Filmmaker Statement

We’ve all become too comfortable with advertising infiltrating every area of our lives. It’s not far-fetched to imagine an app that “rewards” us for turning our everyday conversations into yet another advertising opportunity. To me, this idea is both truly scary and truly funny. In WORD OF MOUTH, the inhabitants should be upset about a company overstepping into their lives and turning them into ad bots at the expense of their relationships. But the most they can muster is passive acceptance. That tension is the underlying idea I wanted ever-present throughout the film, pushing to the surface in a way that's oddly playful, manifesting in optimism and vibrant colors. I liked approaching this theme as a lighthearted comedy with comedic set pieces and offbeat characters instead of the gloom it maybe calls for. The writers of the short have a decade of actual software engineering experience that helps ground the satire in something eerily plausible. We hope it resonates in a scary way :)