Sikumi (On the Ice)Palm Springs Shorts Fest Part 1
Sikumi (On the Ice)
DIRECTOR: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean
USA, 2008, 15 Minutes
Language: Eskimo Dialect
This Sundance Grand Prize winner is a visually spectacular tale about a conflict between members of an Eskimo tribe in a remote, frozen locale in the Arctic.
This is a stunningly beautiful film. The stark landscapes of the Arctic Wilderness perfectly create the world of this film. You can truly believe that someone could go mad and commit horrible crimes upon your neighbors. The script is smart and the acting is quite good. Andrew MacLean has created a morality tale that all should see.
The Closet
DIRECTOR: Stewart Hendler
USA, 2008, 4 Minutes
Language: English
A man's reminiscence of childhood love is triggered by the sight of a young girl tying the shoelace of one of her two dads.
This film’s message of tolerance and compassion is structured beautifully around the realization of the great strides forward homosexual acceptance has made in society. In its very short length, it is able to capture pathos most features should aspire to. An old man, while walking passes the place of his “forbidden” love as a schoolboy, remembers being punished for their attraction, and the loss he has never forgotten. As he is coming to terms with his memory, he sees that two gay men and their daughter now live in that same house. It seems that a weight is lifted off his shoulders as we fade to black.
I just saw that this film will be playing on LOGO’s ClickList for Short Films. It is a truly beautiful story, nicely packaged and delivered.
The Cousin (El Primo)
DIRECTOR: Nick Oceano
USA, 2008, 16 Minutes
Language: Spanish, English
When two cousins, former best friends, are reunited in the course of a family visit, it soon becomes apparent just how much things have changed for both of them.
This is a nice film that I first saw a little over a year ago at Fusion here in LA. A bookish teenager goes to visit family and falls for his older and more mature cousin. A wonderfully acted and directed film. This is a story that everyone can identify with in some way. Nick Oceano truly captures what it means to feel out of place. Great performances from everyone in this short film, leaves us wishing it could continue. Perhaps one day a feature film will find its way out of this lovely short.
Daddy's Big Girl
DIRECTOR: Reid Waterer
USA, 2008, 17 Minutes
Language: English
A resentful young woman and her out, gay father have a longstanding communication problem. Can a male exotic dancer provide the opportunity to make father and daughter finally see eye-to-eye?
This movie was cute. I think it was meant to be funnier than it actually was, but I still enjoyed it. The script was nice but felt a little forced at times, which I think muted some of the possible humor here. Nice acting, and slick production values make up for most of the “forced” feeling of the film.
Awakening (En Forelskelse)
DIRECTOR: Christian Tafdrup
Denmark, 2008, 39 Minutes
North American Premiere
Language: Danish
Finding himself unexpectedly attracted to his girlfriend's father, a young man goes through a sexual awakening that will cause a seismic shift in his approach to both life and love.
I truly loved this film and did not want it to be over. It is so well made, that I hope someone finds the film quick and turns it into a feature as there is so much more that could be covered. The cast is superb and brings such strong performances to this little gem of a film. The script is strong and well paced and the look and feel is perfect.
Whenever I see a short film with such a long running time, I tend to think it is probably to long. Not so with this fantastic film. A real kudo for Mr. Tafdrup. I cannot wait to see what comes from you next!
Second Guessing Grandma
DIRECTOR: Bob Giraldi
USA, 2008, 10 Minutes
Language: English
It's the 80s, Reagan is in power and Ed is gay. While his parents are cool with his decision, Ed's Jewish grandmother is horrified by the news. They've always been close, so in response to her trauma, Ed decides it's time to educate Grandma.
I’m not sure that I got the whole 80’s thing from the film. Perhaps I overlooked that, but no matter. I was probably laughing to hard to notice. From the beginning to the end of this film, I was loudly guffawing in all the right places. Well written and acted, this film was a barrel of laughs that was also able to be extremely touching when it wanted to. The family dynamic here is so well conceived and so believable, that you cannot help but get caught up in the mania it provides.
Thirteen or So Minutes...
DIRECTOR: Branden Blinn
USA, 2008, 14 Minutes
Language: English
This amusing boy-meets-boy story introduces us to two young, attractive straight guys who act on the fact that they are incredibly attracted to one another. In the aftermath, one of them seems to have second thoughts.
What I liked about this film was its voyeuristic style. I truly felt like a fly on the wall seeing something that was supposed to be extremely private. The strong performances by Nick Soper and Carlos Salas, truly lift this film from really good, to exceptional! The script is stylistically almost theatric. Very wordy and has long monologue passages, for a film. The film is shot very tightly and makes the conversation and confusion of the situation almost claustrophobic in many ways. You do not want these characters to escape, you want them to stay where they are. I would have loved to have seen more. It is perfect as is. But I would love to see how they got to that place in their lives, only because I became so caught up in this moment of their lives.
Shane Morton