This isn't quite fair — it's a bit like shooting fish in a barrel. No one's amateur/college-made first directorial effort is good. Hell, no one's independently-funded first effort is generally very good (see PTA's "Cigarettes & Coffee" or what's left of Quentin Tarantino's "My Best Friend's Birthday"). But for a slow President's Day, here's something to occupy you for fifteen minutes: Ben Affleck's directorial debut, the 1993 short "I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Ηung Ηer on a Μeathook & Νow I Have a Three-Picture Deal with Disney."
The short in Affleck's own words? "It's horrible. It's atrocious. I knew I wanted to be a director, and I did a couple of short films, and this is the only one that haunts me. I'm not proud of it. It looks like it was made by someone who has no prospects, no promise." And yes, it's not very good, but again, what first short made with amateur actors is?
But then again, the short can serve a function: those annoyed with the fact that "Argo" is likely going to win Best Picture at the Oscars next Sunday can probably use this to soften the blow. [via La Familia Film]