There’s a bizarre, recurring theme in my filmmaking journey: busting my ass to win a contest, actually pulling it off, and then… absolutely nothing happens.
If you read my last post about the Matthew Good “Born Losers” music video, you know the feeling. The adrenaline rush of the win, followed immediately by a strange, hollow silence. Well, in 2021, history decided to repeat itself.
Enter Dopplebagger.
We made this short for the 2021 24Hour Film Race. If you’ve never done a 24-hour film challenge, it’s exactly what it sounds like: sheer, caffeinated panic. You have one day to write, shoot, and edit a complete film.
I wrote, directed, and edited this one, and the concept was built on pure existential absurdity. What happens when your entire life consists of being a disappointing, mundane version of a legendary superhero? Dopplebagger follows a regular guy who happens to look exactly like the iconic “Bag Man.” He has no powers, no skills, and just wants to wash his dishes and put his socks on one foot at a time. Instead, he faces the daily dread of copyright infringement suits, getting heckled by kids for being a “poser,” and the heavy emotional toll of constantly letting people down just by walking into a room.
James Dalzell starred in it and absolutely nailed the deadpan melancholy, supported by an amazing cast featuring Deanna Palazzo, my wife Erika, and our kids, Hayden and Tyler.
When the festival results came in, we swept it. Dopplebagger won Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Best Film, and Tyler even took home Best Supporting Actor! We were riding high.
And then… crickets.
No trophy arrived in the mail. No certificate was emailed. There was zero official acknowledgement from the festival beyond the initial announcement. Much like the Matthew Good contest years prior, we had won the race, but there was no finish line.
Honestly, it was incredibly disheartening. You pour your soul, your weekend, and your family’s energy into a project for the love of the game, hit the highest possible mark, and the organizers basically ghost you. It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I haven’t entered a single film competition since. Why bother with the gatekeepers when they can’t even be bothered to send a PDF?
But while the festival experience was a joke, the film itself is something I’m deeply proud of. The hardware might be imaginary, but the work is real.
Watch the award-winning (yet completely unrewarded) Dopplebagger here
