Show Us Your Shorts Part 2
by Obed Medina
Bombay Skies
Writer/Director Rita Rani
USA
After the screening, writer/director Rita Rani was asked if she would direct another film. She replied, rather determinedly, that she would not. It’s a shame, because this first effort is beautifully filmed, well executed, and well acted. American-born Anjali (Rani) runs off to Bombay in search of her dream of becoming the next great Bollywood actress. Her father Anand (Rajat Kapoor) follows her in order to bring her home. Once back in his home country, a young boy offers to guide him through the city in search of Anjali. The comfort of seeing his old neighborhood and the resilience of the youth remind him of what it is like to be young again. Eventually, he is able to reconcile with his daughter.
Improbable Fix
Producer Jeff Lacy and Director Chris Durkee
USA
Kate is headed for home after a near overdose. For her, home is one of two options. On her bus ride to her destination, and told through eloquent narrative, she describes her life for the past fifteen years from the time she ran away from home at age thirteen to her drug addiction and finally to prostitution to support her habit. Hope comes in the form of thirteen year old Emily. In her, Kate sees herself and the likely path she will follow. It is now Kate’s mission to “save” this girl. However, once she discovers the identity of this young Emily, the realization sends her running. Will she start a new life or return to the old?
Freedom Dance
Writer Susie McCauley, and Producers/Directors Steven Fischer and Craig Herron
USA
The power of animation to present contemporary political issues is something that is becoming mainstream (take the recent Persepolis). In the short film Freedom Dance, it offers a moving portrayal of the resilience of human nature to be free of oppression. This film chronicles the four month escape of refugees Edward and Judy Hilbert. As they escape Communist Hungary during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Edward Hilbert kept a sketchbook journal of their endeavor and the film recreates those sketches to tell this story.
The Night Before Christmas
Writer/Producer/Director Carlos Dorsey
USA
Young boy and father play a cat and mouse game on Christmas Eve. The boy’s objective? To get to the gifts before father can stop him. Boy uses all his tricks but to no avail. This student film is suitable for younger children, as it plays to that younger crowd and really doesn’t leave much for the rest. My other only complaint is that the lighting in the film is too dark. It distracts from the action on screen.
Asparagus
Producer/Co-writer John Ariotto, and Co-writer/Director Roman Wyden
USA
Engaging family drama about a subject most of us hold dear to our hearts: the dysfunctional family dinner. Recovering alcoholic, Daniel (Charles O’Hair) and his family try to keep a semblance of normalcy during Thanksgiving dinner. Tension builds between Daniel and his drug addicted brother, Uncle Guy (Guy Camillari). Both families are threatened when cousins Jacob (Michael Jolly) and Gwen (Renata Su Obal) are found making out in his bedroom. Good acting and cinematography make for an above average drama.
Pilgrimage
Producer Karen Ishizuka, Robert Nakamura and Producer/Director Tadashi Nakamura
USA
This is an effective and informative documentary on the little-known historical chapter in the history of California. During WWII, the Japanese were seen as a threat to America after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Under executive order, all Japanese-Americans were sent to concentration camps in Manzanares, California. This documentary captures the spirit of a group Japanese Americans who made a pilgrimage to this site in the late 1960s as a way of understanding their place in America. Since then, it has become a place to reconvene and remember and, ultimately, a reaffirmation for people of all races.
Rabia
Producers Adrian Brevard, Chris Ottesen, Dani Rascon and Producer/Director Muhammad Ali Hasan
USA
Short films have the task of telling a full engaging story in a concise arc all without a second to waste on unnecessary footage or subplots. A good short can achieve some of that, but a better one is able to balance all the elements of film and storytelling in a way that it appeals to a wide audience while at the same time touching upon serious subject manner in a non-biased way. Rabia (Hanieh Jodat) does just that. In a story that can easily become melodramatic, Hasan pulls it off brilliantly. The story focuses on the effects of rejection on a young Muslim woman. So much so, that she is willing to strap herself to explosives in order to achieve any success. For me, this was the best film at this festival. It was nominated for Best Picture. Too bad it didn’t win.
The Perfect Dress
Producers Mary-Jane April and Steven Holtzman and Writer/Director Rose Viggiano
USA
Candace frantically searches for the perfect dress to impress his boyfriend’s parents. The problem: Candace (Alicia Goranson) is not the perfect girlfriend, so she thinks. What follows in a frantic rush to prepare herself for a night at the opera with said boyfriend and parents. Unfortunately, her only good pants suit is at the cleaners and the cleaners are closed for the day. Comedic mayhem ensues as she breaks in and retrieves the dress. This short is standard fare as far as comedies of this type go. Some of the situations are a little forced, but overall, not bad.
Droomtijd (Dreamtime)
Producer/Director Tom Van Avermaet
Belgium
Terry Gilliamesque short where the lowly working man is controlled by time. Everyday activity is regulated by clocks and daydreaming is an offense that can get your “retired” permanently. A man (Marteen Claeyssens) is visited by a mysterious sandman and now it is a race against time as he tries to outrun the industrial world that closes in on him. Great cinematography and ambient direction creates a creepy look at a society run by a dictatorship.
Jim In The Box
Writer/Producer/Director Joseph Weisman
USA
Yea, we know it—clowns are scary. There was even a report out recently that confirms it. The Saw film franchise, too, is here to stay. If only the latter could be as short and to the point as Jim in the Box. A white box (think of the white room in THX 1138 but much smaller) in which Jim (Brad Smith) is inexplicably chained inside is the only thing we know, add a menacing Clown (Sam Carson) who pops in now and then to torture poor Jim, and you got the basic plot for this short. Winner for Best Horror at the festival, this film is effective in playing on our phobias.
When Erma Made Herman
Producer Daniela Pinna and Writer/Exec. Producer/Director Alana Cymerman
Canada
A fable that parallels Pinocchio by way of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. Inventor Erma (Janine Theriault) is left with a hole in her apartment after she throws out her man for being to distracting. The disembodied head of her grandmother (Dawn Ford) implores her to find a man to fill her hole (pun intended.) She does just that—she invents one. But still love is imperfect and this wacky comedy shows us how love cannot be invented, but must be found. Impressive set pieces and solid performances keep this film from being to sugary.
Misty & Sara
Producer/Director Jason Marsden
USA
Short films are great for capturing the quiet little epiphanies of life. This film takes a bad situation and turns it into an affirmation of life. Sara (Brittney Powell) is now divorce and having a bad day so she calls her best friend Misty (Jennifer Black) for support. What follows is an evening of wild girls cutting loose and reminding us that sometimes life just needs to be fun. This film captures life in such a fun way, it’s impossible to resist.
Hollywood Jerome
Exec. Producer Malik Yusef and Writer/Director Frey Hoffman
USA
Images and poetry fuels this winner. A 14-year-old South Side gang member idolizes classic Hollywood gangsters. One day he finds himself in a police standoff with dire results. This is an adaptation of Yusef’s poem by the same name. In the style of “Def Poetry Jam,” the quick MTV flash of images quickly unravel Jerome’s fate as he learns that life on the silver screen is not necessarily reflective of reality.
Orion Slave Girls Must Die!!!
Writer Stuart C. Paul and Director/Producer Eric Kallevig
USA
This short was extremely funny. I’ve never understood the passion these hardcore Star Trek fans possess. It’s beyond me. But, hey, even Trekkies fall in love. Just don’t let your girlfriend know you sleep on a bed that resembles the Enterprise. I have to admit, I don’t know anything about Star Trek, but you don’t need to understand it to get some of the jokes. But I’m sure any true Trekkie will be able to appreciate it even more. I did.
Fallen Apple
Writer/Producer/Director Michael Sarrow
USA
Social ethics takes the fore in this short that parallels the scandal of Abu Ghraib. Effective convention of narrating through flashbacks in a psychologist’s office keeps the story moving along. Good solid performances by the actors.
The Postcard
Exec. Producer David Harte and Director Kathleen Wilhoite
USA
Stan has been running all his life. So he decides to stop running. On the back of a postcard, he writes his final goodbye to his wife offering one last hope: If she should find him before he dies, she should give him the chance to start over. Bittersweet drama chronicles the final hours of a man who feels he has nothing more to offer.