There’s a line in Donnie Brasco when Sonny Black (Michael Madsen’s character) says, “How can John Wayne die?”

I spent the night watching Eli’s films, a lot of the infamous TMDB deleted catalogue (Epsilon, The Void, Voice Male, etc.). As Eli’s visceral images flashed in front of my tear filled eyes, I felt full. Full of the life he gave to us. Full of the heart he put into every frame. Full of the passion he installed into every waking…

Eli Hayes is one of the reasons I became a filmmaker. When I first saw his films, I knew wanted to be like him and make art that expressed my personality in a video medium such as he has done for many years now.

Eli's ability to evince himself via images is unmatched, as reflected early on in Nobody, the musings of a highly intelligent and precocious teen. Nobody even directly inspired my first short film with it's imaginative and…