November, everyone! Just thought I'd share these links to help out Majdolene Abualfaraj, my very beautiful and talented actress from my short film The Broken Table.

Along with being an amazing thespian and singer, Majdolene is also an awesome artist who'll draw any character for you (or of you), courtesy of her website listed here.

Along with being an amazing thespian, singer and artist, MJ is also very passionate about astrology and will do a tarot card reading for you at the starting rate of $10! You can visit her website for general readings here.

Along with being an amazing thespian, singer, artist and tarot card reader, MJ is also interested in cryptocurrency (though she doesn't invest in SHIB, SHINJA or Saitama Inu like I do, heh) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) like I am!

MJ was able to secure two NFTs from a presale mint that was conducted by the Alien Secret Society, a community on the Discord messaging platform, a few hours ago. (The NFTs are supposed to become available to the public tomorrow.) She sent me the thumbnails below as proof of purchase.

Have a great December!


Majdolene Abualfaraj

Watch THE BROKEN TABLE on ThinkShorts.com!

Last week, I submitted The Broken Table to the cool streaming site Think Shorts for inclusion...and I am proud to say that my short film joins hundreds of amazing indie projects that were contributed by other filmmakers to this online directory over the course of this year. So stoked! Click on the link below to view my suspense thriller, which is 6 minutes, 29 seconds-long:

https://thinkshorts.com/7063/the-broken-table

I intend on submitting my other short film Envious next! Stay tuned.

Video of the Day: THE BROKEN TABLE - RED CUT Edition...

Happy Friday, everyone! Just thought I'd share this latest and hopefully final version of my short film, The Broken Table. The reason why I decided to create another iteration (using the Lightworks editing program) is because this is officially my cut of the film. The version of The Broken Table that was released in early May is based on input by a couple of folks who donated to the project's Kickstarter campaign last year. Seeing as how they contributed hard-earned money to my film, I obviously couldn't ignore the suggestions that they had for The Broken Table while it was still in postproduction a year ago.

With this Red Cut edition, I pretty much included everything that I had in mind even before I started shooting the film last fall. If you watch the official version and this cut, you'll see that two of the three music tracks are different...with the entire music score for The Broken Table now attributed solely to talented composer Sir Cubworth. The end credits have been upgraded to a red font, because I wanted the film to feel sinister through the very end. And I also added a heartbeat sound effect—which was inspired by last year's The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep—to three different moments in The Broken Table.

I figure that The Broken Table will be completely done with by the time New Year's Day rolls around. It was fun working on this project, and I look forward to whatever cinematic endeavor awaits me in the future. Check out The Broken Table: Red Cut on Vimeo below! And have a great weekend.