In my rookie year as a Short Film Programmer for Cinequest, I had three favorite films. One, not a great movie, Bleach, was one that moved me because it featured a few great actors known from 90210 and Night Court. There was a Seymour Cassel short short comedy that I loved (Custody?) which was one I went back and forth on over and over as to whether it was brilliant or thoroughly flawed. 

Then, there was Copy Shop. 

Copy Shop is the story of a guy who ends up making photocopies of himself. That's the basic, but it's well more than that. The real impressive stuff is the use of the setting. No dialogue, in black-and-white, the film tells its story on paper. Literally. The paper is a presence in the film, and not only as the setting, full of wrinkles, creases, and smudges, but as the venue. We're brought into Copy Shop in a way that isn't how you would normally present a film. Not unlike Don Herzfeld's Rejected (and various Chuck Jones cartoons) the paper on which the 'drawing' occurs is an important avenue. The different, of course, is that the 'drawing' in Widrich's case is footage, and brilliantly fun footage as well.  

The film is great, and the Making of... is also wonderful!

Speedwriting - Michael Russnow
Sometimes, a joke runs thin. That's the case in a lot of short films that just don't understand pacing. Sometimes, they come back, and once in a while, a thin joke is made funnier by the fact that it's a thin joke that a smart director knows what to do with. I'd say that's what Michael Russnow has done with Speedwriting. It's a get-rich-quick scheme comedy in which a young guy (played very smartly by Santa Cruz County's own Michael Beardsley) develops a 'system' to write and sell screenplays. It's not a real system, of course, it's barely an idea, but they play with it really well, and the scene where he's constantly stopping a pitch, sometimes to give completely contradictory information, is really funny. It's not a comedy that goes a lot of places, but it's one that delivers on the places that it DOES go, and one that had me laughing. 

Jobless - Alessio Colia
The economic downturn hit everywhere, and Italy actually got it worst than most. This story, of an experienced guy being sacked and pushed aside for lesser employees, then trying desperately to get something new, is a classic, and the way writer/director Colia handles the material is clean and smart, in a sort-of neo-modernist fashion with touches of Bergman. It's a powerful film, and a descent into madness, but not an entirely internalistic one. Perhaps Jobless is best viewed as a document for the descent of the international job market and economy into madness and infinite peril. Either way, it's a film I really enjoyed seeing more than once. 
​

Dead Sharks - Nic Barker
If you're going to open with a Woody Allen quote, you better bring your A-game... unless it's from a court transcript. Either way, it sets a table, and you need to be able to deliver quality that matches up. Nic Barker's well-made, often hilarious, and gringingly-real life film Dead Sharks not only works in the 1990s-Allen vein, but he manages to out-mine him as well. The segments are perfectly timed, immaculately-paced, and just smart, and there's a certain comedy to it that might be coming from my own personal experiences. The opener, where we are greeted to a series of voice messages being left, ala Swingers (only with a far more real feel, and far more personally familiar) and it's super-funny, while also moving a story along.Fiona Norman as Paige is just note-for-note perfection, and sets up the rest of the film so well. It's situationally hilarious, and very dramatic, much like any good (or completely failing...) relationship. It reminded me of one of my favorite shorts, Insomniacs, and I can't fault a single aspect of the production. I really wish this would become a feature.

El Tambor y La Sombra - David Bisbano
A re-telling of a folk story in computer animated form will usually work if the filmmaker has any sort of talent with the writing and a certain reverence for the material. David Bisbano does a remarkable job telling us the story of a healer who duels with a shadow-spirit. This is a compact film, making perfect use of all four-and-a-half minutes, and the animation is strongly stylized, yet still accessible. This is exactly the kind of film that should be powering through the festival circuit these days. 

Cows: A Moosical - Sandra Boynton
I'll admit it - a large part of why I programmed Cows in the Animated Worlds program at Cinequest was the fact that my twins love her board books. Also, I'm a big fan of cows. This lovely little three minute music video is just plain fun. It's a MOOOOOOOOsical, and it's simple, and sweet. It's also the first film I know, for a fact, my youngest boy Benjamin ever watched. He adored it, and it may just be that it was the first thing he ever saw flashing across a screen that wasn't a heart-rate monitor, but he smiled and laughed. So, thanks, Sandra Boynton, for making the first movie I could share with my little guys!

Native Immigration - Eric Romero
There is a concept called "Punching Down" that basically equates to mocking those of a disadvantaged class if you are of an advantaged class. It's a tough idea, actually, but it also makes sense. Native Immigration is an interesting piece, funny, and very detailed, but I worried at times that the filmmakers were punching down. At the same time, I was laughing at the finely crafted gags. Presented as a BBC-style expose of Britons who were only now discovering that they were, in fact, immigrants, it's got all sorts of things to enjoy, from posters in the background, to humorous sub-titles and graphics. There are a few points where I looked side-ways at a gag, wondering if that was offensive in the UK, and realising that there is a significant difference between our countries when it comes to race, and especially class, issues. The film's funny, and a lot of fun. The 'interviews' in the mockumentary are strong, and funny, especially the Kenyan who is a devout racist (and it works on so many levels right now, what with the frequent calls of 'Reverse Racism' leveled at various groups) and the Spaniard who thought he was Scottish. There were various points that if I heard that joke on the streets of San Jose, I would be uncomfortable. Well-made, maybe a couple of minutes longer than the material it presented warranted, and while it made me question my own attitudes, it also presented a powerful form of satire, a near-perfect send-up of the television issue documentary. You can see it at ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZNP7L-brT8

Elsewhere - Misan Akuya
This story of a racer who broke both his legs and now has to deal with his regular life is a pretty picture, one that understands the goal of the film, but also takes a bit of a round-about way to get there. There's a lot to like, from the well-seasoned cinematography to the well-considered sound design. The acting is solid, and the characters and the script work hard. The problem is it doesn't hold you all the way through, and lost me at least twice, though both times managed to bring me back. The thing that brought me back - Dianna Cruz. Her magnetic performance and charm is contagious, and when she comes on screen, you really can't help but dial back in. 

You can find more at https://misanakuya.wordpress.com/

The Device - George Wroe
Science fiction has markers. From the very get-go, you know The Device is going to be a science fiction film, and a time-travel short as well. It's the story of a father and son who develop a device that allows them to go back in time. The Father has a plan, but doesn't share it with his son, not fully at least. They manage to go back, but face a minor set-back. The film has a couple of effects, which is nice, but the most important part has to be the fact that they manage to create a family dynamic that I bought into. If you can accomplish that, the science fiction elements become far less important, and the language of the characters is precise, and that part of the script is strong and ultimately is what pushes the film into its best presence. The production values are strong, and the set and prop work isn't flashy, which adds a layer of believability; if a father-son super-science team was working without a government research grants, everything would be kinda slap-dash! That's a really nice touch. 

All The Better - Rebecca & Thomas Haffey 
This is a tiny, one minute take on the Little Red Riding Hood story. It's a microshort, just one minute, and it doesn't really show too much, just a girl walking, a smash to black, a scream, and a return. That's it, with a lovely and original score from Debbie Allen that I found to be the most memorable portion of the film. At one minute, you can't really do much, but I think what they gave was well-done and I really wanted a little more of this, as I think they could easily handle the material and give us the same story, over two minutes, and be clearer, with a stronger hit. The cinematography is solid, and the forest, and young Ella Haffey, both take to the camera well, and made me want more. Still, that soundtrack alone makes All the Better ​worth it, as it's still running through my head. Also, and I rarely do this, but the design of the poster is incredible. I mean, look at it! You can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8-NqaaPN58 

Fruit of the Fungus - Josh Mitchell
The "Un-understood Map" is a wonderful trope of the Adventure genre. Fruit of the Fungus isn't an adventure film, but it uses it to great effect. The script is smart and funny, though things move a bit jumpily, and the delivery of lines ain't quite there, but there is so much fun to be had, you won't hardly notice. I loved the concept, and the way it unfolded was nice, though the pacing seemed a bit off at points, which was a touch frustrating because when it picked up, it was really good, but it would slow again, and so on. The technical aspects were all clean, especially the editing, and it was funny, which was enough for me to give it every chance. The ending was patently ridiculous, but it actually fit in with the oddness of the rest of the short. I don't feel like it failed in doing what it set out to do, not at all, but I do feel like it could have been tightened up a touch. 

Hope - Fabio Ballisco
This short has little to it. A woman, left at the base of a set of mysterious pillars, follows the sound of a hammer contacting an anvil to watch appears to be a forge house in the woods. 

After that, it gets weird. 

This is such a simple story (and we're told that it's a trilogy) that I wondered where things were going. It wrapped up so quickly, with little given to us but a base hint. That's important as we're assuming that this is a linear narrative, that the things shown are connected, but at the same time, we have no certain hook for hanging that assumption on, which leaves us guessing. While it may be easy to see where our minds SHOULD be going, it is also not 100% certain that that is where our minds MUST go, and that sort of thing will drive some crazy. Me? I like ambiguity, and though there wasn't enough to this film for my tastes, I have to say it got me thinking by the end. You can find out more at https://www.facebook.com/JaborandiMovies/timeline

Nightfall of Eden - Daina Papadaki
This is a highly allegorical film dealing with the descent of humanity into war and hatred. We are presented Eden, populated by nymphs wearing only  leaves, who frolic about being all sweet and adorable. The scenario then changes to one where projections of war and death occupy what was once an idyllic garden. We are then taken to Heaven, and then things get metaphysical. The production is beautiful, stunningly so, and the joy of those first shots is improbably effective. The metaphysical portion of the film is beautifully done, though it had a strong scent of Lord of the Rings visually. I enjoyed the message, and particularly the beauty of much of the short, and while I can certainly understand those who might say the message beats out everything else, I do not agree. Still, I am anxious to see more from Daina Papadaki, as her eyes is certainly well-trained. You can find more at https://dainapapadaki.wordpress.com

First Anniversary - James Huang
Kate T. Billingsley and Keith Chandler play a couple divorced for a year who are meeting again a year after a shared trauma, the lingering feelings turning the meeting awkward. That's the basic plot, but hardly all there is to this lyrical short. Director James Huang, screenwriter Chin Yu, cinematographer Massimo Crapanzano, and editor Emma Arnold put together a fantasic looking short that maximizes the impact of the fantastic acting. Perhaps it is Mike Higbee's score that really shines, perfectly completng the mis-en-scene and production values. A wonderful interpersonal short that is truly heartbreaking. The question of whether love is enough is never really answered due to another question popping up - how much time will it take?
​You can find out more at http://www.tentenpro.com 

All Our Yesterday - Jacob Strunk
I find it amazingly complicated to interact with a film where I have nothing to grab on to other than mood. It's difficult because I find myself having difficulty when I want tell, but get nothing but show. Films without dialogue can be a very trying process for me, but All Our Yesterdays managed to do something impressive - it made me forget all that and lose myself in the tone of grief it presented. Jacob Strunk has done a remarkable job presenting us a story of loss. No, not a story of loss, an audio-visual tone poem to loss and loneliness. It it precise and lyrical in the way it allows a character who seems of a single mind, consumed by memory and pain, as she moves wordlessly through the scenario. Yeah, I lost the thread a couple of times, but I was so moved, I didn't really care. 

How Not to Disappear Completely - Stuart Perkins
Every once in a while, young people have to flee their situation. Typically, fleeing only makes the participant realize what they are trying to run away from is their own damn self. Watching How Not To Disappear Completely, a story that revolves around Tom, a photographer who scurried off to India, found himself, has returned and is now looking for his half-sister. Perhaps this dropped so hard on me because of my own story of discovering half-siblings following my Dad's death. Tom's path towards self-discovery is at times lonely, but the overall journey is one that's so valuable. The performance of Damien Walsh was wonderful, and he carried much of the film, but I was completely won over by the electric performance of Emma Whittaker, who imbues every scene she's in with energy and lightens the entire film. It's gorgeously shot, well-acted, and a powerhouse film for fans of emotional journeys. You can read more at https://www.facebook.com/HowNotToDisappearCompletely/

Monsoons Over the Moon: Parts One and Two - Abstract Omega. 
A dystopian future Nairobi is the setting for the struggle of Shiro, an abused girlfriend of a criminal. When a rival criminal group kidnaps her and tries to use her as a vehicle for getting to her boyfriend. She runs, and as part two starts, she is away, but her mind has been opened by an outlawed manuscript. The setting and tone of this short works to bring about the impact of Shiro's travails, and Part two moves between black-and-white and color seamlessly to add to the sensation of other-worldliness. The emotion expressed through the performance of Anita Kavuu Ng'ang'a is palpable; she is a perfect combination of frantic confusion and enlightenment over the course of the two parts. Taken as a whole, this story has elements of The Matrix and Alphaville, but is far more impressive in the ability for us to connect to our character's issue. In short, it is one of the best examples of near-future science fiction on film. 

Sturgis: Rallying Back - 
I only know of the Sturgis Rally from the days when WCW would run the annual Hogg Wild pay-per-view at the Rally. I had no idea that there was a Sturgis, Mississippi which had done a rally called Sturgis South. The nearly hour-long doc Sturgis: Rallying Back documents the fall and re-birth of Sturgis South. The film is well-shot, though early on, it does feel a bit stretched, with the interviews going over the same material many times. That said, it's also an impressive view of what an event like a Motorcycle Rally can mean to a small town like Sturgis. When they get to the point where the Rally preparations are being shown, and the Rally itself, it  becomes a much stronger doc, making good use not only of the sights of the bikes and events, but of those who came in from all over the place. You can learn more about the film, and a bit about the rally at https://www.facebook.com/SturgisRallyingBack

Footprints - Denes Ruzsa & Fruzsina Spitzer
Comprised of held images, captures that appear to be held for a few frames before moving, Footprints gives everything a slightly disjointed look, which makes the more fluid moments in the film a bit jarring. That shows the power of the choice to create the film in that vein. The strength of the film lies in the contrast between images that are natural to our world, shots and impressions of life within the Built Environment, and of Space exploration. The imagery could have straight out of films like Wallace Berman's Aleph, or some of the better films of Robert Smithson. The evolution of human interaction, first with nature, later with the our controlled environment, and finally with space, is apparent as the meaning flows out across the film. This story of our first voyage to Mars is built on impression and metaphor more than delivery and linearity, which makes every image significant. A spider in its web has implications in the thought of humanity as a building animal, and the rest of creation (as we see it) being caught in its web. There is so much here to be waded through that multiple viewing is not only required, but strenuously rewarded. It is a worthy entry into the Avant Garde of the 21st century. You can see more at http://dokuweb.hu/en/footprints/

Four Wise Monkeys - Julija Iruskinaite
There is a new British cinema rising. It's small, underground, but you can see it starting to break through. These are personal stories, typical character studies focusing on young people, and they are typically made on tiny budgets. Four Wise Monkeys belongs in this group, and it is an interesting, if imperfect, entry. The story features Shawn, heartbroken after being dumped, dealing with his friends, family, and life in a very difficult manner. He's the focus of the film, and the performance of James Unsworth is strong, but the flaw is we never seem to connect deeply with the scenario. The scenes play out well, but there is less emotional resonance coming from the characters until the final moments. That is a feature of these kinds of films, something perhaps borrowed from New York mumblecore or the disaffected Millennial cinema that is bubbling up in LA and Austin. The skilled eye of director Julija Iruskinaite, who has produced a film with strong movement, good pacing, intelligent plotting, and wise cinematography, manages to make this a movie that seems to draw you in, but also keep you at something of a distance. You can see the trailer at ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Fy5AVrhEk

Let's face it - Harry Potter has opened up a new generation to magic. As that generation has grown, the topics they can handle have gotten more and more entertaining. ​The Trials and Errors of Suzette Le'Ago and The Downstairs Neighbor (or Half Magic) is an excellent example of the kind of story you can do nowadays in the realm of magic. 

Suzette is a witch. She also appears to suffer from hay fever. After a chance meeting with her downstairs neighbor at the mailboxes (where she got her wand back from Wand Repair), well, let's just say that he ends up in a bad way, and she has to do everything in her power to make him whole again. She even consults the Holy Texts - Harry Potter, Goosebumps, Wicked, and so on. That particular moment had me howling in laughter!
The performances in this one are wonderful. Sage Martin as Suzette is adorably frantic at times, and she plays the frustration so well. VonDexter Montegut III is incredibly versatile, and makes the most of the moments when he's not completely lifeless. The pair of them work really well together. 

This is exactly the kind of film I started Klaus to write about. Sometimes, small genre films, and especially those without dialogue, get over-looked, and that's a shame, because there are lots of gems in that vein, and The Trials and Errors of Suzette Le'Ago and The Downstairs Neighbor ​is one of the shiniest!

You can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by_BFUQ7Lxg