Lesbian Shorts
(Still from Yulia)
The Roe Effect (Kiel Scott) **1/2
Unpleasant and depressing story about two female high school students in a relationship, but an unwanted pregnancy threatens to destroy their relationship. This one has a really bad ending.
Simple Pleasures (Matthew Mendelson) **
I know it's a short film. but very little happens in this one. A woman tries to rekindle a romance with her co-worker, but finds someone else. Yawn. The director tries mixing up the narrative, but his attempt is not successful at making this film interesting.
Public Relations (Gianna Sobol) ***
The two lead actresses (Summer Bishil, Sienna Farall) are so appealing in this one and the film has such a bubbly spirit that I'm surprised it wasn't made as a feature. Supporting characters are annoying caricatures, but the ingratiating leads carry the day.
To Comfort You (Marc Saltarelli) ***
Moving story about a worried mother calling her sick daughter. The title has a double meaning as it becomes quickly clear as the phone is just as much about comforting the mother. Depressing story, but it contains some very good acting from both leads.
Yulia (Antoine Arditti) ***
Animated story of a single woman who gets electrocuted and finds herself in an empty room with no doors, but five levers labeled with different items (Chair, Hammer, Man, Cat, and a Heart). When the heart lever finally gets pulled, the result is much different than what she originally imagined. Unfortunately, I think it was a mistake to include this as part of the Lesbian Shorts program, since that telegraphs the ending. Still, it's a cute story with a memorable animation style.
One Night (Laura Jean Cronin) ***1/2
Utilizing a clever editing style, this short tells the story of a young woman who went to a lesbian bar the night before and got home bloody and bruised. The film intercuts between these two moments and unravels pieces to the story a bit at a time. The resolution is unexpected and emotionally gripping. Only drawback is one key scene that is poorly directed.
Comedy Shorts
(Still from Winner: Best Short Film)
Winner: Best Short Film (Peter Meech) ***
Danny Caine is a filmmaker hot on the heels of winning Sundance with a short film that was 5 seconds long (including end credits and a blooper reel). Now he's at the home of a hollywood producer, trying to convince him that he's ready to direct a big budget feature. Intermittently amusung, but the funniest part comes at the end when they show the 5 second film.
The World of Film Festivals (Jim Jacob) ***1/2
Very simple film is just one guy talking about the ins and outs of film festivals. The actor (director Jacob himself) really knows how to sell deadpan humor. This was one of the funniest of the program.
Quality Time (Colin Marshall) **
Two brothers reunite due to their father's sickness and get into a series of spats and misadventures. Tries for a mixture of humor and pathos, but it is not very funny and the two leads are unlikeable jerks.
Follicle Frolic (Mark Potts) ***
3 minute short film about a strange man who is obsessed with his male roommate's long, flowing hair. The director utilizes voiceover to create some very funny moments and the ending is certainly unexpected.
The Apostles (Jeff Chan) ***
What if Jesus skipped out on the bill during The Last Supper and the apostles argued over how to handle it? Has enough funny moments to work, but doesn't quite live up to thwe premise's full potential.
The Ballad of Friday and June (Tate English) **1/2
Story of a lady and her talking puppet dog. I wrote a pretty scathing review of this one before the festival, but I actually liked it a bit better this time around. The puppet dog's final line is admittedly very funny and the attempts at pathos seemed to work better.
Helium Man (Nicholas Piper) ***
Funny story about a young man who overdoses on helium and now has the ability to float. He discusses with his friend how they can utilize this power to make him a superhero. This short takes a limited premise and infuses it with enough humor to make it work.
How to Ride a Train (Katie Dillon) ***
Taking inspiration from a book written for women in the 1920's, explaining how they should ride a train, director Katie Dillon delivers a very funny little short imaginging just how the idea for that book happened. It's a short, simply joke, but it's a good one.
Pet Peeves (Brooke Adams) *1/2
Sherry has just recently moved in with Jack, bringing along her dog OJ. Jack and OJ do not get along and he is frustrated by the way she pampers the dog. At 22 minutes, this is the longest film in this program, and there's really no reason for that. It's played too broadly and aims for a clever twist that is not funny at all.
Spleenectomy (Kirsten Smith) **
A couple big names headline this short, in which Anna Faris plays an actress who is turned down for a role as a doctor, because theater director Larry Miller doesn't find her convincing. An opportunity presents itself for her to prove him wrong. This is all played so broadly that I'm sure it will be a sitcom following Two and a Half Men next fall.
Looking For Love Shorts
(Still from Tell Me Who)
The Regular (Jamie Kirkpatrick) ***
A nice guy is striking out at a bar as all the chicks seem more interesting the psuedo suave ladies men. Things change when he takes the mic. Very simple idea with terrific execution, although the ending contains a twist that is unnecessary.
Mister Green (Greg Pak) *1/2
Set in a future where global warming has devastated the Earth, a government official has his eyes opened to the path for a better tomorrow. I really liked the visual style to the film, but man is this just a dreadfully preachy story. It sure takes alot of nerve to use a Gandhi quote at the end to drive home the point.
Further Lane (Mesh Flinders) ***
This story is told with a mysterious tone and follows the goings on at a beach house. Very interesting short that showcases some natural directing talent from Flinders. He composes shots very well and utilizes to a minimalist storytelling format to good effect.
Greased (Roxine Helberg) **
Story of a young couple involved in a radical political organization. One of them may know a secret. Will they tell or commit the ultimate betrayal? another short where the directors shows a nice visual sense, but doesn't have an interesting story at all.
Tell Me Who (David Lipson) ****
Clearly the class of this program and one of the best shorts of this year's festival, this story is about a young man who doesn't have much luck with females, but gets a surprise letter from a secret admirer who is leaving town the next day. He makes it a mission to track this woman down before she leaves. It's a wonderfully executed story. Director David Lipson excels at creating a natural rhythm for plot progression and does a great job of populating the background of his shots with nice details (most memorable is a shot of the hero leaving a photo store with the clerk watching him from inside). He's also willing to let the audience figure things out without beating them over the head, a rare commodity even amongst independent filmmakers these days.
The Tedious Existence of Terrell B. Howell (David Silverman) ***
Terrell B. Howell is a boring, strait laced man whose monotonous daily routine is upset when a young woman comes on to him at the gas station. Much of the style and tone is borrowed from Desperate Housewives and they go pretty far for the joke, but the lead performance by Steve Coulter is terrific. He nails every single line reading and almost singlehandedly makes this movie work.
African-American Shorts
(Still from She Got Problems)
Life on Earth (Jeff Keith) ***1/2
Memorable story about a very depressing situation. Lea is 18 years old and is about to age out of the foster system. A social worker has suggester to her and others in the same situation to look for careers in low leverl service jobs. Lea rebels against this idea, inspired by her experiences with plant life. This is an inspiring story about not giving up on your dreams, no matter the situation.
Jackson Parish (Edward McDonald) ***
A successful businessman returns home to the deep south to visit his estranged father. He gets mixed up in a dispute between his father and a mean-spirited white neighbor who is sitting on their land. Thoughtful story is a nice piece of character study with some really impressive acting.
I Own You (Gary Anthony Williams) **1/2
A married interracial couple find out that her ancestors owned his as slaves. What starts off as a joke begins to cause problems when he starts (with prompting from friends) interpreting innocent statements as being racist. Everything is played out in a broad sitcom style, which ruins alot of the humor. However, there are some undeniably funny moments.
Train (Darius Clark Monroe) ***1/2
A young man notices a woman being attacked on a train, but has a hard time getting up the courage to help her. Only 7 minutes long, but this packs a powerful punch and will certainly put you in the mind of the main character, making you wonder how you'd act in the same situation.
She Got Problems (Alison McDonald) ***
Alison McDonald both directed and stars in this very, very funny comedy about an African-American woman who is frustrated at her inability to find a man. McDonald does a great job of mixing different techniques, including documentary style interviews, musical numbers, and animation. And she also brings a winning screen presence to the film.
Asbury Park (Robert Anderson) *1/2
Melodramatic tale of a man returning home after a jail sentence. Director Robert Anderson showcases an eye for creating a sense of time and place, but the story is pretty weak and plays out like an After School special. The climactic contains some very bad overacting.
Drama Shorts
(Still from Ana's Playground)
Metropolis Ferry (Juan Gautier) **1/2
Returning from Morocco, David and his brothers witness an incident at the Spanish border and decide to do something about it. The film is well made, but the story doesn't really go anywhere interesting. It is probably a bit too intricate for a short film and the director could use some more time to explore what he wants to do.
Cigarette Candy (Lauren Wolkstein) ***1/2
A marine returns home after serving in Iraq, but has difficulty playing the part of hero to his hometown family and friends because it doesn't fit with the horrible memories of what happened. This short film is extremely well written and the director and actors know how to play this dramatic story without going over the top. The final shot is outstanding.
Confession (Enrico Marcellino) ***
Extremely short film runs only 2 minutes. It's about a Catholic man who goes to confession and asks forgiveness for something he is about to do. Predictable, but still pretty shocking.
The Odds (Paloma Baeza) ***
Interesting choice for the Drama Shorts program, because this film is actually quite funny. A casino owner interrogates a man to find out how he cheated to win so many hands in a row. The discussion goes back and forth and the interrogater is amusingly made to look like a fool. The final twist was unfortunate, because I think the film worked much better without it.
Puppets of War (Corey Ellis, Francis McDonald) **
Take All Quiet on the Western Front, replace the live actors with puppets, and that's pretty much what you get here. The puppetry work is admittedly impressive, but the fact that it's puppets makes it difficult for the film to build dramatic tension.
Ana's Playground (Eric D. Howell) ****
Terrific short film with surprisingly strong production values. In an unnamed war torn country, a group of kids are playing soccer when the ball accidentally ends up in the middle of a sniper zone. A little girl decides to enter the area and try to retreive the ball, but must figure out how to dodge the sniper's shots. Really impressive story with a vivid backdrop. I wouldn't mind seeing this developed into a feature length film.
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