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Indies, foreigns, docs, videos, revivals and shorts... | |
On this page - 2011 Iris Prize Festival:
AMEN |
DOWNING |
THE COLONEL'S OUTING CROSS YOUR FINGERS | CYCLICITY | JUNK | LOST TRACKS | NICE SHIRT | 33 TEETH < < S H O R T S > > last update 1.Nov.11 See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | |
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![]() Shorts in competition at the Cardiff festival, 5-8.Oct.11 (3 of 3) | |
Downing
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dir Ben Peters scr Peter Forbes with Jamie Brotherston, Ross William Wild, Krystina Coates, Rehanna MacDonald, Jack Hinks, Ling Law 11/UK 16m ![]() |
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Junk
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dir-scr Joe Morris with Luke Dunsmore, Connor Ryan, Tara Moran, Martin Hancock, Ian Peck, David Barras 11/UK 23m ![]() |
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The Colonels Outing
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dir-scr Christopher Banks with Tyl Van Randon, David Fitchew, Andrea Kelland, Shirley McNeill, Katrina Mathers, Mackenzie Cameron 11/New Zealand 17m ![]() |
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33 Teeth
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dir-scr Evan Roberts with Spencer Siegel, Stephen Felix, Elizabeth Mason, Kathy Mayes 11/US 8m ![]() |
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Cyclicity
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dir-scr Jason Knade with Heather Salm, Elisa Dei 11/US 11m ![]() | While riding on a Chicago ferris wheel, two women (Salm and Dei) describe their courtship, how they met on a beach, felt a mutual attraction and ultimately safety with each other. They talk about their friends, planning their future and the love they share, happy that their relationship has real possibilities. Then at the top of the wheel, they hit a turning point, beginning to bicker about imperfections and the stresses they're feeling. Eventually they begin to discuss distance and separation, then trying to rekindle the spark. The film is a bit glib, merely using the gimmick of the ferris shell to play out the stages of a relationship in a way that's cute but rather pointless. It's skilfully shot and edited, but is so soft and simple that it's difficult to remember five minutes after it ends. |
Lost Tracks
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dir-scr Jon Stanford with Rose Langford, Felicity Hickman, Briony Singh, Laura Whitehouse, Gagan Cheema, Martin Williams, Chris Edenborough, Gareth Bladen 11/UK 21m ![]() | Beautifully shot in widescreen format, with superbly underplayed performances, this film is a rather shapeless slice-of-life centring on Tobi, who's bored with her life washing dishes in a Shropshire restaurant. She really wants to travel, but is struggling to save up money, staying out all night with her friends. Her family is disinterested in her life, and it's not hard to see why. She mopes around, rather like the film itself, unfocussed and hopeless. Indeed, the film is vague and evasive, revealing details randomly and never quite defining the characters. The cheesy musical score adds nothing at all, and writer-director Stanford really needed a stronger editor to cut this down into a much shorter, sharper film. Sure, Tobi is aimless, but that doesn't mean that the movie needs to be as well. |
Amen
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dir-scr Ranadeep Bhattacharyya, Judhajit Bagchi with Jitin Gulati, Karan Mehra, Madhusmita Sahoo 11/India 22m ![]() |
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Nice Shirt
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dir Erik Gernand scr Jenny Hagel with Jenny Hagel, Abby McEnany 11/US 5m ![]() | This goofy little film is thoroughly entertaining even if it's rather frivolous. It's about a lesbian couple that splits up, vowing that they will be friends forever. But while they insist that there's nothing awkward between them, they start wearing T-shirts to send messages to each other: "Taken" when one finds a new girlfriend, "Game on" in reply. This escalates into insults ("Brenda cheats at Scrabble") and all out war ("Molly is a limp kisser"). It's all so silly that we can't help but laugh at these ridiculous women acting like children. But it's assembled and played in a way that's knowingly corny and very cute. And just when we start to worry that there's nowhere left for the film to go, screenwriter Hagel has a hilarious final gag up her sleeve. We may see where this is heading, but not the witty punchline. |
Cross Your Fingers
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dir-scr Yun Joo Chang with Tuyen Do, Lourdes Faberes, Dionne Harrison, Lindsey Pollard, Michelle Coverley 11/UK 16m ![]() | In a London nail salon, Su-Yeon (Do) goes about her business quietly, intrigued by a customer, Maya (Faberes), who leaves her rings behind after a manicure. When they meet again, they strike up a friendship. Su-Yeon has been so lonely in London, that this is a nice change for her, and she agrees to go see her band one night. Her colleague (Harrison) even gives her a Saturday night makeover for the occasion. But she's terrified about the possibilities. Filmmaker Chang tells this story in a low-key, natural way that gets under the skin. There isn't much to the story, which kind of sets everything up and lets us take it from there. This makes the film feel somewhat thin. But it's warm and nicely observed. |
![]() ![]() If you have an film you want me to review - just ASK © 2011 by Rich Cline, Shadows
on the Wall
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