Cat McKay PPIE

2016

Writer: Pete Navis

Director: Josh Garvin

Producer: Assya Dimova

Cinematographer: AJ Young

Production Designer: Megan Cooper

Run Time: 6:07

Cat McCay is your average Personal Paranormal Inspector and Exterminator...if there can be such a thing. Armed with a grappling hook and a bottle of whiskey, Cat can take on anything - from pixies to trolls - if you're willing to sign the paperwork acknowledging that you know she is not a Ghostbuster.

This is only the first season of the web series. It’ll take place over six episodes and was shot in Los Angeles. Season 2 is already in the works, and there may be some crowdfunding efforts made to get it underway. The goal is to get some traction on the festival circuit, and has been submitted to the NBC Universal Shorts Film Festival. 

Cat McCay PPIE was Josh’s first directing gig after arriving on the West Coast. The first episode, Of a Personal Nature, is available to watch on YouTube. You can also check out the Facebook page. If you want to get a look behind the scenes, check out the image gallery here.

The Un-Supers (Season 1)
2015
Writer: Fee Basanavicius
Director: Josh Garvin
Producer: Sarah McMillan
Run Time: TBD

The Un-Supers is a web series about a group of friends that go to a party and leave with more than just a hangover. The unlikely bunch have been endowed with superpowers, and they'll need them to fight a mysterious new foe.

This is a production put on by the Reutan Collective, a Chicago-based group of creatives whose aim is to make as much art in as many formats as possible. The Un-Supers is not their first endeavor, but it’s Josh’s first working with them and as the director of a web series.

For more information about the Reutan Collective, see their Facebook page.

To get a behind the scenes look at the production of The Un-Supers, check out the Stills Gallery for each day of production:

The Un-Supers Day 1 Stills Gallery
The Un-Supers Day 2 Stills Gallery
The Un-Supers Day 3 Stills Gallery
The Un-Supers Day 4 Stills Gallery
The Un-Supers Day 5 Stills Gallery
The Un-Supers Day 6 Stills Gallery
The Un-Supers Day 7 Stills Gallery - coming soon
The Un-Supers Day 8 Stills Gallery - coming soon
The Un-Supers Day 9 Stills Gallery - coming soon
The Un-Supers Day 10 Stills Gallery - coming soon

Some ghosts haunt you to the ends of the Earth.

Stygian
2014
Writer: Josh Garvin
Director: Josh Garvin
Producer: Assya Dimova
Cinematographer: AJ Young
Production Designer: Hendrick Onderdonk
Run Time: 9:57

Stygian is a no-dialogue, short Western following the trek of an old gunman across a barren desert. Injured from a fall from his horse and suffering from dehydration and illness from an infection, his time is running out. Fleeing from his past, the gunman is harrowed by the shadowy embodiment of his greatest mistake. The central themes of sin, guilt and atonement make for a powerful and thought-provoking story.

Stygian is Josh’s thesis film fulfilling the degree requirements for Columbia College Chicago's MFA program. The compelling piece was awarded Best in Show in the 2014 Albert P. Weisman Awards.

Stygian has been submitted to numerous film festivals and is currently unavailable for streaming online. It was named as an official selection in the 2015 Santa Fe Independent Film Festival and premiered to a sold out crowd. It continues to make its way through the festival circuit, so keep checking back for links and updates.

For more about Stygian, see the Stygian tag, the Stygian Facebook page or the Stygian Tumblr.

Uncle Evan
2013
Writer: Josh Garvin
Director: Josh Garvin
Producer: Kazuko Golden
Run Time: 7:40

Uncle Evan is a semi-autobiographical piece about an uncle meeting his eleven-year-old nephew for the first time and is Josh's first foray into the genre of family-centric drama. This short was made in part for the degree requirements for an MFA in directing at Columbia College Chicago.

Uncle Evan is currently being submitted to festivals but will be available for viewing as soon as possible online.

Violet Tendencies
Romantic Comedy/Drama
2009
Writer: Jessie Archer
Director: Casper Andreas
Producer: Casper Andreas
Casting Assistant and 2nd Assistant Director: Josh Garvin
Run Time: 99 minutes

Starring Mindy Cohn, Marcus Patrick and Jesse Archer, Violet Tendencies is the story of a woman looking for love who distances herself from her gay friends to find it. She takes a hiatus from spending time with them but discovers that to have it all, she didn't have to change as much as she thought.

Violet Tendencies was the first professional feature-length film that Josh worked on. This was also his first gig in the production department.

Violet Tendencies is available for purchase on Amazon and available streaming on Netflix. For more information about the film, see the official Violet Tendencies site. A full listing of cast and crew can be found on IMDB.

Zpovĕd' (The Confession)
Spring 2007
Writer: Eric Subrizi
Director: Josh Garvin
Director of Photography: Liang Cai
Run Time: 7:54

The Confession is the story of a young priest who confesses to his mentor his feelings for the church organist. His mentor confesses in turn, and the younger man learns about both of their pasts.

Shot at FAMU in Prague during a film-centric study abroad co-sponsored by American University, The Confession was the first short that Josh directed. Upon their return, they entered the film in the American University Vision Festival and won the award for Best Film.

The Confession is available for viewing here.

The Beach House
2011
Writer: Josh Garvin
Director: Josh Garvin
Producers: Josh Garvin and Tim Fitzpatrick
Run Time: 6:16

Created as a thesis for the New York Film Academy 12 Week Evening program, The Beach House is a noir short that follows a hit man as he goes to visit his girlfriend at a lakeside cottage, only to find that she’s dead. He then explores the house and confronts her killer.

Always intrigued by the idea of telling a story with no words, this is Josh’s first venture into dialogue-free filmmaking.

The Beach House is available to stream on YouTube.

The Door
2009
Writer: Josh Garvin
Director: Josh Garvin
Producer: Josh Garvin
Run Time: 26:34

The Door takes place in a world where instead of the grim reaper, a process server comes for you when your number is called. When one server, Ethan, questions what happens after a bad dispatch and subsequently disappears himself, his friend and partner at the agency, Ryan, sets out to find answers.

The Door was the first short that Josh had funded on his own. The film was made with a small crew on borrowed equipment.

The Door is available for streaming on YouTube

Daisy
2013
Writer: Josh Garvin
Director: Josh Garvin
Producer: Jess Rigdon
Run Time: TBD

When the zombie apocalypse happens, some people of Earth find that they’re not quite ready to let go of their loved ones. A husband not quite ready to let go of his wife, Daisy, finds what he thinks is the perfect place to keep her while they wait for more news - a walk in freezer.

Daisy was Josh’s first experience with work for hire writing and directing. He credits this short with giving him deep appreciation for the power of art and a skilled art crew as the location central to the story, a butcher shop and a walk-in cooler, were actually created by the art department in a garage.

Daisy is currently in post-production.

Still
2008-2009
Writer: Kylos Brannon
Co-Director of Photography: Josh Garvin
Run Time: TBD

Still is the story of a photographer navigating a new love while still caught up in feelings for a past girlfriend who suffered a tragic and untimely death.

Made on a microbudget with a very small crew, Still is a feature length film that is currently being edited. It was the first feature length project for Josh and the first and only time he’s done work as a Director of Photography.

Girl X
Writer: Michael Burgner
Director: Michael Burgner
Producer: Javier Delgado
1st AD/Co-Producer: Josh Garvin
2013

Girl X tells the story of a young woman trying to get her life on the right track.

A Song for Manzanar
2015
Writer: Josh Garvin, Zach Mehrbach and Phil Emerson
Director:  Kazuko Golden and Phil Emerson
Producer: Kazuko Golden
Run Time: 18 minutes

Based on a true story, A Song for Manzanar is a short narrative about two Japanese sisters, one interned in Manzanar and one living in Hiroshima, fighting to communicate via letter at the end of World War II in 1945. Through the bond formed through their letters and “The Crow”, a Japanese folk song from their youth, they hold out hope that they will one day be reunited.

This was the second opportunity Josh had to write a script for someone else’s story. A Song for Manzanar has been very successful since finishing production. It was the 2013 recipient of a Weisman award from Columbia College Chicago and made its premiere on the Santa Monica, CA Promenade. It has since gone on to be shown in 10 film festivals to date, including (but not limited to) the 2015 River Bend Film Festival, The Rhode Island International Film Festival, the Asian American International Film Festival, Palm Beach International Film Festival, Asians on Film, Albuquerque Film & Music Experience, The Cannes Court Métrage, The Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival and WAMMFest.

A Song for Manzanar’s Facebook page has more information about the film, the crew, and its progress as it makes its way through the festival circuit. A trailer for the film is available here.