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| Margo Lily - the standout of "Christmas in June" |
Still have the Christmas lights up? Well, you best turn them
on and help make this event extra festive! (And it’s half way to Christmas, anyways,
so there’s no point taking them down now.) Come celebrate Christmas in June
with the aptly named “Christmas in June,” which is one of two pre-festival screenings to get you excited for the upcoming Worldwide Short Film Festival. (The other is "Shorts for Shorties: Flick-Nic".) Not only does this
lineup of films screen amidst the stars and Christmas light pollution of
Dufferin Park, but this event is FREE.
So grab the leftover fruitcake and join in the Christmas cheer.
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| Christmas Piggy |
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the
house, not a creature was stirring
… except for one soon-to-be Christmas ham. “Christmas in June” opens with the
imaginative animated film Christmas Piggy (Denmark, 8 min.), which is about a jolly little piggy who
realizes that his goose is cooked when his owner starts preparing apples and
sharpening knives. He is also tipped off by the succulent aroma of Christmas
dinners cooking in neighbouring houses, but this little piggy won’t go down
without a fight. Christmas Piggy is a
delightful and surprisingly moving little tribute to the roasts of Christmas
past. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll oink.
You’ll
definitely cry, though, with the next short, Margo Lily (Canada, 8
min.). Directed by Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart, Margo Lily is a Toronto-set drama that benefits from the dramatic
turn of Christmas Piggy and offers enough power to eclipse a feature-length drama. Rachel
Wilson and Aaron Poole star as a couple that puts a brave face on their
Christmas celebration by planting a tree in the dead of winter. Margo Lily is an absolutely devastating
story of moving forward and letting go, but it’s ultimately a comforting and reaffirming
film thanks to excellent performances by Wilson and Poole, as well as the
honest minimalism with which Clark and Stewart approach their difficult subject.
Margo Lily easily stands out as the
best film in of the programme; it also ranks as one of the best films at the
festival.
After Margo Lily,
“Christmas in June” lets viewers wipe their eyes and witness the real life
Griswolds of Brampton, Ontario. Clarke Kent (Canada, 11 min.) is a
documentary about Kent Butcher, a visually impaired man who spreads Christmas
cheer by decorating his house with the only form of ornament he can fully
enjoy: Christmas lights. It might seem overboard at first, but Kent’s Christmas
spirit is truly infectious. The Christmas Spirit lives on in the next short, Toot
Toot (Australia, 8 min.), a sure to be crowd-pleaser about one child’s
premature rummage through Santa’s goodies. Light-hearted and breezy, Toot Toot offers a nice bit of holiday
warmth. After Toot Toot comes another
tale from down-under, Ebony Society (New Zealand, 12 min.).
Directed by Tammy Davis, Ebony Society
is a realist coming-of-age story set amongst the working class. New Zealand
looks to be one of the places to watch in terms of up-and-coming indie films
(did anyone catch “New Zealand’s Got Talent” at last year’s festival?) so Ebony Society provides another reason to
see this free screening. It also played at Sundance, if one needs another
incentive!
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| Music for One X-Mas and Six Drummers |
Finally, “Christmas in June” caps things off with a festive
little Christmas carol. Music for One X-mas and Six Drummers
(Sweden, 5 min.) is a quirky story of an old-age home that is visited by a
group of carollers on Christmas Eve. Not a troupe of the conventional “God Rest
Ye Marry Gentleman” type, the carollers give an impromptu jam session using the
found materials of the seniors’ home. Music
for One X-mas and Six Drummers is toe-tapping fun, and a good note on which
to end the programme. Music for One X-mas
and Six Drummers also makes a good segue to the dance party that’s expected
to follow the “Christmas in June” screening, so it might be a good idea to sneak
a little egg nog in with that fruitcake and get ready for a good time! Rumor
has it that Santa’s elves will be in attendance, so if you want to avoid the
Naughty List this Christmas, be in Dufferin Park and join the party!
“Christmas in June”
screens at Dufferin
Grove Park on Sunday, June 3 at 9:00 p.m.
Once again, admission
is FREE.
Please visit www.shorterisbetter.com for tickets,
program/film info, and show times.
(And check back here for updates & reviews of this year's Worldwide Short Film Festival.)
(And check back here for updates & reviews of this year's Worldwide Short Film Festival.)
