King Ripple, a 2015 psychedelic-horror short film starring Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12, Straight Outta Compton) and directed by DePaul University sophomore Luke Jaden, is one of several student-directed shorts boosted by the public television series Film School Shorts. The weekly half-hour program, which begins airing its fourth season on Chicago’s WTTW 11 this Sunday, is the exclusive online distributor of King Ripple and The Listing, another of Jaden’s shorts, as well as several other films that “push the boundaries of broadcast.”
Landi says she and her selection team watch “hundreds of films each year” to determine the seasons’ rosters. “We circulate our call for entries far and wide, schools send us their strongest work, and I attend various festivals to scout for acquisitions,” Landi explains. “The show airs nationally, so our standards are high, but we don’t have preconceptions about the kind of film we want to feature.”
· Short Term 12 — “It’s from a smaller program (San Diego State), and it’s as moving and well-acted as the feature-length version Destin Cretton made after graduating. And watching Keith Stanfield’s career take off has been a complete pleasure! I was blown away by his understated, awesome performance in Miles Ahead, and we were thrilled to feature him again on our program in King Ripple.”
Film School Shorts airs Sundays (September 11-October 31) at 11:30 PM on WTTW 11. View the full ten-episode schedule here.
