Attempted Optimism

In post-Civil War Bexar County, Texans live in abject poverty, forcing folks to make ends meet by any means necessary. No one messes with No Name Somethin'-or-Other.

An unforeseen event cuts short the night of four friends preparing for a school dance.

A short film by Evan Koppers.

In 1984, two cutting-edge scientists attempt to build a time machine.

This short film was created for CATV and the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth's 2015 Halloween-o-thon Film Festival, where it won Best Screenplay and Best Artistic Design. The film was required to be completely original, under five minutes in length, and include the line "I know how this ends." The film takes place, largely, in the mind of the main character, who is in a coma. In his coma-induced dream, he can hear what is actually going on around him in the hospital, but he is unconscious, and blends reality with the serial playing on the radio.

Not your average kids' show.

Two quirky middle schoolers are interrogated by their principal as they attempt to pull off an elaborate cheating scheme.

After one of them sprains her ankle in the woods, three Halloween pranksters tell an old story to pass the time.