By JOHN WILDMAN, Contributing Writer

LILAH VANDENBURGH (BITCH)

The behavioral time line has two polar opposites - Attitude and Sheep.

And it might surprise the sheep that romance does happen on the other side of that time line. It can be accidental, it can be painful, and it can be difficult, but it's just as beautiful in its own special twisted way. The romance between the title character and the object of her affection in Lilah Vandenburgh's short film, BITCH is definitely difficult and twisted. And -bloody nose and all - it's most definitely beautiful.

You're a New York girl. Why use the Venice boardwalk as the setting for BITCH? I'm originally from Long Beach, CA. That's the LBC to you. It's all Strip Malls and Taco Bells (in the parking lot of strip malls). I grew up next to an airplane hangar and a Montgomery Wards. So the film is weirdly nostalgic in an F'd-up way. I wanted it full-on gutter punk. Gotta be LA baby! 'Sides, Venice has the best bums, yo!

"Every pot has its lid" Really? "Romantically" speaking, yes. Realistically, the world is 52 percent women. Add to that, a lot of people live in mental hospitals, monasteries, secret government prisons, or can't date because they are babies and haven't learned to talk. Also, everyone is secretly gay. And most people live in China or are old or already dead. For example, my true love might have lived a 1000 years ago, and been really into medieval role playing, only he just called it "living" and "surviving." For all those reasons, no. Unless you have the Internet.

What's the greater crime - listening to crap music or acting like a mindless schoolgirl? Those aren't mutually exclusive. Mindless schoolgirls listen to crap music. And since when is it "acting?"

What will happen in the feature-length sequel to BITCH? 'Bitch' and 'Fucker' attack a bunch of Daniel Johnston fans, and end up in jail, where they find out they have the same father. Now, in the spirit of Prison Break, they commit a series of badbehavior offenses to get transferred to their dad's Maximum Security prison - but they have to battle each other to determine who will take on the old man. It's like Highlander meets the Bible, crossed with There's Something About Mary.

BEN GRAY (THE HUNTER)

Three guys go hunting in the snowy woods. Simple, right? Seriously, what could possibly go wrong? Well, depending on your imagination - a lot. The beauty of Ben Gray's short film adaptation of Tobias Wolff's short story is that it allows you to expect what is likely to happen; yet you keep leaning in to take the hit that you know is going to come. Gray's accomplishment (aided by a nice acting turn by East Coast indie stalwart Larry Fessenden) is that this tale of three buddies with loaded guns - as well as loaded issues - refuses to go typically into that icy good night. Happy hunting...

What was it about Tobias Wolff's short story that initially struck you as adaptation material? The original story doesn't lend itself to adaptation at all. Wolff's work has this sneaky existential bent that is difficult to translate onto film. But what kept bringing me back was the landscape - those great expanses of snow, the deep forest, all that space, and silence. It's the landscape I grew up in, and has always been emotionally very charged for me.

There is a delicate balance in the film, as elements of comedy, thriller and emotional drama get equal play. Obviously, the majority of that was by design, but can you point out an instance or moment that surprised you during the editing process? On set, and in the editing room, we pretty much forgot the ironic aspects of the film - which isn't hard when you're working with performances that strong and that sincere. The characters didn't see this as funny, or their actions as strange, so neither did we. The real surprise came when we were sitting in the back of our first festival screening. And off the audience's response to the end of the film, we suddenly realized: it's horrifying. And sad. And pretty funny too. At least if you go in for that sort of thing.

How many times did Larry Fessenden ask you if that's really where you wanted to put the camera? Not once. He was probably too cold to care. We kept him crawling around in 18 inches of snow for three days. Actually, Larry dove into the snow and refused to come out. He spent hours discussing cuts with us in the editing room. He's become a great mentor to me, and to this project.

The film was shot in 35mm black and white and printed on black and white print stock. Why does your hatred of all things digital and color run so deep? It's a very classical story: 'Tub' is learning how to become a man. And for that very classical, potentially heroic story, we chose a very classical look. Black and white adds a certain weight, and an ironic edge to the film. I can't imagine finding such a strange balance of humor and melancholy without it.

What will happen in the feature-length sequel to THE HUNTER? Give me 1.2 million dollars and I'll show you.