pretty pickle
A Modern Love Turned Sour
Short | HORROR - COMEDY - ROMANCE | 00:12:31 | BLACK & WHITE | 1.33:1
As he spends more time with his new girlfriend, a young man begins to privately dwell upon one of her quirks, leading him to a troubling discovery.
Awards
WINNER
Best Short Narrative
Chicago Underground Film Festival (2022)
Best Midnight/WTF Short
GenreBlast Film Fest (2022)
First Place: Best Horror Comedy
Flickers’ Vortex Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Film Festival (2022)
Best Director
Austin After Dark Film Festival (2023)
Special Jury Citation
Bakunawa Fest (2023)
Outstanding Screenplay - Horror
Film Invasion Los Angeles (2023)
NOMINATED
Best Special Effects, Kacy Tatus & Lawrence Gant
Best Villain, Whitney Masters
Days of the Dead: Indianapolis (2022)
Best Director (Short), Jim Vendiola
Best Song (Short), “In Yer Room” by Kal Madsen
GenreBlast Film Fest (2022)
Best Supporting Actress (Short), Whitney Masters
FilmQuest (2022)
Night Mare Award - Writing (Short), Jim Vendiola
Nightmares Film Fest (2022)
Best Sound Editing, Joshua Lopatin
BizarroLand Film Festival (2022)
Best “Side Splitting” (Horror-Comedy)
Renegade Film Festival (2023)
Best Short Film, Comedy
Best of NFMLA Awards (2023)
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
CURRENT (2023-Present)
Online Premiere
DIRECTORS NOTES
Exclusive Streaming Engagement
PREVIOUS (2022-24)
World Premiere
CHATTANOOGA FILM FESTIVAL
June 23 - 28, 2022 (Virtual / geo-blocked to US)
Program: “WTF (Watch These Films) Strange & Magical Shorts Showcase”
International Premiere
FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, July 15, 2022 (J.A. de Sève Cinema, Concordia University / Montréal, Quebec)
Program: “Cavalcade of Perversions: A Regular Little Orgy”
Midwest Premiere
DAYS OF THE DEAD FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, July 23, 2022 (Marriott East / Indianapolis, IN)
Program: “Family Matters” Dark & Twisted Block
Chicago Premiere
CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
Thursday, July 28, 2022 (Logan Theatre / Chicago, IL)
Program: “Shorts 2: Somebody’s Watching You”
West Coast Premiere
HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, August 13, 2022 @ 11:59PM PDT (TCL Chinese Theatre / Hollywood, CA)
Program: “Midnight Madness”
Nashville Premiere
DEFY FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, August 19, 2022 @ 8PM CDT (Studio 615 / East Nashville, TN)
Program: “Horror & Thriller” Block
Montana Premiere
CAMP HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, August 26, 2022 @ 6PM MDT (The Roxy Theater / Missoula, MT)
Program: “Horror Shorts” Block
Virginia Premiere
GENREBLAST FILM FEST
Friday, September 2, 2022 @ 11:45PM EDT (Alamo Drafthouse / Winchester, VA)
Program: Plays with Bubblegum (Feature), Bedmates (Short), Hubbards (Short)
Australian Premiere
SYDNEY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
Sunday, September 11, 2022 @ 11:15AM (GMT +10) (Event Cinemas George Street / Sydney, NSW, Australia)
September 12 - 25, 2022 (Virtual / geo-blocked to AUS)
Program: “Love/Sick”
Washington Premiere
TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL
Sunday, October 9, 2022 @ 9:30PM PDT (The Grand Cinema / Tacoma, WA)
Program: “Late Night Shorts 2”
Colorado Premiere
TELLURIDE HORROR SHOW
Friday, October 14, 2022 @ 10:30PM MDT (Nugget Theatre / Telluride, CO)
Sunday, October 16, 2022 @ 12:30PM MDT (Nugget Theatre / Telluride, CO)
Program: “Flesh & Blood” Shorts Block
New York Premiere
BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, October 15, 2022 @ 2:30PM EDT (Williamsburg Cinema / Brooklyn, NY)
Program: “Head Trip”
Ohio Premiere
NIGHTMARES FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, October 21, 2022 @ 8PM EDT (Gateway Film Center / Columbus, OH)
Program: “Midnight Shorts B”
New York Return
SECRETS OF THE DEAD
Saturday, October 22, 2022 @ 9PM EDT (Film Noir Cinema / Brooklyn, NY)
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 @ 7PM EDT (Film Noir Cinema / Brooklyn, NY)
Rhode Island Premiere
FLICKERS’ VORTEX SCI-FI, FANTASY & HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
Thursday, October 23, 2022 @ 7:30PM EDT (AS220 / Providence, RI)
Program: “Moments of the Uncanny: Genre-Bending Short Film Showcase”
Utah Premiere
FILMQUEST
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 @ 5PM MDT (Velour Live Music Gallery / Provo, UT)
Program: Plays with Influencer (Feature) and Sucker (Short)
Louisiana Premiere
NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, November 4, 2022 @ 7:30PM CDT (The Broadside / New Orleans, LA)
November 3 - 13 (Virtual / geo-blocked to US)
Program: “In Plain Fright”
UK Premiere
SOHO HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, November 12, 2022 @ 11:15PM GMT+1 (Whirled Cinema / Brixton, LON)
Program: Plays with All Jacked Up and Full of Worms (Feature), Ringworms (Short), Erotic Insect (Short)
Ontario Premiere
VIDEODRUNK
Thursday, November 17, 2022 @ 8:15 EST (5 Paddles Brewing Co. / Whitby, ON)
North Carolina Premiere
CUCALORUS FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, November 18, 2022 @ 3:45PM EST (Thalian Hall / Wilmington, NC)
Sunday, November 20, 2022 @ 10:30AM EST (Jengo’s Playhouse / Wilmington, NC)
Program: “Sarcastic Fringehead Shorts”
Saskatchewan Premiere
SASKATOON FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, November 19, 2022 @ 7PM CST (Broadway Theatre / Saskatoon, SK)
Program: Plays with Follow Her (Feature)
Alabama Premiere
MONTGOMERY FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, November 19, 2022 @ 1PM CST ( Capri Theatre / Montgomery, AL)
Program: “Narrative Shorts”
Los Angeles Return
NEWFILMMAKERS LA
Saturday, November 19, 2022 @ 8:15 PST (South Park Center / Los Angeles, CA)
Program: “Fall Shorts”
Florida Premiere
BIZARROLAND FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, December 10, 2022 @ 5PM EST (Downtown Arts Collective / Orlando, FL)
Program: Plays with That Cold Dead Look in Your Eyes (Feature)
Asian Premiere
BAKUNAWA FESTIVAL
Saturday, December 17 @ 7PM (GMT +8) (Cinematheque Centre Negros / Bacolod City, Philippines)
December 16 - 31, 2022 (Virtual / geo-blocked to PH)
Program: “Malígpot, Paindís-índis” [Competition Shorts]
Norway Premiere
MINIMAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL / MINIMALEN KORTFILMFESTIVAL
Friday, January 13, 2023 @ 11PM (GMT +1) (Nova Kino / Trondheim, Norway)
Program: “Horror - Ramaskrik Presents”
Georgia Premiere
RENEGADE FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, March 3, 2023 @ 6PM EST (Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre / Marietta, GA)
Program: “Side Splitting” Shorts Block
Wisconsin Premiere
MIDWEST WEIRDFEST
Saturday, March 4, 2023 @ 12PM CST (Micon Cinemas Downtown / Eau Claire, WI)
Program: “Shorts 1: Messed Up People Doing Messed Up Things”
Massachusetts Premiere
BOSTON UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, March 24th, 2023 @ 11:30PM EST (Brattle Theatre / Boston, MA)
Program: “Trigger Warning” Shorts Block
Cleveland Premiere
CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Friday, March 31, 2023 @ 9:55PM EST (Allen Theatre / Cleveland, OH)
April 2 - 9 (Virtual / geo-blocked to US)
Program: “After Hours Shorts Program 2”
Austin Premiere
AUSTIN AFTER DARK FILM FESTIVAL
Sunday, April 2, 2023 @ 5PM CST (Austin Film Society Cinema / Austin, TX)
Program: “Session 1” Film Screenings
Alberta Premiere
CALGARY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
Monday, April 24, 2023 @ 6:30PM MDT (Globe Cinema / Calgary, AB)
Program: “Questionable Couplings”
Los Angeles Return
HEAVY LIGHT / SAN DIEGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
Thursday, May 18, 2023 @ 7:45PM PDT (Highways Performance Space / Los Angeles, CA)
Program: “Block 4”
Waukegan Premiere
VIEUTOPIA INTERNATIONAL MOTION PICTURE FESTIVAL
Saturday, June 3, 2023 @ 1:25PM CDT (Belvidere Cinema Gallery / Waukegan, IL)
Program: “Behaving Badly”
Los Angeles Return
FILM INVASION LOS ANGELES
Thursday, June 22, 2023 @ 7PM PDT (LOOK Dine-In Cinemas / Glendale)
June 26 - July 1 (Virtual / geo-blocked to US)
Program: “Program 02 - Truth & Revelation”
New York Return
NEW YORK NO LIMITS
Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 @ 4PM ET (Wild Project / New York, NY)
Program: “Afternoon Shorts”
NEWS & REVIEWS
“Filmmaker Vendiola guides his audience brilliantly with his meticulous revelations that lead to the surprising end.”
Film Threat / Alan Ng (June 15, 2022)
“Jim Vendiola’s Pretty Pickle whips out a great surprise toward the end of its black-and-white Chicago love story.”
RogerEbert.com / Nick Allen (July 16, 2022)
“[PRETTY PICKLE] is exactly the kind of film for which I love Fantasia so much.”
Le Petit Septième / Francois Grondin (July 17, 2022)
“Vendiola mines modern dating for all the horror and humor it’s worth.”
Cine-File / Marilyn Ferdinand (July 22, 2022)
✯✯✯✯ “Holds a clear love of horror and satisfyingly blends it with comedy to create something just the right amount of absurd.”
Film Carnage / Rebecca Cherry (August 11, 2022)
“[PRETTY PICKLE] could make some people argue that director Jim Vendiola needs to be put away where he can't hurt himself or audiences. Recommended.”
Unseen Films / Steve Kopian (August 13, 2022)
“It's a romantic dramatic horror that also made me laugh. I'm not sure what you call that, but I unquestionably call it an absolute winner of a short film.”
The Independent Critic / Richard Propes (August 14, 2022)
“If you have a dark sense of humor, Pretty Pickle is a short horror film you won’t want to miss.”
The Blogging Banshee / Molly Henery (August 27, 2022)
“Sexy, subversive, and truly stunning.”
Morbidly Beautiful / Stephanie Malone, The Angry Princess (September 10, 2022)
“…it’s not shocking that Vendiola’s horror comedy short Pretty Pickle is making the festival rounds.”
Nerdist / Tai Gooden (September 29, 2022)
“Pretty Pickle is a deeply disturbing little piece of cinema—a raw, haunting short that will gnaw at you long after it’s over.”
Boston Hassle / Alexis Den Boggende (March 29, 2023)
PRETTY PICKLE on Letterboxd.
INTERVIEWS
Hollywood Chicago / Patrick McDonald (July 28, 2022 / YouTube)
Mystic & Severe Radio / Michael O’Keefe (August 15, 2022 / YouTube)
NewFilmmakers LA Stage 5 / Danny De Lillo (December 2, 2022 / YouTube)
PRESS KIT
Available upon request.
PRETTY PICKLE is partially supported by a 3Arts “Make a Wave” grant, and an Individual Artist Support grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, as well as in-kind assistance from Keslow Camera Chicago and Canon, USA.