Worldwide Short Film Festival 2009 - Awards

It's funny how time just kind slides away from you...The 2009 Worldwide Short Film Festival wrapped up 8 days ago and had their awards out before I even posted my first set of reviews.

Here's a quick round-up of the winners:


Audience Award
"Paul Rondin Is... Paul Rondin / Paul Rondin est... Paul Rondin" - directed by Frederick Vin

Best Live Action Short
Winner: "My Name is Dominic / Tous les enfants s'appellent Dominique" - directed by Nicolas Silhol
Honourable Mention: "Sand / Zand" - directed by Joost Van Ginkel

Best Emerging Canadian Filmmaker
Winner: Aparna Kapur for "Amma"
Honourable Mention: Joseph Johnson Cami & Ayelen Liberona for "Becoming"



Best Cinematography in a Canadian Short
Winner: Miroslaw Baszak for "The Water"
Honourable Mention: Pedro Pires for "Danse Macabre"

Best Animated Short
"Slaves" - directed by Hanna Heilborn and David Aronowitsch

Best Canadian Short
"Land of Men / Terre des hommes" - directed by Ky Nam Le Duc

The Best Experimental Short
Winner: "Danse Macabre" - directed by Pedro Pires
Honourable Mention: "Inscape" - directed by Servane Phillips and Nathalie Robison



Best Documentary Short
"Skin" - directed by Rhys Graham

Best Performance (Female)
Leora Rivlin for "Wind Chimes"

Best Performance (Male)
Jack Wouterse for "Sand / Zand"

Best Performance (Ensemble)
Kil-ho Kim & Tae-hoon Lee for "Auld Lang Syne"

Screenplay Giveaway Prize
Kate Hewlett for "She Said Lenny"

Worldwide Short Film Festival - "Midnight Mania: Freaky"

First the creepy films and now the freaky ones. They sure know how to live up to their titles.



Glottal Opera (directed by John Fink) - 4 minutes of 4 women singing as seen from inside their throats. It's weird, wonderful, certainly freaky and a bit too long. It is pretty interesting matching the sounds you hear to the way a human body makes them though.



The Snake Mountain Colada (directed by Calvin Reeder) - Probably my least favourite of all the films I've seen in any of the screenings. I think the filmmakers actually achieved what they set out to do - recreate a Texas Chainsaw Massacre style vibe, mixed in with drug binging and internal organs. In all honesty though, I hated pretty much every single frame.



Danny's Magical Potion (directed by Gaute Hesthagen) - How do you even try to review a film 1 minute long? Danny drinks a special potion, becomes nice and we see how the effects ripple. Why is it freaky? You need look no further than the screencap below.




The Sexiest Stories on Earth! No. 2 (Las historias mas sexy del mundo! No. 2) (directed by Eric Cheevers) - As an homage to euro sex comedies of the 60-70s, it seems to nail the period and style. I couldn't find the film online, but here's the original film by Cheevers entitled "The Sexiest Stories on Earth! (Las historias mas sexy del mundo!)". You should get the idea:




The Heart Of Karl (directed by Steven Kostanski) - Kostanski and his Astron-6 Video team produced one of my favourite films from last year's Toronto After Dark Film Festival - the great and highly entertaining Lazer Ghosts 2: Return To Lazer Cove. This time out it's a full story as opposed to a simple fake trailer, but there's less of a fun goofy spirit to it. That's not to say it isn't good or funny, it's just a different tone. More downright...um...oh what's the word...oh yeah, freaky. Another film that goes on a bit longer than maybe it should, but there's some particularly brilliant moments contained within.

Here's the trailer:




Eel Girl (directed by Paul Campion) - A scientist observes an Eel Girl and then things go pretty much exactly how you figure they will. And you're glad they do.



The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon (directed by Richard Gale) - Most of the work here was done when they came up with the concept and the title. Especially when they decided that the weapon would be a spoon. Unfortunately this too goes on longer than necessary, but you can't help but laugh pretty much every time the insane murdering guy whacks his victim with the convex side of the spoon - leaving darker and darker bruises as the story goes along.



Everyday is a Fish Day (Høydepunkter) (directed by Jens Lien) - The daily grind of the life of a fresh fish for sale. Who knew they had longing in their hearts?

Here's the entire 1 and a half minute film:




The Sleuth Incident (directed by Jason Kupfer) - I just liked the different ways that the filmmakers created to make this big stuffed bear appear to be moving on its own - walking, sitting, lunging at someone's neck to rip it out...



My Rabit Hoppy (directed by Anthony Lucas) - Aren't bunnies cute? Until they grow up to be big and strong that is.



Git Gob (directed by Philip Eddolls) - More short animated goofiness. Fun, entertaining goofiness, but goofiness all the same.

Here's the entire 1 and a half minute film:




My Love Lives in the Sewer (Mi amor vive en las alcantarillas)
(directed by Manuel Arija De La Cuerda) - The black and white photography only emphasizes the grungy, grimy and overall disgusting washroom and sewer scenes. A young man (as the title indicates) believes he has found his true love who lives down in the sewer. He communicates with her via letters printed on a certain brand of toiler paper. It's even stranger than you're imagining right now.

Here's the trailer:

Worldwide Short Film Festival - "Midnight Mania: Creepy"

This would have been a more effective set of films had I actually been in the theatre with an audience watching them at the midnight screening, but alone in your dark basement (this is just not my wife's cup of tea to say the least) still allows for some unsettling moments.

One note: Just go ahead and assume that none of the video clips are safe for work and we'll all be much happier...


The Intruder (directed by Mikael Kreuzrigler) - The twist isn't overly surprising and some of the ghost images aren't very original, but the film is very adept at making you constantly shift your focus all over the screen for clues or hints of what is to come next. Add to that a couple of good jump scares and some other eerie moments and you have a very well done film that was a great opener.




Out Of Control (Fuera de Control) (directed by Sofia Carrillo) - Beautiful and creepy. Think long form Tool video and you're getting close to the feel of this stop motion animation film. I can't deny the artistry, but it simply didn't captivate me after the first couple of minutes and became rather dull. Geez, I feel bad for even saying that considering the amount of work and creativity on hand.




Laura Panic (directed by Adam Wingard) - You can accomplish a lot in 3 minutes and Wingard is able to convey character history, empathy, humour and some rather disturbing turns of event all within that time frame.

Here's the entire 3 minute film:




Mom (Mama) (directed by Andy Muschietti) - There are a couple of extraordinarily effective scenes in this film, but they wouldn't be quite as effective if the tension built from the start hadn't already put you on the edge of your seat. You may know where it's going, but the ride is a lot of fun.




Breed (Dos manos zurdas y un racimo de ojos manchados de gris) (directed by Antonio Trashorras) - Billed as a tribute to 70s Giallo films (though perhaps not completely successful in that regards), Trashorras (one of the writers of Guillermo Toro's "The Devil's Backbone") keeps you wondering as to whether the central female character's point of view is accurate or not. Most horrifying of all is the thought that an abusive husband may pass along those same tendencies to his son.

Here's the entire 20 minute film:




Full Employment (Arbeit für alle) (directed by Matthias Vogel) - A great little zombie film wrapped inside what initially appears to be a day in the life of a volunteer helper for old people. He just happens to be helping a zombie killer on this particular day.

Here's the trailer (no subtitles, but you should get the gist of it):




The Chest (Sandik) (directed by Can Evrenol) - A rather terrifying concept that is - if I'm being honest - completely bungled. The film manages to make you very curious as to what is in the chest a young boy is pulling. Even with some poor quality camera work, you're still waiting to see the reveal and can't help but wonder why this boy is bringing the chest to this particular family. Unfortunately, once the blood and guts start flowing, it loses any kind of tension or even reference point. It really felt like the director had just learned how to create gore and just can't help himself...He doesn't even seem to care why it's flowing.



Boob (directed by Honest) - "Boob on the loose! Boob on the loose!". I think that's all I really to say, isn't it?

Here's the trailer:




Dara (directed by The MO Brothers (Timo Tjahjanto, Kimo Tjahjanto)) - I can't help but steal the basic marketing pitch already used elsewhere for this film - "Audition" meets "Saw". That pretty much describes this Indonesian effort in a nutshell. Dara's skills in the kitchen are matched only by her way with men and she seems to have found the perfect way to combine them both...

Here's the trailer:

Worldwide Short Film Festival - "What You See Is Not What You Get"

Because of some other things going on, I wasn't able to make it out to any of the Short Film Festival screenings this year. Fortunately, the fine publicity folks for the festival were kind enough to pass along some screeners, so I selected my top 4 anticipated sessions.

My first choice to view was the Official Selection set entitled "What You See Is Not What You Get" - each film was to follow a bit of a different path than perhaps you may have expected initially.



Section 44 (directed by Daniel Wilson) - A man gets abducted coming out of his house and is brought into a dark interrogation room. He's peppered with questions and then threatened with what appears to be some sort of torture device. Why is he there? Is it because of his online screen name? Will he crack? This was a solid, humourous beginning to the set that preps you to avoid setting your expectations too rigidly.

Here's the entire 5 minute film:




Coagulate (directed by Mihai Grecu) - A man's head is under water and yet the rest of him is dry and he's standing upright. Less a play on your expectations than a total breakdown of all physical laws. A wordless and beautiful film that I couldn't even begin to try to explain.



The Last Breath (directed by David Jackson) - A great concept: while a group of SCUBA divers are under water, all the air on Earth suddenly disappears. What happens when they come up with air tanks that are starting to run out? Not a wholly convincing realistic follow-through on that idea, but still worthwhile and with an appropriate ending.



Pencil Face (directed by Christian Simmons) - A human sized pencil able to stand on its tip (and with a freakish looking face) appears before a young girl. She quickly figures out that whatever you draw with it actually becomes real. Of course, you need to be very careful to be specific in what you're drawing - otherwise you might not get what you expect. Creepy music adds to this well-directed, slightly disturbing and very strange piece.

Here's the entire 4 minute film:




The Hunter and the Bear (Der jäger und der bär) (directed by Joachim Brandenburg) - Anything set to the music of Sigur Ros can only get better. The story in this short of a hunter determined to find a polar bear is well thought out, but the music just simply elevates it. Though I couldn't stand the animation (especially of the faces), I think that's mostly my own personal taste - it was kind freaking me out.



The Refuge (Les réfugiés) (directed by Emile Proulx-Cloutier) - A lonely Quebecois man falls in love with a Mexican woman and brings her back to Canada. Will they find true love together or is there some other reason behind the marriage? I appreciated how the film took its time with the characters, but I have to say it never really engaged me - I couldn't help thinking I should feel something stronger by the end.



Pawnshop (directed by Andrew Bush) - An old man behind the counter of a pawnshop plays mind games with a young man looking to buy an engagement ring. What should have been a nice switch-a-roo at the end doesn't amount to much because by then you don't really care about either of the two characters. The writing lets this story down from pretty much the first line.



Top Girl (directed by Rebecca Johnson) - A wanna-be girl rapper and her friend bring their talents to the house of a local teen who has his own recording studio set up in his room. Though unable to really strut her stuff, she ends up gaining a great deal of life experience and maturity from that day. Surprisingly effective and genuine.

Here's the trailer:




The Kinda Sutra (directed by Jessica Yu) - My favourite of the bunch. Filmmaker Jessica Yu ("Ping Pong Playa") intercuts several adults talking about their childhood memories of where they thought babies came from with animated Indian characters recreating those descriptions. Very funny, sweet and finishes up with a modern view from some real kids.

Here's an abridged version (embedding disabled).

Worldwide Short Film Festival 2009

I was chatting with my friend James the other night and we got on to the topic of short films. We bounced around some of the pros and cons of not only watching them, but also looking at them from the filmmaker's perspective as well.

We agreed that in general it seemed that it was a difficult form to use for straight narrative pieces and how it can lead to shortcuts in establishing character - that can certainly lead to cliches, but it can also be an opportunity to explore interesting ways of accomplishing the creation of a fully fleshed out character in a short time frame. It was also noted that many shorts (comedy and sci-fi ones to a large extent) tended towards finishing with a "punchline" or a reveal. Nothing wrong with that of course...This can lead to incredibly entertaining surprises.

It seems that most modern day filmmakers begin their careers in the short film arena - of course, those coming out of film school would likely have done several shorts during their courses. We speculated as to whether this occurred with the same frequency back in the 60-70s (does Scorsese have a library of his own shorts?), but expect it is much more the case today especially with the pervasiveness of new technology and the relatively low cost entry point. Considering that, can short filmmakers make a career of not straying past a 20-25 minute length for their creations (obviously commercial and music video directors can to a certain extent)? Would they like to if they could? Or do most of them really truly desire being full length directors and use their shorts as "calling cards"?

All this discussion was driven by the almost-upon-us opening night of the 2009 Worldwide Short Film Festival. I've been the last 2 years and always find examples of innovative ideas, techniques and simply pure creativity - which means that I love going to this festival.

As always, the programmers have broken their selections into vaguely themed screenings, with each one containing 6-10 films. The Sc-Fi themes usually work best whereas the less obvious themes (food?) can be a total roll of the dice. Having just said that, two of my favourite films from last year, "Le Grand Content" and "Procrastination", were found in the "You Are What You Eat" and "Human Resources" categories respectively (give them both a look - each is about 4 minutes long, animated and masterful in transitioning from one thing to another).

The full schedule is here, but these are some of the screenings I'm most excited to see (the italicized sections are direct from the web site):



What You See Is Not What You Get - "Don't believe what you see or trust what you hear. From pawnshop owners with ulterior motives to shady smiley-faced pencils and beheaded bears, nothing is as it seems in these sly and surprising shorts." I love the idea of a whole set of twists and turns - that can be a tough act to keep alive throughout a feature length film, but could fit perfectly within the typical length of a short.


Sci-Fi: Out There - "There's a whole lot of nothing in space, and if the Earth's gravity won't keep you in your seat, your stabilizers will definitely kick in for our collection of out-of-this-world adventures, including strange scientific cures, a robot invasion, crash landings on hostile planets, and a Canadian space captain with a lot on his mind." Usually the most fun collection - maybe it's due to the plethora of sci-fi short stories available or just the kick start to the imagination the genre supplies.


Tech-Neurological - "In a world saturated with gizmos and gadgets, shouldn't life be easier? Technology can be crazymaking, leaving wires crossed and exacerbating the human condition. Leave your cell-pod-face-twitter machine at home and surf these tech-shorts instead." Who doesn't like to see technology get taken down a few notches?


Scene Not Herd - "Scene Not Herd is back for its sixth year! Our annual cavalcade of music video madness is sure to delight and amaze fans of cutting edge visuals and amazing new music alike. As a special bonus, we're including a collection of N.A.S.A. videos, curated and in many cases co-directed by legendary Los Angeles animator Syd Garon." Wide set of videos that will never likely get air time on any music station - R.E.M. is the only big name here, but bands like My Morning Jacket, Royksopp and Fleet Foxes are represented so I'm very curious...


Midnight Mania: Creepy - "Zombies, ghosts, cannibal serial killers, and a breast implant run amuck! Welcome to CREEPY: a six-nation tour of things that go bump in the night. A collection of the most unsettling, eerie, and flat out frightening shorts that the world has to offer, laced with the occasional dose of comic relief." I can't really add anything further to that description...Apparently Todd Brown of Twitch was involved in the selection (along with the other Midnight set of Freaky films).


Picture Is Up! - "From the First Assistant Director's call for "Quiet on the set!" to the Director's final cut, the process of filmmaking blends a variety of crafts. In this tribute to filmmaking, each short celebrates a specific cinematic element: picture, sound, writing, acting, and editing. "And action!"" Includes a 40 minute look back at John Cazale's career...


Midnight Mania: Freaky - "Ominous teddy bears, giant bunnies, a day in the life of a white collar fish, vampire hitchhikers, and an assortment of cinematic oddities which defy description. Want to leave the theatre thinking "I've never seen that before!"? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to FREAKY." Description of "The Eel" --> "He's in love. She's mostly a fish. This can't end well." And yes, that's a fish driving a car in the image above. I don't think I have to further explain why I want to see this screening, do I?