Some AFI Dallas Short Films Part 1

Reviewed By Shane Morton

Capture Claus

Directed By Chris McInroy

From the very beginning of this film, I was smiling.  Remember when you first discovered that Santa Claus might not be real?  Well, when this young genius is told the “truth” by his non-believing father and brother, he is able to rediscover his own faith and rekindle his family’s.  Sounds sweet right, and it is.  BUT!  This film is a comedy and it pulls no punches.  Very slickly written and well directed.  This is a film I would watch each and every Christmas.

Collectibles

Directed By Miranda Yousef

Another film that takes place at Christmas.  A young girl is given a “collectible” doll for Christmas but she cannot open the packaging and play with it because then it will be worthless.  The mother in this film keeps catching the girl trying to get to the doll and punishes her every time.  A cute script and well shot.  The ending of this film is every young girls fantasy.  A sweet and marvelous little film.

Filthy Food

Directed By T. Arthur Cottam

By the title, I thought…”Hmmm. This must be a hard hitting doc short about the germas found on our produce or food in grocery stores.”  Uh-huh.  How wrong was I.  From the first musical phrase of the films score, I realized what I was in for.  AND I LOVED IT!!  It was nice and refreshing to see a film in a festival, be fun, wrong, vulgar, and not take itself to seriously.  The outcome of this ‘food for sex’ metaphor was a very funny short film that pushed the boundaries and made you squirm and giggle at the same time.  Also, you start to see how difficult of a film it actually was to make.  Please, Dirty Little Shorts-I want more!

Free At Last

Directed By Wyndll Robertson

A nicely shot film that was well acted and conceptualized.  This film was shot with almost no money, but the artistry soars above some of the other films with high budgets.  A run away slave finds himself out of time and ends up in today’s inner city of a metropolitan area.  The film says a lot about the world we live in today by making references to our past.  A tight film and I look forward to Wyndll’s next film.

Kids + Money

Directed By Lauren Greenfield

This is a fantastic documentary about how LA Teenagers see the world through the almighty dollar and the “style” it can provide for them.  We see rich kids and poor kids speak about their need for stylish clothes in LA’s very money driven culture.  Where to be popular you need a bag worth at least $1000.  It was eye opening and I hope that parents who see this film realize what consumerism is doing to our youth.  A truly great small film.  We saw this at AFI –LA.