Director Evan Roberts's short film "33 Teeth" (trailer below) focuses on Eddie, a 14-year-old who creeps on his neighbor Chad while he's in the bathroom measuring himself with a comb. It picked up the award for Best LGBT short at the New York City Short Film Festival late last year, and in January screened at the Slamdance Film Festival (also known as the Sundance for movies with budgets less than $1 million, which happens at the same time, same place as its fancier, more famous counterpart).
Evan and I talked recently about moviemaking, teen angst, and size obsession.
Are these characters based on real-life people?
Evan: Not at all, but it is based on a story from my teenage years. A group of friends were throwing around a basketball one night, and the subject of measuring came up. We were divided on the topic - some had measured, some hadn't measured, some didn't see a need. Off to the side, I heard one reply, meekly, "Well, I measured with a comb once." It really puzzled me. There's not a standard comb size or anything, so it left a lot to the imagination. I wasn't out to myself or my friends at that time, but I began having daydreams of looking for this comb at this friend's house. I never did find it. But the story just grew out of that and the idea of how certain objects can be infused with misplaced eroticism.
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