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SA short hits big with Palm Springs slot

By Simon de Bruyn

Steve Callen’s Christmas wish list seems to be coming true, with his celebrated first short film You Better Watch Out recently being accepted into a range of overseas festivals, notably Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas and the Academy Award accredited short film festival at Palm Springs.

This is in addition to screenings at the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival, 32nd Cleveland International Film Festival, Boston International Film Festival, Illinois International Film Festival, Rome International Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, and locally at the Byron Bay Film Festival, Dungog Film Festival, and Revelation Film Festival in Perth.

The film, written and directed by Steve Callen, and produced by Jules Callen, recently won Best Film and Best Screenplay at the SA Short Screen Awards. The team are currently developing a feature film, as well as a range of other projects.

You Better Watch Out is a dark comedy starring Stephen Curry, Dan Wyllie and Chris Haywood and tells the story of two disgruntled brothers who kidnap a department store Santa Claus because they want to know why they never got the presents they wanted when they were kids.

You Better Watch Out will join fellow South Australian short Stanley and Dean, as well as Dustin Clare’s short Cane Cutter at the prestigious Palm Springs International ShortFest in August.