ARTIST SUMMARY
Writer/director Jon Moritsugu has been making alternative underground films since 1985. His low-budget cinema is wild, abrasive, and highly entertaining.

ARTIST STATEMENT
THE 8 RULES OF MORITSUGU FILMMAKING (with apologies to the Buddhist Eightfold Path)

1) It is much better to divide an audience than to placate an audience.
2) There is no such thing as perfection in cinema. But there can be brilliance.
3) Learn your craft. Re-learn your craft. And then forget 80% of it.
4) If it is mundane, add glitter, make-up and an incredibly catchy song.
5) A small moment can become an incredible journey.
6) There is a time to be punk. And there is also a time to be new wave.
7) If it’s already been said, don’t repeat it.
8) Kill your idols.

STATEMENT OF INTENT
The grant money from SPREAD would help to cover costs of Moritsugu’s latest film, which is currently in pre-production and will begin shooting principle photography in June. This project will be his second filmed in Santa Fe, following PIG DEATH MACHINE in 2013. This new film will present a satirical portrait of the Art World and uppity artists, satirizing the contemporary art industry. Filmed primarily in Santa Fe, this grant would enable the hiring of local talent. This would strengthen filmmaking in Santa Fe, furthering Santa Fe’s status as an artistic center on a national scale. The grant money from SPREAD would be put toward the visual production of this film about the art world, from sets and costumes to art direction and set design. Jon Moritsugu has consistently displayed an ability to push limits, not just visual and narrative conventions, but financial and material limitations as well, making the most – and usually much, much more – of what is at hand.

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