Filmmaking brothers Ryan Gielen and Matthew Gielen will tell you that they wouldn't dare compare themselves to the legendary Coen brothers, but the similarities are impossible to ignore.



The producer-director team behind this summer's funniest comedy, The Graduates, differ wildly in style and manner, but on set their different approaches complement each other nicely.

?Matt's nickname on set is Absolutely Not,? says Ryan, the older of the two. ?It's his mantra. He's a dedicated and strong producer and people love him for it.?

According to Matt, this tough-love style compliments Ryan's approach. ?Ryan has big ideas for our small budget projects, and big ideas can be hardto execute,? says Matt. ?Together we find that balance, and the result is something like The Graduates.?

The Graduates, made for a mere $95,000, looks and feels like a studio film: the images are pristine, as if they were shot on film. But the Gielen brothers actually shot the film on video with a special adapter, and were able to create a film-quality movie without the added expense of film processing.

?We're not competing with $95,000 films,? says Matt. ?We're competing with every studio film that come s out this summer, and we're proud that we can compete.?

The Graduates hits theaters,DVD shelves and iTunes this May.