Rhode Island International Film Festival 2009

Donald plans to travel into the future in order to murder himself painlessly. He constructs a sophisticated time machine in his shower. But before the shower cum time machine can take him into the 4th dimension, he's confronted by a pair of his future selves who coerce him to travel into his past to visit his estranged wife one last time. Welgünzêr is a dark comedy that questions the possibility of significant change in a person over time.Welgünzêr is adapted from a story by Brandon Thompson in his book of short stories: A Secret Beast (2006). The story was originally inspired by comic genius Bill Watterson in his comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. Brandon and I grew up together in Colorado reading Calvin and Hobbes religiously. Traces of a Watterson homage can be found in the story, but Welgünzêr took on a dark and adult nature of its own. The costume design was inspired by Shel Silverstein's Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too. The story takes place in an antique futuristic world similar to Jeunet's 'Delicatessan' and delivered with a comedic style reminiscent to Gilliam and the Coen's.