Meat Friend
2022 | 8 min | English
An ex-con, sentient pile of hamburger meat teaches after-school lessons to a child.
CAST
Marnie McKendry
Megan Duffy
Steve Johanson (puppeteer, voice)
CREW
Director, Co-Writer, Producer
Izzy Lee
Co-Writer, Producer
Steve Johanson
Cinematographer, Poster Artist
Sophia Cacciola
Editor, Sound Mixer, VFX Artist
Michael J. Epstein
Puppet Designer, Additional VFX Artist, Poster Artist
Eli Dorsey
Score Composer
Shayne Gryn
Assistant Camera Operator, Still Photographer
Ryan Oksenberg
Executive Producers
Paul Furio, Mary McDonagh, Bruce Labbate, Kevin Sluder, Carter Johnson
Special Thanks
The McKendrys, Gary Sherman, Adam Egypt Mortimer, Jeffrey Stackhouse, Shane Brady, Ryan Lambert, GD Dearborn, Chris Walas
"Izzy Lee's new short film, Meat Friend features a sentient pile of hamburger meat taken over by an ex-con, as it teaches after-school lessons to a child. You know, the important stuff... like 'how to make it look like an accident.'
In a strange time, Lee felt 'When life gets weird, get weirder. The global pandemic only made us want to escape to a more heightened place, an alternate reality where the unreal can happen, where absurdity meets the vaguely sinister.
What will happen next? No one knows. Welcome to the world of Meat Friend!"
— Angel Melanson, Fangoria.com
Streaming History
Arrow
2024 – 2025
Screambox
2023 – 2024
Screenings & Awards
World Premiere
Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival
Somerville, MA
2/18/22
Played with CRABS!
Renegade Film Festival
Marietta, GA
3/5/22
Finalist, Side-Splitting Horror Comedy
Boston Underground Film Festival
Cambridge, MA
3/26/22
Teenage Waterpolo (Comedy Block)
International Premiere
Fantaspoa
Porto Alegre, Brazil
4/15/22
Bonebat Comedy of Horrors Film Festival
Seattle, WA
5/7/22
StokerCon's Final Frame Competition
Denver, CO
5/13/22
Audience Award
Etheria Film Night
Los Angeles, CA
6/18/22
Finalist
Chattanooga Film Festival
VIRTUAL
6/23 - 6/28/22
Oak Cliff Film Festival
Dallas, TX
6/25/22
Late Night Shorts
Portland Horror Film Festival
Portland, OR
7/3/22
Abby Normal Award (exceptionally weird & disturbing)
Canadian Premiere
Fantasia
Montreal, QC, Canada
7/15/22
Played with Blue Sunshine
Snake Alley Festival of Film
Burlington, IA
7/23/22
European Premiere
FrightFest
London, United Kingdom
8/26/22
International Shorts Block
GenreBlast
Winchester, VA
9/3/22
Plays with Gouge Away
Nominated for Best Midnight/WTF, Best Screenplay, Best Poster
Sydney Underground Film Festival
Sydney, Australia
9/9/22
WTF Block
WTF Audience Award
Shawna Shea Film Festival
Worcester, MA
9/21/22
Opening Night shorts block
Shawna Spirit Award
Charlotte Film Festival
10/1/22
Narrative Shorts #8
Charlotte, NC
Wreak Havoc Horror Film Festival
Winston-Salem, NC
10/31 - 11/1/22
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Brooklyn, NY
10/14/22
Laugh Now, Die Later block
Nightmares Film Festival
Columbus, OH
10/22/22
Never Play With Your Food block
Vancouver Badass Film Festival
Vancouver, BC, Canada
10/23/22
Nominated for Best Writing
Provoke Film Festival
Portland, Oregon
10/30/22
Asian Premiere
Wench Film Festival
Mumbai, India
10/30/22
FilmQuest
Provo, UT
11/4/22
“Laugh It Up, Fuzzball” – Comedy Shorts Block #17
Nominated for Minerva Award
Anomaly Film Festival
Rochester, NY
11/4/22
Played with HeGBG4
Cucalorus
Wilmington, NC
11/16th & 19th
Hellbender Shorts
Soho Horror Film Festival
London, United Kingdom
11/18 - 11/20/22 online
Played with HeGBG4
Gold Audience Award
Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
11/19/22
Played with Glorious
Monster Fest
Melbourne, Australia
11/27/22
Trasharama Shorts
Be Afraid Fest
Gorizia, Italy
11/27/22
Horror Short Block II
BizarroLand Film Festival
Orlando, FL
12/2-11/22 online
Welcome to BizarroLand 2: Casual Swim block
South Texas Underground Film Festival
Corpus Christi, TX
12/4/22
Saturday Afternoon Shorts
Runner Up, Best of Fest Short
Stranger Days Independent Film Festival
12/10/22
Charlotte, NC
Best Horror Comedy
Another Hole in the Head Film Festival
San Francisco, CA
12/11/22
Strictly Local 3
Audience Award, Best Comedy Short
FilmMaudit 2.0
Santa Monica, CA
1/14/23
Izzy Lee Retrospective
Courts Mais Trash International Film Festival
Brussels, Belgium
1/26/23
Final Girls Berlin Film Festival
Berlin, Germany
2/4/23
Panic Fest
Kansas City, MO
4/14/23
Shorts Block #1
Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival
Jim Thorpe, PA
4/22/23
Grindhouse Shorts
Kalakari Film Festival
Dewas, India
Gig Harbor Film Festival
Gig Harbor, WA
9/22/23
The Dead of Night Film Festival
Liverpool, United Kingdom
10/7/23
Morbido
Mexico City, Mexico
11/1/23
South African Independent Film Festival
Cape Town, South Africa
11/22/23
Camp Horror
Missoula, MT
8/30/24