Let me break it down for you.

Little Spark Films participated in all three years of the Demonic Chronic 48-Hour Stoner Film Race — the only 48hr film race of its kind to unapologetically incorporate cannabis into the artform. Out of those years, Don’t Take the Drag and Burnouts stood out. They deserved more attention. They still do.

 

Don’t Take the Drag (Year Two – “Grindhouse”)

We pulled the genre Grindhouse and had to deliver a 4–7 minute short. Jayson pitched a fake trailer — and it clicked. The P-Town Skanks let us use their track “No Clue,” and off we went.

Now, this race nearly killed us. Catalina and I were working three other gigs while raising a toddler and juggling a full cast and crew. Oh, and we decided to shoot a separate music video at the same time. Yeah... we were fried.

The required elements?

• A drag queen character

• A dime bag storage prop

• The line: “That’s what she said.”

We pushed through the chaos. Catalina cut the trailer, Javier Arredondo of Vato Loco Tattoo Studio backed us up, and our late, dear friend Rhiannon McMillen co-produced. There was no real “wrap” to production — we just filmed, edited, and submitted... barely making the deadline. But damn, we did it.

 

Burnouts (Year Three – “Road Trip”)

By year three, it was mostly a new crew. I had envisioned this as the final chapter in a loose trilogy that started with Cupcake and DTTD, but the original cast bailed. So, we pivoted. David Gonzalez and Jayson Atz stepped up, and we crafted something entirely new.

Enter Paragraph and Lillith from ManifestiV — our lifeline. They gave us the Bumobile, which basically became a character of its own. They acted, scored, clowned, and anchored the shoot. Without them, this film wouldn’t exist.

That year’s required elements were:

• A clown character

• A golf tee one-hitter prop

• The line: “I learned it from watching you.”

Producer Nacho somehow scored us a strip club and a church to shoot in — and yes, we defiled both. We shot for 15 hours and wrapped around 3 AM. Editing was a beast. Catalina and I had to cut so many killer jokes just to meet the runtime.

At the screening, Burnouts kicked off the whole damn event. The theater lit up with laughter right out of the gate. That reaction? Pure fire.

​

Why This Cut?

We took the time to remaster both films — cleaned up the timing, added better angles, and restored jokes that originally got chopped. Don’t Take the Drag now has the true grindhouse feel it deserved. In fact, it was even showcased at Texas Frightmare Weekend 2017 in the Fake Trailer Showcase.

This new 14-minute double feature cut is smoother, tighter, and way more fun. We don’t know if pairing them together like this is in poor taste... but screw it. We’re proud as hell.

We love these shorts. Everyone we show loves them.
And we hope you do too.

Thanks for reading.
— Manco