CineBlog

48-Hour Film Project Filmapalooza

Every year, the 48-Hour Film Project Filmapalooza is one of my favorite parts of Cinequest. This year, we were treated to nearly eight hours of short films in a series of four screenings. The project is straightforward: teams of filmmakers gather in cities around the world (last year's project took place in over 50 cities worldwide). They are randomly assigned a genre, a prop, a line of dialog, and a character (both name and profession). Then the clock starts - within 48 hours, they must return with a completed short film. The winning film of each city is sent to Filmapalooza, where the overall winner is chosen.

This year's batch of films had some wonderful inclusions. San Jose's regional winner, "The Spy Who Spied Me," was an over-the-top mockery of the spy genre. Philadelphia's "Science: The Musical" (yes, some brave folks choose to do a musical when they draw the musical/western option) included zombie Abe Lincoln and was charming in its insanity. Nashville's educational film parody "Electricity: Unplugging the Myth" offered a new take on just what is going on behind our electrical sockets. St. Louis' "Franz Kafka: The Happiest Man In Happy Town" told the true story behind Kafka's masterpiece. Louisville's "Phenomenal Me" offered an unusual sort of superhero working hard to save the day. Utrecht's quietly menacing "Souvenir" was a top-notch take on its required elements. The sweet "Monkton Family Christmas" from Miami showed how sometimes white lies are necessary to save Christmas. The winner of the Second Life machinima competition, "Zombie Attack," gave us a twist on the zombie genre and was made entirely in the popular computer game Second Life. Tel Aviv's "TimeCatcher," a moving story about a young man who can see exactly how long all living things have left before they die, cleaned up the awards, winning Best Film, Best Directing, Best Script, and Best Editing. The quiet, somewhat surreal "Room 303" from Amsterdam won Best Cinematography. All in all, a great collection. I'm already looking forward to next year's Filmapalooza, which will include shorts from Mumbai and Singapore.

Official Site: www.48hourfilm.com

Shorts Program 1: Pas De Deux

Screenings: March 6, 6:45pm (Cam12); March 7, 4pm (Cam 12)

This collection of short films looks at the relationships between pairs of people -- strangers, long-married folks, and even one man and himself. It includes a wide range of styles, from the Beckett and Pinter inspired "Folly of Two," about a pair of criminals who meet up in a playground and wind up trapped in a sort of purgatory, to "Hirsute," in which a man trying to invent time travel is visited by his future self, with unexpected results. There's also the peculiar "Personal Spectator," in which a young woman finds herself offered a peculiar service, and "Quincey & Althea," in which an aged couple face up to the realities of life after Hurricaine Katrina.

Student Shorts

Screenings: February 28, 7:30 pm (Cam 12); March 2, 10:30 am (Cam 12).

This collection of films springs from the minds of young filmmakers, and ranges from the fanciful to the brutally real in styles ranging from spare animation to lush dreamscapes to documentary. There's "My First Taste of Death," a strange tale written by a 12-year-old and directed by her 35-year-old self. The documentary "Bullet Proof Vest" looks at what life is like for a couple of young children in Richmond, California -- the 11th most dangerous city in the country. A balloon brings the courage to reach for their dreams to a series of people in "Dreams," and the man in the moon visits earth in "Mondmann."

4U

Screening schedule complete

I received the screener to a quirky short, 4U. This is a disturbing little short directed by Ehren Koepf piled amongst a pack of other shorts of the Mindbenders genre. These visual mini-tomes are designed to get under the skin and 4U succeeds. An isolated man living in a secluded mountain shack is seen crossing names off a list. One by one, he scratches out a name in concert with his holding a shovel and dragging a body. And he's not done with the list. Darkly filmed and darkly played, 4U offers more than the suggestion of evil; it’s a skin crawler of modest note.

Short Films Program 3: Escape

03/02 9:30 pm Camera 12, 3/4 11:30 AM Camera 12, 03/09 4:45 pm Camera 12

This collection of short films is clustered around the idea of escape: either literal escape or figurative. Some of the films are darkly funny, like "Bitch," which chronicles the love story between the titular angry female and an equally angry male (whose character name is unprintable in a family paper). Others are touching and sad, like "Ten to Two," the story of a driving instructor who learns a terrible life lesson at the end of a long, boring day of teaching. Not all of the films will suit all viewers, but that is an advantage of a short films collection: even if you don't like one or two of the featured pieces, they are only a few minutes long.

Short Films Program 4: Animated World

3/8 4:30 PM Camera 12, 3/10 4:15 PM Camera 12, 3/11 11:15 AM Camera 12

Digital technology has advanced so dramatically over the last few years that almost anyone can make a beautifully-rendered CGI animation film at home. The technology is being used beautifully by filmmakers, as this long collection of thirteen short films demonstrates. It also includes shadow puppetry and stop-motion, with a little computer graphics used to help out here and there.

Some of the stories are charming and sweet, like "One Rat Short," about love at first sight between a wild rat and a lab rat; some are creepy, like "Loom," which shows us how a strange weaver gets her materials; a few are comically surreal, like "13 Ways to Die At Home," in which we are warned against burnt toast and clowns, among other things. Not all of the shorts included here will please everyone -- several are very peculiar and will likely appeal more to film students and art fanciers -- but there is something for just about everyone.

Short Films Program 2: Ties and Expectations

3/1/2007 6:15 PM Camera 12, 3/3/2007 4:15 PM Camera 12, 3/8/2007 2:00 PM Camera 12

This collection of short films examines the ties that bind people together -- family relations, common experiences, love, and the recognition of mutual understanding. Some are bleakly comic, like "Carmichael and Shane," in which a single father of twins explains that he has decided to favor one dramatically over the other to ensure that at least one of the two boys will be a success. Others, like "Kubuku Rides (This is It)" are moving and sad -- it tells the story of a family being torn apart by alcoholism from the point of view of a little boy. One, "Love Seat," is a strange sort of love story in which two outsiders find themselves with mutually compatable fetishes. Overall, this is a lovely collection of well-put-together short films and is well worth watching.

Shorts Program 1: Mirror, Mirror

This collection of shorts ranges from the absurd to the sublime. There is a dialog-free piece following a woman in a museum as she is touched by the exhibits and finds one that is out of the ordinary. Another tells the story of a little girl who is exceptionally pragmatic. Some are at once silly and wise, like "Skin Heads," a parable about human kindness in the guise of a silly piece featuring a kindly old woman and her son in a house surrounded by local skinheads. This is a lovely, peculiar collection sure to provoke thought and discussion.

48 Hour Film Project

Every year, groups of filmmakers gather in cities around the US and draw a genre, prop, line of dialog, and character name out of hats. They then have 48 hours to make a 3 to 7 minute long film using all four. The film has to be complete, too -- music, writing, editing, special effects, and so on. The winners from each city bring their films to Cinequest, where they are screened along with prizewinners from the National Film Contest. This reviewer looks forward to the screening every year, even though it usually contains upwards of 30 films and is a tailbone-crushing four hours in length (with one brief intermission). Why? Because sometimes intense pressure produces diamonds.

The shorts screened this year included mockumentaries, comedies, romances, and even a musical (an utterly surreal ode to the wonderfulness of Brisbane, Australia). While the quality of the cinematography varied wildly, it seems that digital filmmaking tools have been a great help. It’s wonderful to see the creative lengths people will go to under time pressure, whether it’s creating a new superhero (Hover Man, whose sidekick is a cup of coffee, slaps sense into people) or imagining the dueling daydreams of two men passing time in an airport. Even if you can’t bring yourself to last the full four hours, this is a project worth checking out.

Shorts Program 1: Hit the Ground Laughing

Shows: 3/3 6:30 PM (Cam 12), 3/4 11:30 AM (Cam 12)

This collection of short films includes some real sidesplitters. "Zombie-American" features "The Daily Show" correspondent Ed Helms as a zombie who just wants to be accepted as a person. Cinequest regular Jarrad Paul stars in two films, "K-7" (about a job interview that goes hysterically awry when the applicant finds out he's applied to the CIA and they actually want him to be an assassin) and "The Method" (about the lengths some actors will go to in order to get an important part). Sandra Oh ("Sideways") stars in "Kind of a Blur," which takes a look at a couple after a fun but largely blurred night out. "The Awesome Robots vs. Transformo" will have anyone who's known serious comic dorks rolling in the aisles, and "Julieta y Ramon" features an unusual love story between two people with equally strong but very different fetishes.

"The Racist Brick," a vignette about an insensitive guy, doesn't quite hit its mark, and "Fancy" is a drawn-out version of one of the oldest "so a woman goes to the gynecologist..." jokes in the world. Then there's "The Smartest Person Who Ever Lived," which (judging from audience reaction) is a lot funnier if you've been married for a long time. Overall, this collection of shorts is a lot of fun and it definitely has some real gems.

48 Hour Films

Every year, filmmakers gather in cities around the world to receive a genre, character name, prop, and line of dialogue. They then have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film incorporating all those elements. The results are often amazingly good, as this presentation of the best film from each city shows. There are surreal mind-benders, side-splitting comedies, action-packed thrillers, and more here, and having the filmmakers around for a Q&A afterwards was a delight. It's inspiring to see what can be done when the clock is ticking, and the quality of these shorts suggests that pressure really can produce some of the most amazing art around.

48 Hour Films

Every year, filmmakers gather in cities around the world to receive a genre, character name, prop, and line of dialogue. They then have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a short film incorporating all those elements. The results are often amazingly good, as this presentation of the best film from each city shows. There are surreal mind-benders, side-splitting comedies, action-packed thrillers, and more here, and having the filmmakers around for a Q&A afterwards was a delight. It's inspiring to see what can be done when the clock is ticking, and the quality of these shorts suggests that pressure really can produce some of the most amazing art around.

Shorts Program 6: Dark, Dangerous, and Delightful

This is an odd collection of short films and a difficult one to review. There's the creepy coming-of-age tale "La Cabra;" the romantic but eccentric "Lift" starring Dominique Penon (familiar to fans of French movies); the delightful "On a Train;" the beautiful but peculiar "The Perpetual Twilight of Gregot Black;" the unsettling but ultimately sweet "While the Widow is Away," and more. These are definitely enjoyable films, but they also aren't quite what you might expect. "Dark, Dangerous, and Delightful" is a perfect title for this program, as all the shorts it features can be described by at least one of those three adjectives.

3/9, 7:00 pm (Camera 12) and 3/10, 9:15 pm (Camera 12)

Shorts Program 6: Dark, Dangerous, and Delightful

This is an odd collection of short films and a difficult one to review. There's the creepy coming-of-age tale "La Cabra;" the romantic but eccentric "Lift" starring Dominique Penon (familiar to fans of French movies); the delightful "On a Train;" the beautiful but peculiar "The Perpetual Twilight of Gregot Black;" the unsettling but ultimately sweet "While the Widow is Away," and more. These are definitely enjoyable films, but they also aren't quite what you might expect. "Dark, Dangerous, and Delightful" is a perfect title for this program, as all the shorts it features can be described by at least one of those three adjectives.

3/9, 7:00 pm (Camera 12) and 3/10, 9:15 pm (Camera 12)

Shorts Program 4: Animated Worlds

This is a delightful, odd, and sometimes touching collection of shorts. The one thing they have in common is that they are animated – some are classic claymation, others are strange digital creations, yet others are regular cartoons. There's the brilliant piece "9," a sort of post-apocalyptic adventure story in which a strange little creature goes up against a terrifying monster. "Guard Dog" presents a dog determined to protect his master from even the most dangerous foes to be found on a walk through the park. A famous philosopher sings and dances in "Spirit of Gravity," while the extremely peculiar "Egg" presents an odd reworking of "Moby Dick." Another famous literary work is redone in "Oedipus" and the damsel in distress fable is re-envisioned in "Ritterschlag." The others are also unusual and beautiful to look at. This is a program to catch if you like animation of just about any kind.

Shows 3/5, 12:30 pm (Camera 12) and 3/7, 7:00 pm (Camera 12)

Shorts Program 4: Animated Worlds

This is a delightful, odd, and sometimes touching collection of shorts. The one thing they have in common is that they are animated – some are classic claymation, others are strange digital creations, yet others are regular cartoons. There's the brilliant piece "9," a sort of post-apocalyptic adventure story in which a strange little creature goes up against a terrifying monster. "Guard Dog" presents a dog determined to protect his master from even the most dangerous foes to be found on a walk through the park. A famous philosopher sings and dances in "Spirit of Gravity," while the extremely peculiar "Egg" presents an odd reworking of "Moby Dick." Another famous literary work is redone in "Oedipus" and the damsel in distress fable is re-envisioned in "Ritterschlag." The others are also unusual and beautiful to look at. This is a program to catch if you like animation of just about any kind.

Shows 3/5, 12:30 pm (Camera 12) and 3/7, 7:00 pm (Camera 12)

Shorts Program 8: Reflections from the East and Back

This unusual collection of shorts has everything from documentary to action, and gives us a look at people in a variety of cultures. There's "Mujaan," a documentary about the building of a Mongolian yurt. "Fallen Angels" is a strange action piece with guns and swords made in reaction to the limitations placed on on-screen violence in film school. "Skinning" and "The Eyes" bring us tragedy from different viewpoints, while "Helmut" is a surreal comedy. "Little Terrorist" manages to be at once frightening and funny as it follows a boy who mistakenly crosses over from Pakistan into India. The gem of the batch is "Detective Q," a mockumentary about a detective with an unusual gift that is as annoying as it is useful.

Shows 3/6, 9:45 pm (Camera 12) and 3/8, 5:00 pm (Camera 12).

Shorts Program 8: Reflections from the East and Back

This unusual collection of shorts has everything from documentary to action, and gives us a look at people in a variety of cultures. There's "Mujaan," a documentary about the building of a Mongolian yurt. "Fallen Angels" is a strange action piece with guns and swords made in reaction to the limitations placed on on-screen violence in film school. "Skinning" and "The Eyes" bring us tragedy from different viewpoints, while "Helmut" is a surreal comedy. "Little Terrorist" manages to be at once frightening and funny as it follows a boy who mistakenly crosses over from Pakistan into India. The gem of the batch is "Detective Q," a mockumentary about a detective with an unusual gift that is as annoying as it is useful.

Shows 3/6, 9:45 pm (Camera 12) and 3/8, 5:00 pm (Camera 12).

Shorts Program 1: Comedy - The Final Frontier

This collection of shorts includes some real gems. "The Adventures of Big Handsome Guy and His Little Friend" is a delightful look at the friendship between the Big Guy, who gets all the chicks, and his Little Friend, who is constantly in his shadow. When Little Friend has had it, he lets loose -- with unexpected results. "Cut & Run" gives us Delmer, a rough and tough bail enforcement agent whose true calling may be hairstyling. The odd, recursive films "What The" and "Stop!" will make you laugh and turn your view of the world inside out. "Danny Bot" is a reworking of the famous song "Danny Boy." "Billy's Dad is a Fudge Packer" has one joke but works it well in a parody of those old 50s educational films. "Blake's Junction 7" and "Danny Bot" are odd but interesting, while "D.E.B.S." and "Pulled Over" take well-known setups and add an unexpected element. "Spam-ku" is a strange look at life's disappointments and the way the fine print in contests can get you into trouble. Finally, "Fluent Dysphasia" shows us what happens when a less-than-helpful Dad finds himself unable to speak English.

Shows 3/5, 3:00 pm (Camera 12) and 3/6, 11:00 am (Camera 12)

Shorts Program 1: Comedy - The Final Frontier

This collection of shorts includes some real gems. "The Adventures of Big Handsome Guy and His Little Friend" is a delightful look at the friendship between the Big Guy, who gets all the chicks, and his Little Friend, who is constantly in his shadow. When Little Friend has had it, he lets loose -- with unexpected results. "Cut & Run" gives us Delmer, a rough and tough bail enforcement agent whose true calling may be hairstyling. The odd, recursive films "What The" and "Stop!" will make you laugh and turn your view of the world inside out. "Danny Bot" is a reworking of the famous song "Danny Boy." "Billy's Dad is a Fudge Packer" has one joke but works it well in a parody of those old 50s educational films. "Blake's Junction 7" and "Danny Bot" are odd but interesting, while "D.E.B.S." and "Pulled Over" take well-known setups and add an unexpected element. "Spam-ku" is a strange look at life's disappointments and the way the fine print in contests can get you into trouble. Finally, "Fluent Dysphasia" shows us what happens when a less-than-helpful Dad finds himself unable to speak English.

Shows 3/5, 3:00 pm (Camera 12) and 3/6, 11:00 am (Camera 12)

Shorts 5 - Extremem Shorts

Title List:

Bid ‘em In (dir. Neal Sopata)
Eden’s Wake (dir. Sarah Michelle Brown)
I Am Stamos (dir. Rob Meltzer)
I Used to be a Filmmaker (dir. Jay Rosenblatt)
I’ll Wait for the Next One (dir. Philippe Orreindy )
Inamorata (dir. Robert A. Cuadra)
The Most Beautiful Man in the World (dir. Alicia Duffy)
Prom Night (dir. Robbie Pickering)
She Kept Silent (dir. Svetlana Cvetko)
The Voice of Silence (dir. Gunnar Bergdahl)

These short films are, according to the program, all centered on extreme emotions - hate, love, betrayal, and so on. Most of them are excellent and evoke the intended emotion very effectively, but some don't work quite as well. "Bid 'em In" is an animation set to an a capella song about a slave auction and it is poignantly beautiful. "Eden's Wake" is a brutal story of love's betrayal. "I Used to be a Filmmaker" stars the director's infant daughter, already a natural actress, and is a touching portrayal of parental love. Somehow this program is able to contain both the raunchy humor of "Prom Night" and the quiet brutality of "The Voice of Silence" without too much jarring. Although the treatments vary as wildly as the emotions, this is a good collection of shorts and well worth seeing.

Shorts 5 - Extremem Shorts

Title List:

Bid ‘em In (dir. Neal Sopata)
Eden’s Wake (dir. Sarah Michelle Brown)
I Am Stamos (dir. Rob Meltzer)
I Used to be a Filmmaker (dir. Jay Rosenblatt)
I’ll Wait for the Next One (dir. Philippe Orreindy )
Inamorata (dir. Robert A. Cuadra)
The Most Beautiful Man in the World (dir. Alicia Duffy)
Prom Night (dir. Robbie Pickering)
She Kept Silent (dir. Svetlana Cvetko)
The Voice of Silence (dir. Gunnar Bergdahl)

These short films are, according to the program, all centered on extreme emotions - hate, love, betrayal, and so on. Most of them are excellent and evoke the intended emotion very effectively, but some don't work quite as well. "Bid 'em In" is an animation set to an a capella song about a slave auction and it is poignantly beautiful. "Eden's Wake" is a brutal story of love's betrayal. "I Used to be a Filmmaker" stars the director's infant daughter, already a natural actress, and is a touching portrayal of parental love. Somehow this program is able to contain both the raunchy humor of "Prom Night" and the quiet brutality of "The Voice of Silence" without too much jarring. Although the treatments vary as wildly as the emotions, this is a good collection of shorts and well worth seeing.

Shorts Program 6: Anything-but-Ordinary

Screenings 3/7/04 2:15pm at Camera 3, 3/9/04 9:30pm at SJSU University Theater

Title List:
Bludren (dir. Jill Johnston-Price)
The Crux (dir. Jeffrey Seckendorf)
Dream a Little Dream for Me (dir. Ned Farr)
Elevations (dir. Zarah Laszlo)
Excursion (dir. Cris Jones)
If You Step on a Crack (dir. Jennifer Atkins)
Little Figures (dir. Sarah Vanagt)
Rent-a-Person (dir. Kurt Kuenne)
The Schoolboy (dir. Edina Kontsek)
Thomas Grey’s Rainy Day (dir. Justin L. Smith)
Yin Yang (dir. Adele Uddo)

This odd collection is definitely anything but ordinary. We have here people ranging from a bathroom attendant who finds that things aren't what they'd hoped at the top of the world to the head of a telephone scam office. Stories range from a couple dealing with waiting for the wife's biopsy results to a surreal animated tale about plant life. This program of short films is an excellent break from overly predictable Hollywood productions!

Shorts Program 6: Anything-but-Ordinary

Screenings 3/7/04 2:15pm at Camera 3, 3/9/04 9:30pm at SJSU University Theater

Title List:
Bludren (dir. Jill Johnston-Price)
The Crux (dir. Jeffrey Seckendorf)
Dream a Little Dream for Me (dir. Ned Farr)
Elevations (dir. Zarah Laszlo)
Excursion (dir. Cris Jones)
If You Step on a Crack (dir. Jennifer Atkins)
Little Figures (dir. Sarah Vanagt)
Rent-a-Person (dir. Kurt Kuenne)
The Schoolboy (dir. Edina Kontsek)
Thomas Grey’s Rainy Day (dir. Justin L. Smith)
Yin Yang (dir. Adele Uddo)

This odd collection is definitely anything but ordinary. We have here people ranging from a bathroom attendant who finds that things aren't what they'd hoped at the top of the world to the head of a telephone scam office. Stories range from a couple dealing with waiting for the wife's biopsy results to a surreal animated tale about plant life. This program of short films is an excellent break from overly predictable Hollywood productions!

Shorts A: Student Shorts

Screenings 3/6/04 10:00 am at Camera 3 and 3/8/04 5:00 pm at SJSU Morris Dailey Auditorium

Film List

Behind Blue Eyes
Dandelion
Fisherman's Troubled Odyssey
Haircut
A Hollywood Story
Letters
The Lost Art
The Promethean
The Show
Springtime Dreams

This is a wonderful collection of student-made short films which range from the whimsical to the frightening. There are mullet-wearing air guitar toughs, a woman who sends letters out into the world carried by balloons, a lynching, an apocalyptic tale about dandelions, a retelling of the Prometheus myth, and more.

One thread that ties these shorts together is that they are all new takes on old stories. They may pay homage to the past but they also go beyond it, they don't just merely retell it. These filmmakers have bright futures and it will be a pleasure to see what they contribute to the film world.

Shorts A: Student Shorts

Screenings 3/6/04 10:00 am at Camera 3 and 3/8/04 5:00 pm at SJSU Morris Dailey Auditorium

Film List

Behind Blue Eyes
Dandelion
Fisherman's Troubled Odyssey
Haircut
A Hollywood Story
Letters
The Lost Art
The Promethean
The Show
Springtime Dreams

This is a wonderful collection of student-made short films which range from the whimsical to the frightening. There are mullet-wearing air guitar toughs, a woman who sends letters out into the world carried by balloons, a lynching, an apocalyptic tale about dandelions, a retelling of the Prometheus myth, and more.

One thread that ties these shorts together is that they are all new takes on old stories. They may pay homage to the past but they also go beyond it, they don't just merely retell it. These filmmakers have bright futures and it will be a pleasure to see what they contribute to the film world.