Here are my reviews of some of the short films I was able to see before this year's festival. Most of them are part of a shorts program or paired up with a feature length film. I've included the specific program they're included in at the end of each review.
The Adventures of Ledo and Ix (Emily Carmichael) ***
Animated short that follows two video game characters from an old fashioned Final Fantasy-style adventure game as they ponder their existence and wander into that black space past the edge of the map. It's a clever premise with funny and solid execution. (Animated Shorts)
Ana's Playground (Eric D. Howell) ***1/2
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. (Drama Shorts)
Asbury Park (Robert Anderson) *1/2
Melodramatic tale of a man returning home after a jail sentence has some decent cinematography, but otherwise plays out like an after school special. Features some really bad overacting in the climactic scene. (Afrcan-American Shorts)
The Ballad of Friday and June (Tate English) *
Remember all those funny moments from Up where the talking dogs shouted for squirrels or tennis balls? Well replace the computer animation with a live human and a puppet dog and that's what you've got here. Oh and also replace the funny jokes with secondhand ones that were probably cut from Up's script. They even use a squirrel joke. (Comedy Shorts)
Cud (Joe York) ***1/2
Documentary short about Will Harris, a beef farmer from southwest Georgia. In the mid-90s he began to change his method of production to avoid the corporate system and sell only grass fed beef. The doc is good a making an argument for why this is better, but the real reason it works so well is that Harris is a very interesting individual who has a passion for his farm and strongly believes in what he is doing. (Paired with Dive!)
The Feast of Stephen (James Franco) ***
From the Gay Shorts program comes this film directed by none other than James Franco. Shot in black and white, it tells the story of a gay teenager who is chased down by a group of bullies after they catch him staring at their basketball game. Franco shows a striking visual sense as director and delivers a stunning final shot. (Gay Shorts)
Follicle Frolic (Mark Potts) **1/2
3 minute short film about a strange man who is obsessed with his male roommate's long, flowing hair. Has some funny moments and the ending is certainly unexpected. (Comedy Shorts)
Gayby (Jonathan Lisecki) **1/2
A gay man and straight woman who have been friends since college (see: Will & Grace) decide to have a baby, but instead of in vitro fertilization, they plan on doing it the old-fashioned way. The story follows the awkwardness between them before, during, and after the event. It does capture the awkwardness very well and has a couple of funny moments, but this is a very limited premise. (Gay Shorts)
Horn Dog (Bill Plympton) **
The fourth in Bill Plympton's animated shorts series about an oddly shaped dog (kinda looks like a really fat bat) and his comic misadventures. Last year I enjoyed previous entry in the series Fire Dog. In this one, he takes a liking to an exquisite female show dog, but her owner isn't happy about it. This one has a couple funny moments, but the twist isn't very funny and the hero not quite as likeable this time around. (Animated Shorts)
Ice Scream (Robert De Feo, Vito Palumbo) *1/2
Torture porn as a short film. That's basically what we have here. And even when the filmmakers have a twist, it simply leads to more ridiculous violence. The filmmakers certainly think they've made some great badass film with their ridiculous heavy metal music cue at the end. (We Dare You to Watch These Shorts)
The Last Cigarette (Brooke Sebold) ***
A father comes to visit his estranged (and now pregnant) daughter, begging her to return home. She lets him talk to her, but only for the length of one cigarette. This is an extremely Well acted dramatic short with a perfect ending. (Paired with Little Lies)
Ledo and Ix Go to Town (Emily Carmichael) ***1/2
Remember those old school RPG's when you finally found a new town but were constantly frustrated at all the NPC townsfolk that were absolutely useless? That's where our heroes Ledo and Ix find themselves in this hilarious sequel than surpasses its predecessor. Other hilarious bits involve Ix's obsessions with upgrading and equipping weapons and Ledo's struggle to take a chicken out of town. (Animated Shorts)
The Machine (Rob Shaw) **1/2
Animated story that feels a little too derivative of Dark City. Has an interesting animation style and haunting score, but the story and resolution are a bit predictable. (Animated Shorts)
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. (Lesbian Shorts)
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. (Drama Shorts)
Spoiler (Ed Whitmore) **1/2
A man who enjoy spoiling the endings of movies for people waiting in line gets a shock as he receives a videotape that shows his own brutal death, and the footage looks frighteningly real. There is some interesting stuff here, but it's ironic that the ending of this film is quite predictable, not that I would dare spoil it for you. (We Dare You to Watch These Shorts)
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. (Comedy Shorts)
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 (instead of Animated Shorts), since that telegraphs the ending. Still, it's a cute story with a memorable animation style. (Lesbian Shorts)
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