AUTOMATIC

In person: Jonathan Walls, Jay Thames and Travis Schuldt

No matter where you live, no matter how you feel, no matter who you love ... the result is always the same. In 2002, filmmakers Travis Schuldt, Jay Thamse and Jonathan Walls began developing the story that would become the very contemporary and edgy Automatic. Inspired by the early works of John Cassavetes and Steven Soderbergh, the trio took on multiple roles both behind and in front of the camera. Set and shot largely in Austin, the principal cast was selected as the script was being written (and re-written). Dialogue from the unscripted rehearsals was incorporated into the shooting script, which brought additional life to the story. The ensemble cast of three men and three women follow various overlapping paths in their seemingly banal suburban existence. In short, they are all on automatic pilot. Their lives are not what they expected; not that they ever were sure what their lives should be. Unforeseen events force them to make changes, but the re sults are not what one might expect, need, want or even totally understand ...