Proud to announce my short feature/music video Margaritas@Midnight is in the official line up at the Paris Short Film Festival 2020:
The Making of M@M:
So there I was far from the musical spotlight due to family craziness and out of the blue, Richard Manwaring, renowned British producer, drummer, and sound mixer, sent me a demo he was arranging with his band Rough Score. Richard and I met in London ages ago when I was recording my first single for Virgin and we’ve been friends ever since.
(Photo Celia Manwaring)
The track’s bluesy lounge groove was sexy, but I asked if I could spin the lyrics away from lost-love territory already covered in Jimmy Buffet’s megahit Margaritaville, towards a female take on tropical fantasies. I needed something light and playful to counterbalance the challenges in my life and darkness in the world. The band said yes and singing it was a blast. From day one, I “saw” the story, but had no budget to film it.
My artistic process for the video involved strumming on my guitar, imbibing margaritas, island reveries…
…plus tons of comedy and art. (Tough job, but…)
As I was planning a minimalist version on iPad and iMovie, tech genius DP, editor, mixer @krysed came on board:
…joining improv talent, brainstormer deluxe, DIY acrobat, and the original Margarita God himself, Lewis Primo:
Not to mention couple of the century, Shirley and Brandon:
I could now throw myself into storyboarding and mapping, creating costumes and decors from scratch.
The Mood Board:
My vintage doll and toy collection, first featured in a brilliant fotonovella shot with my son for his middle school art class:
Iconic Kramp Kitchen sequence from 70’s cult film The Groove Tube (ancestor of SNL):
Christian Boltanski art installation: Shadows from the Lessons of Darkness:



















https://filmfreeway.com/paris-short-film-festival
Festival website and tickets:
Enjoy as much as we did!
Your (Vocal Siren) Aliss xxxxxxx