Filmmaker Produces First Film Designed to Put You to Sleep

Most filmmakers wouldn't want to be told their films put people to sleep, but it's a compliment to director Sondra Lowell.

In fact, putting people to sleep is her goal as the self-proclaimed inventor of a new genre she calls "film sleepy."

Lowell has made two such films thus far. The first, "WebcamMurder.com,"  is mostly shots of people sitting around in front of webcams 24/7, wondering how to get Web surfers to tune in on their uneventful lives.

"It sounds a lot more excited than it is," she told AOL News.

The second is "Sublime Crime: A Subliminal Mystery,"  and Lowell claims it is the first entirely subliminal mystery in history.

"It is a big step forward in movies worth sleeping through," she said. "It is mostly a blank screen with flashes of plot and personal growth affirmations, accompanied by an unintelligible binaural soundtrack."

So far, the critics are in agreement with Lowell about the quality of her work. For instance, the Los Angeles Times called WebcamMurder.com "the most boring talkie ever made," and the reviews for "Sublime Crime" have been just as positive.

But Lowell didn't start out wanting to make boring films. In her case, it's a matter of making cinematic lemonade out of lemons.

"I've always wanted to make a movie but found I was good at putting people to sleep," Lowell said. "I took classes at UCLA and the teachers would fall apart when I made a script. People would tell me that I didn't understand how to make a story and told me the scenes should build on each other.

"I thought I was doing that, but people fell asleep. It took me awhile to realize I was on to something."

That something was "film sleepy," a genre that respects the idea that an audience has the right to grab 40 winks while the film is on the screen.

"People are so connected to the Internet or their smart phones that they need a way to let go," she said.



Lowell believes that her films are a non-narcotic way for people to fall asleep, but admits all the evidence is apocryphal.

"I've showed these film to large audiences hoping to see if everyone falls asleep, but I fall asleep myself and can't tell if anyone did," she said.

The latest film, "Sublime Crime: A Subliminal Mystery," cost $103 to make, $3 for the DVD tape and $100 to pay herself for acting as per Screen Actors Guild union rules.