This sampling from the Washington Films consortium led by Evil Slave provided a wealth of forms and styles—including a graveyard caper which—due to a technical glitch, took two tries to bring to life—with equally varied levels of quality.
The Big Payback Music Video
Romaro Franceswa
Johan Liedgren, Tale & Co.
2014, 4 min.
Here’s a cheeky video that, literally, pulls no punches. It contains a virtual feast of in-your-face nuns, ill-gotten cash and a muscular boxer with a ZOG tattoo going head to head with Franceswa’s bespectacled delivery which are rich in social commentaries and spiced up with the N-word. Think irreverence with an infectious beat. JWR
The Arborlight
Phillip Harvey, Kevin Harvey
2014, 25 min.
The always difficult situation of a beautiful child fighting an unwinnable battle with a terminal illness—in this case consumption—succinctly makes the point that the largely ineffective medical treatments are “not for her but for us [parents].”
Done up in a long, long ago storybook style, the metaphorical fair folk (feared for their bad rap of stealing children) magically turn into angelic heroes destined to allow Elly (Eden Campbell brings a maturity beyond her years to the pivotal role) to smile broadly once released from her debilitating disease.
A touch stereotypical in the characterizations of the supporting players, the beautifully shot (Domenic Barbero, cinematographer) fable still resonates in Children’s’ Hospitals and private homes everywhere. JWR
Lost Pines
Britta Lundin
2013, 17 min.
Despite a strong performance from Raquel Cain as, Stef—young lesbian with a heller streak—Lundin’s film slips too quickly—after a very promising opening—into the narrative quagmire of predictability.
Curious as well, the inciting incident (out-of-control blaze roaring through a tinderbox forest threatening life and limb in a small town in Texas) never finds its payoff.
What’s wanted is a script that makes every action/reaction count, witness The New West, below, which is also a drug-centric tale. JWR
Shift Paradigm
Ben Andrews
2014.
Two personal tragedies which intersect on a park bench come across as too-contrived-by-half and can’t find the magic of a similar “bench” tale that fuels The Story of Milo and Annie (cross-reference below). The twin coffee cup frames are visually welcome and also provide a subtle bit of foreshadowing.
Yet there won’t be many viewers who can’t anticipate the resolution after the tears from family man now homeless vagrant (Gregory Marks) and business woman, empty soul (Deanna Sarkar) wash away. JWR
Trauma
Jeremy Berg
2013, 7 min.
In the second of “take your pills or suffer the consequences” in less than 24 hours (cross-reference below), the terror—imagined or real—unleashed is on par. Here, the black-and-white dreamscapes are particularly effective and largely helpful in differentiating between the mind’s horrific images and the seemingly unsavoury activites of the neighbours. And who knew that pineapple and medications go so well together? JWR
The New West
Peter Edlund
2014, 16 min.
There’s a new kid in town and he’s taking no prisoners. Edlund’s contemporary yarn of a barely shaving vigilante (Ian Edlund has just the right mix of quiet determination and cut-to-the-chase actions) ridding his high school of mainstream drugs—by taking out their source—would surely have Clint Eastwood grinning from ear to ear.
The stars and stripes bandana adds a wonderfully silent metaphor to the taut, no-frame-wasted proceedings. JWR
Talk It Up TV: “Gay Victim Gets Surprise Family Reunion”
Rick Walters
2014
As important as the subject matter is (Hillcrest resident Dwayne Wynn, brutally gay bashed Christmas Eve 2013), this queer reality show is more self-serving than compelling cinema.
Bringing Wynn’s parents on camera (funded by post-attack supporters on a dedicated webpage—not by the producers) as a surprise, yields the expected flow of heartfelt tears from the principals, but seems too contrived—more of a ratings booster than real filmmaking.
Why was this allowed into the company of so many other honest, gritty productions? JWR
The Bath
Mark Lundsten
2013, 25 min.
Based on the Alzheimer’s-related poem by Holly Hughes, Lundsten’s realization is blessed by a wonderfully honest performance by Kathleen Chalfant as “Is this my home?” Liz.
Daughter Anna (Cheyenne Casebier renders the challenging part with courage and compassion) fearlessly steps into the tub that her mother eschews; Liz’s wild car ride to nowhere finally becomes the last straw before institutionalization sets in.
Playing out daily everywhere, what happens when those suffering the effects of advanced dementia rule the planet? JWR
From 1994
Casey Warren, Danielle Krieger
2013, 5 min.
This superbly crafted time capsule from Warren and Krieger based upon the last letter from Mom (Nicole Alouf finds just the right tone) to her very young son being unlocked from its special place a decade later, never slips into the cheap arena of saccharine sentimentality.
Instead, it artfully paints a portrait of mother/son who—on both sides of the great divide—will never forget one another. Would that more of us learn to die so well. JWR
Rotation
Jenn George
2013, 11 min.
This second-time lucky screening (the first attempt having no video) had a fine Gothic feel as Mr. Hatch (Norman Newkirk)—aided and abetted by digger-for-hire, Mr. Cunningham (Gevin Booth)—er, dug into the chore of exhuming 3-4 day-old “fresh” bodies for the scientific benefit of the Professor (Marshal Hunter).
Sadly, the ending was too clearly telegraphed from the face-down “resurrection” of the hapless corpse. JWR