Entertainment

A Review of Mattress, A 10 Minute Film

Published

5 years ago

March 2, 2020

Mattress Nominated For Young Artist Award (2016) and Vancouver Joey Awards (2015)

Just as the title says, this movie is about a mattress. While that might not sound great, this short film, which is only ten minutes in length, follows the situation that unfolds when, under cover of darkness, a family dumps an old mattress in a dirty Strathcona alley. What happens next is an all-out suburban war, and the next day, blame passes from neighbor to neighbor with no one willing to take responsibility for the abandoned and illegally dumped mattress.

Dodging rotten eggs and Molotov cocktails, the youngest member of the Lee family, has to do the right thing, and the movie is about how Little Boy Lee has to take responsibility for his actions and clean up the streets.

The Movie ‘Mattress’ was Inspired By True Events

While it might sound unbelievable to you, this short movie was written by Michelle Kee, who said that she had always envisioned Mattress to be an extension of her overly-indulgent imagination during one strange month when a pale blue mattress was dumped on her garage and began a passive-aggressive mini-war between her neighbors, she said: “During that month, the mattress degraded into this disgusting big blue eyesore that had been spat on, peed on and even run over. The mystery of how and when the mattress ended up in the alley and the emotion it sparked between my neighbors fascinated me. We actually filmed this story in the same alley as the original inspiration.”

While only a short film, ‘Mattress’ is in a sense, an epic retelling of this incident from the perspective of the ‘dump and ditchers’ – specifically the youngest member of the family, Little Boy Lee.

Michelle Kee, who has lived in Singapore, the UK, and the USA before laying down roots in Vancouver, Canada, and has directed one short film and two music videos.

Mattress is a Tale Through a Young Boy’s Eyes

Every scene of Mattress is from the perspective of Little Boy Lee, and while it is an entertaining and funny film, at its very core, it’s a story about a little boy coming of age. The film is enjoyable as although only short, it takes you on a ride as the situation in the alley continues to escalate but what is the most important and endearing part of the film is that you get to see Little Boy Lee finding out and learning that a person’s actions can lead to disastrous consequences and that there’s a difference between family and world values.

Entertainment

Going Public: The Groundbreaking Series Transforming How Americans Invest

Published

1 month ago

May 16, 2025

Jonathan Grilli

In a media landscape saturated with reality TV and startup showcases, Going Public stands apart, not just as a show but as a movement. Now in its third season, the interactive series invites viewers to do more than just watch entrepreneurs chase success. It gives them the tools and the opportunity to invest in startups in real time, democratizing access to early-stage funding and reshaping how ordinary Americans engage with entrepreneurship and wealth-building.

Launched by Todd M. Goldberg, a former MedTech executive who hit a frustrating wall while preparing his company for a Nasdaq IPO, Going Public was born from a moment of personal disillusionment.

“When I brought a list of interested friends and colleagues to the Chairman of the Board,” Goldberg recalls, “he explained that all the IPO shares were reserved for institutional investors. That was my epiphany. I just knew that was wrong. Regular people should have a chance to invest in IPOs, but it needed to go even further.”

That insight became the foundation for Going Public, a hybrid of entrepreneurial storytelling and financial access that offers retail investors a seat at the table usually reserved for venture capitalists and insiders. The show brings audiences inside the capital-raising journey of startups, often before they go public, and leverages a powerful innovation: its “Click-to-Invest” feature.

“The bottom line with Click-to-Invest is that it’s seamless,” says Goldberg. “Viewers can go from watching the show to literally clicking a button. It feels more like a Shopify or Amazon checkout than a traditional investment process.”

This accessibility is central to the show’s mission: to educate, inspire, and empower everyday people to participate in early-stage investing. Unlike financial news channels that target seasoned traders, Going Public merges entertainment with financial literacy, using real startup stories to highlight the risks, rewards, and realities of entrepreneurship. It’s financial content with emotional stakes, real people, and tangible outcomes.

Season 3 reflects how far the show has come and where it’s going. With more celebrity involvement, including gaming icon Ninja backing the cashew milk startup Nutcase, and a strategic partnership with the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Going Public has widened its reach while deepening its cultural relevance.

“How do you make this mainstream?” Goldberg says. “The concept was The Apprentice meets Shark Tank meets IPO, but with a twist. Viewers aren’t just spectators, they’re stakeholders.”

The show’s selection of featured companies is another defining element. Startups are chosen not just for their growth potential but also for their mission, relatability, and cultural resonance. In Season 3, that includes everything from disruptive wellness brands to tech-enabled platforms, each paired with guidance from top-tier venture capitalists and Silicon Valley mentors.

This season also introduces a livestream finale, a format innovation designed to create a real-time, high-stakes environment where viewers can watch, decide, and invest together. It adds urgency and community to the investing experience, aligning with the show’s values of transparency and participation.

One of the most surprising and meaningful outcomes has been the personal stories from viewers who never imagined themselves as investors. “We’ve heard from teachers, nurses, and even students who said this was their first time investing and they felt confident doing it because the show made it accessible,” Goldberg shares. “It’s not just about money, it’s about empowerment.”

Looking ahead, Goldberg and his team have ambitious plans. They aim to expand the format to new platforms, explore international adaptations, and build out educational tools so viewers not only invest but understand what they’re investing in. The goal isn’t just more participation. It’s smarter participation.

In a world where capital often feels distant, technical, and exclusionary, Going Public brings the financial journey down to earth and into the hands of the people. It’s not just a show. It’s a redefinition of how business stories are told and how wealth can be created and shared.