A Meditation on the Impossibility of Romantic Love in a Rapidly Expanding Universe

Best Short Film, Anchorage Film FestivalBest Student Film, Dahlonega International Film Festival
Martin Scorsese Award Ivy Film FestivalJudge's Award, First Sundays Comedy Film FestivalSumma– Cum Laude

Produced as a Senior Thesis for the film department at Harvard University under the guidance of independent filmmaker Hal Hartley, The Epic Tale of Kalesius and Clotho is a deadpan farce about the many forms of obsession and a hilarious chronicle of the first filmmaker to make a movie based on Koufos’ ancient Greek myth Kalesius and Clotho.

Director Kyle Gilman is obsessed with Jennie, his former leading lady. Unfortunately, she has moved away to New York and wants nothing to do with him. When he finds Janine, an actress who bears a striking resemblance to Jennie, he is sure that she will be the perfect replacement.

Kyle’s struggles to overcome his own incompetence, the incompetence of his cast and crew, and his obsession with Jennie, lead to increasingly awkward and comic situations.


27 mins

Behind the Scenes

Taking actual events to their illogical extreme, the film is based on Kyle Gilman’s misguided on-camera proposition to actress Jennie Tarr during the shooting of their previous film, Camera Noise. The idea grew out of Kyle’s assumption that Jennie would never want to work with him again. Although she did agree to continue their professional relationship, Kyle proceeded as if she hadn’t.

Logically any filmmaker obsessed with an actress would want to replace her with someone just like her. The character of Janine was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of obsession, Vertigo. The ancient Greek myth “Kalesius and Clotho” was a play Kyle had worked on for several years but never finished because it seemed too pretentious. However, it seemed like a perfect match for the character in the film.

The Epic Tale of Kalesius and Clotho received a grade of Summa– cum laude from Harvard College and was nominated for a Hoopes Prize, given to outstanding thesis projects.