Brian Budak

Movies

Glass Half Whatever
Director
On a wintery, gloomy, imperfect day, I filled a glass halfway with water and placed it on the beach. When you look at the glass, is it half empty or half full? I say, whatever.
The New Mutants
Digital Compositor
Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.
The Eyes of My Mother
Visual Effects
A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.
My Louisiana Love
Animation
My Louisiana Love follows a young Native American woman, Monique Verdin, as she returns to Southeast Louisiana to reunite with her Houma Indian family. But soon she sees that her people’s traditional way of life- fishing, trapping, and hunting these fragile wetlands– is threatened by a cycle of man-made environmental crises. As Louisiana is devastated by Hurricane Katrina and Rita and then the BP oil leak, Monique finds herself turning to environmental activism. She documents her family’s struggle to stay close to the land despite the cycle of disasters and the rapidly disappearing coastline. The film looks at the complex and uneven relationship between the oil industry and the indigenous community of the Mississippi Delta. In this intimate documentary portrait, Monique must overcome the loss of her house, her father, and her partner – and redefine the meaning of home. Her story is both unique and frighteningly familiar.