NYC SHORTS FESTIVAL PART 2

Reviews By: Stacie Perlman

PADAM 

Foreign | 12:00 | Spain | 2007  
Director: Jose Manuel Carrasco
Synopsis: Pilar doesn't want to be alone, so she decides to go to a dating
                agency and get a blind date. What she doesn't know is that her
                date has his own plans and they have nothing to do with hers.

"You have to tell men what to think, otherwise they get bored. Or... was it the other way around?" Funny. Funny. Funny. And sweet, without all the rom-com starry-eyed fairy-tale endings. The actress playing Pilar was perfect- cynical and yearning, smart as a whip.

FLORENT

LGBT | 15:45 | USA | 2007
Director: Laura van Schendel
Synopsis: Florent Morellet, owner of legendary restaurant Florent, battles
                his dark side as he tries to keep the lights on in his popular
                nightspot.

 The other documentary filmmakers could take lessons from Ms. van Schendel. Her film created a picture of a man, an entrepreneur, a movement, and a community in transition. The director has an obvious affection for her subject. I enjoyed meeting Florent, with his open grin and huskily sexy French accent. 

 AWKWARD

Comedy | 6:26 | Canada | 2008 
Director: Kellie Ann Benz
Synopsis: A dinner party conversation takes the most unexpected of turns.

This film turns dinner conversation on its ear-- dirty talk is the preferred norm. When the host's sister appears, she's baffled by this talk, and her efforts to steer the conversation towards more appropriate fare is met with disgust-- PEOPLE ACTUALLY LEAVE THE ROOM, because watching TV is obscene. Funny.

PASEO

Foreign | 13:00 | Spain | 2008 
Director: Arturo Ruiz Serrano
Synopsis: Gabino has never declared his love to a woman.

This film is about more than it seems to be. At first, it appeared to be just a (wonderfully-done) little film about isolation and regret. It was funny, endearing, and different than anything I'd ever seen before. The loneliness in the film was staggering, but never overpowering. This film won BEST OF FEST. I voted for it!

WOMAN IN BURKA

Comedy | 20:33 | USA | 2008
Director: Jonathan Lisecki
Synopsis: A darkly comic look at the life of an actress and the types of
                Middle Eastern roles available to her in a post 9/11 culture.

"In a Burka, anyone can be an Iraqi." As an actor, I appreciated this film on its deepest, most frustrating level. I understand typecasting, and I also understand when typecasting goes horribly NOT YOUR WAY (like how I've been "typed out" for FIDDLER ON THE ROOF on more than one occasion in favor of redheads). Speaking of redheads, yes, there is one in this film auditioning for "Woman in Burka"-with a PINK burka. Fun-NY. There's also the always-present actor putting down other actor's projects, either out of jealousy, bitterness, or both. Sam Rockwell makes a cameo.

PROCRASTINATION

Animation | 4:15 | UK | 2007 
Director: Johnny Kelly
Synopsis: Sometimes the only way to get something done is to do
                two-dozen other things first.

My life- onscreen. Also the story of writing these reviews. But seriously, folks: This was a clever, quippy, and oh-so-true film that blended stop-animation with drawn animation of the "Yellow Submarine" variety.

INTERIOR. BLOCK OF FLATS HALLWAY

Student | 16:00 | Romania | 2007  
Director: Ciprian Alexandrescu
Synopsis: The death of a person starts a chain reaction which involves the
                 neighbors.

I found this film... rather pointless. A group of neighbors in an apartment building discover a dead body in their compactor room. But... there was no "chain reaction". They asked a few questions, got no answers, and went about their lives like nothing was. To me, it showed the futility of life and community, which was a real downer note to leave the festival on.  It won BEST DRAMA of the Fest, but I wonder if that's only because the other dramas got other prizes.