Moscow native Luke Gresback created short film “Clyde Petri is in Trouble,” which played in the Kenworthy Theater on March 31. The film features the titular Clyde Petri, a man who seeks out shallow pleasures, devouring a mountain of cheeseburgers and cigarettes in the first scene.
Gresback depicts Petri’s mindset through a separate lens, as if his appalling internal mindset is being monitored. After the man smokes a moldy cigarette, he is smacked in the face with the reality of his life, finally noticing a toxic entity forming in his apartment’s ceiling. After briefly acknowledging this, he passes out, only to wake and continue his concerning and avoidant habits.
Gresback concocted the idea for this film after his basement flooded and he was forced to deal with the internal repairs. Petri is meant to represent an extreme version of a person who is least likely to address the difficulties of reality. Luke wanted the film to show how far someone like that would have to be pushed to examine their life.
With this character, he illustrated common themes of perceived wastes of time, such as the extreme overindulgence of substances, only listening to “alpha male podcasts,” ignoring the critique and needs of friends and mindlessly scrolling through pornographic material. While the short film depicts a direct message, the theme appears to be a critique of overconsumption and the negativities of instant gratification. Despite Petri’s behavior, the creative team admits that there are “little bits and pieces of all of us in him.”
After graduating from Moscow High School, Gresback attended Loyola Maramount University, earning a bachelor’s degree in multimedia art. Despite making home videos as a kid, Gresback only realized his aspirations for film at 19 years old.
Even though it was a difficult industry to break into, he pursued his passion. “The thing that you like can be the thing that you do,” he said. His mindset stands true, as “Clyde Petri is in Trouble” has a feature in two different film festivals, one in Boise and an upcoming event in Seattle.
While he has made his way in the world, his roots are still firmly planted in Moscow. Gresback’s choice to add the Kenworthy Theater to the list of places to show his film attests to his care and gratefulness to Moscow and the support he continues to receive here.
Along with Gresback’s film, several pieces created by his team of close-knit friends were featured, creating a theatrical experience and exposure to fresh talent. On the project, Jacob Stuadenmaier acted as the producer, Chris Pickering was the director of photography and Rishbah Trivedi filled the role of first camera operator. This group often embarks on projects together, supporting each other’s “craziest ideas.” They believed in Gresback’s vision and “[trusted] him to go on the journey.” Their collaboration is clear with the excellence in editing, creativity in the visuals and the quality of the shots.
Gresback is one of many examples of the emphasis on the importance of supporting and nurturing local talent in Moscow.
Macy Gilbert can be reached at [email protected]