One of the rare opportunities afforded by a film festival is the chance to partake in the shorts programs. Oftentimes, you can catch up with a feature or documentary you missed on DVD or video on demand at some point down the line, but short films get the short shrift. It’s unfortunate – short films are often a chance to catch a filmmaker before they hit it big and is a vital, thriving form, especially in today’s internet culture. And the best part is that if one short leaves you cold, there’s always the next one coming up shortly to make up for it.
Some of the best and most charming shorts you can see at the festival often occur in the children’s programs: Four separate programs make up the kids programming, with sizes ranging from small (ages 3 and up) to large (ages 8 and up) allowing for just about any kid to find something they’ll latch onto during the festival. The Let’s Get Animated program takes the dominant format of many of the kids shorts and spins tales meant for adults. There are some stunning entries in this program, a stylistically diverse offering of eye-popping animation. Of particular interest are The Pub, a surrealistic look at closing time as well as an entry from perennially awesome Bill Plympton.
Keeping with the stylistically divergent theme is the Out of this World program, which features a collection of weird, wild and supernatural shorts. I particularly like Campbell Hooper’s amusing 43,000 Feet and Lorcan Finnegan’s remarkable Foxes, with its deeply felt portrait of a woman’s isolation in an underdeveloped suburb.
It’s not all crazy style and wild premises these shorts have to offer; there’s a host of other options to check out as well. It’s All Relative is a program with family oriented (still for adults, nonetheless) themes. The Little Team (L’Equip Petit) is worth seeing it for alone, as this documentary about a hopelessly outmatched kid’s soccer team will turn your heart into pudding. Also on tap is the Whodunit? program, for those who like a little grit in their festival shorts as well as some star power (Michael Fassbinder and Charlotte Rampling are featured within, to name a couple). The Quiet Riots program takes a more measured approach, with some stunning documentaries about a variety of subjects often swept under the rug in society – An American Contradiction powerfully tackles the subject of Japanese internment during World War II while Eric Becker’s Honor the Treaties takes you into one of the most impoverished areas in America to show the wildly beating heart underneath. Perhaps the strongest program of all this year is Date Night, with a number of incredibly moving and sweet shorts that tackle love from all different angles. I loved Shimmy Marcus’ RHINOS as well as Sasha Collington’s Lunch Date, featuring two of the cutest meet cutes that you could ever hope to meet. And Brent Hoff’s The Love Competition is an eye-opening look into the brain functions behind love that will take you by surprise.
And as I mentioned yesterday, your time at the festival this year wouldn’t be complete without the final two programs – With A Little Help From My Friends and The Best Damn F*#@ing Midnight Program Ever. Sh*t. The former features a wide variety of forms showcasing the need for companionship in the world (with Jake Lushington’s The North London Book of the Dead fantastic take on the afterlife as its highlight) while the latter will melt your face off, freeze it, delicately re-apply it and then proceed to melt it right back off. Warning: Only the bravest of festival goers dare attend that screening.
And if this preview has shown you anything, it’s that even if you don’t have an interest in being disgusted by the short film, the variety on display this year ensures you can find a short film perfectly calibrated to your specifications by festival’s end, as well as a list of filmmakers to keep your eyes on in the coming years. Don’t be afraid to take a chance on the short film programs, they’re a wonderful opportunity to see hear voices that would otherwise go unheard and see stories that might not justify an hour and 40 minutes, but will change your worldview in under 20.
