Monday Man
A continuation of a series of shorts about a man who has a difficult time getting started on Mondays. This short features an epic battle with his car’s seat belt while his boss is watching the clock wondering where he is. Well timed and funny. very short.
One Night In Hell
Collection of scenes involving the underworld in a circus type atmosphere. What was amazing about this film wasn’t the story but the filming technique which presented a 3D steeroscopic depiction of Paris in the 1860s. Music score was by Brian May of Queen, who also co-produced.
Symphony 42
Funny surrealistic world combining humans and animals in unique and thought provoking combinations. Delightfully zany. Winner of the Gold Plaque Special Jury Prize at the Chicago International Film Festival. The audience seemed to enjoy it.
Metamorfoza
Stop motion short dealing with a baby doll that gets caught in a collage of chaos and adventures. Non-sensical. The enjoyment of the film was absorbing the filming technique.
Storm Hits Jacket
This film won the Short Film Jury Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. My only reaction was, “why?” Described as a colorful yet brooding landscape of random absurdity as a monster storm reaches the shores of Brittany.
Teeth
The history of the teeth that came and went in one man’s mouth from birth to age 75, with a little bit of tongue thrown in. Literally, Gross.
Tatuape Mahal Tower
A scale model figure for a Brazilian architectural firm tells us of his up and down life, especially when he changes into a gorgeous woman model. One of the better shorts in this program.
Tears of Inge
The true story of the filmmaker’s grandmother singing the tale of camels who would often kill their young after birth and how the early nomads would sing to them in an effort to keep the young camels alive. Using a stop motion painting technique with impressionistic painting, this was colorful and artistic.
The Last Supper
Again we have some kind of creative stop motion film technique with live action and animation. An aging performer creates a last supper and she’s the main dish, literally. Slightly longer than it needed to be.
Day 40
A re-imagining of the Noah mythology by someone who clearly believes there was a much darker side to the story. An irreverent take on one of the most famous stories of all time. Very funny and one of the best shorts in this program.
The Ledge End Of Phil (From Accounting)
Story of a dedicated employee who gets trapped on a ledge and makes friends with a bird who helps him discover his wings. The filmmaker is very talented and had some fabulous directorial moments, but the story was a little weak.
Bear Story
The life of a bear as portrayed by his tin-toy theatre. An animation of an old fashioned device. Combining these two worlds created an amusing look and feel. I did not believe this was the best short, but it did win the audience award for Best International Short this year.
Filmmaker Q & A with Allisi Telengut director of Tears of Inge
“The story is from my grandmother. I recorded her voice and the narration was from her. I’m inspired by the artwork of William Kentridge from South Africa. He makes stop motion with charcoal on the surface. You draw and erase and take pictures. Instead I used color. It’s called “under the camera” animation. My grandparents were nomads when they were younger. This is disappearing. It’s important to preserve their way of living and memories. It took 4 to 5 months to animate. I made a short film before this one about a burial in Mongolia. That one’s about death, this one’s about birth. They were supposed to be together but I couldn’t finish it on time. I like working with color and texture. It reveals my visceral feelings. I tried other animation techniques. But I like working with color.”
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