One of FilmInFocus' contributors, Mike Plante - who wrote articles for us on animation and short films - is not only a fine writer but a top notch film festival programmer. And through his work with festivals, Mike gets to meet and befriend a lot of directors.

Because of an interesting set of circumstances, Mike started commissioning a diverse group of filmmakers to make a movie for him -- for the price of a meal. Here's an extract from an interview indieWIRE did with Mike a few days ago in which he explains how the director James Fotopoulos came to make the first "Lunchfilm":

We were at the New York Underground Film Festival, eating at some place that didn’t take credit cards. He didn’t have any cash. Filmmakers never have cash - or money at all! We’ve known each other for a long time, and I knew that he churns stuff out really quickly. So I said, “I’ll pay, but you don’t owe me. Instead of giving me another thirty dollar lunch, give me a thirty dollar film.” And he said, “I’ll have it done next week!” And then we wrote something down on a napkin, mostly because I was messing with him. We had both been bitching about something we had seen, so I challenged him to make a film that wasn’t like that. And he did. He made a twisted, weird, avant-garde film.

Check out the Lunchfilm website here.