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| Turbulence |
After the great opening night screening of “Award Winnersfrom Around the World” followed by a fun after-party at the C-Lounge, the CFC
Worldwide Short Film Festival continued its good run of shorts into the second
day of the festival. The first screening of the day that I attended was the Official
Selection “The Family Compact.” Although “Family” might not be as strong
overall as some of the other line-ups in the Official Selection, there are a
few standouts among these films that show the darker side of family dynamics.
“Family Compact” opens with the clear anti-bullying message
of Liar
(Canada, 8 min.) and then tackles child abuse in Hellion (USA, 6 min.).
Third in the series is the sinisterly funny black comedy Long Distance Information
(UK, 8 min.), directed by Douglas Hart. Tyrannosaur’s
Peter Mullan stars as an emotionally distant father who reluctantly picks up
the phone when his son calls on Christmas Day. Thanks to Mullan’s brooding,
intimidating presence, the dialogue of Long
Distance Information has a sense of impending doom. His sardonic dead-pan
makes this film a memorable tale of fathers and sons.
The bond between mother and daughter drives the next film, Turbulence
(France/Tunisia, 22 min.). Arguably the stand-out film in “The Family Compact,”
Turbulence is a riveting family drama
about a girl who stumbles home from a party with her body covered in bruises
and her reputation stained. At first bound by tradition, the girl’s mother does
everything she can to hide the abuse; however, as she discovers more about her
daughter’s situation and realizes that the truth lies closer to home, the
mother undergoes profound change in order to protect her daughter. Much goes
unsaid in Turbulence: the film
unfolds in an impeccable act of storytelling and it’s driven by strong
performances by Bouraouia Marzouk and Mariem Ferjani. Turbulence, directed by Leyla Bouzid, is also notable because it
ends with an important message for the audience that only deepens the openness
and ambiguity of the mystery.
Another highlight of “The Family Compact” is the documentary Lack
of Evidence (France, 9 min.), which takes a powerful experimental
approach to the testimony by one man who fled Nigeria and sought asylum in
France. Likewise, the doc Little Brother (UK. 7 min.) offers a
unique approach to the family dynamic and is notable for its collaborative
effort between filmmaker and subject. Finally, the animated short Belly
(UK, 7 min.) is a peculiarly dreamy story of the love/hate relationship between
siblings. As with all the stories in “The Family Compact”, Belly shows the push-and-pull dynamic of family ties. Tackling
issues of indebtedness as well as familial devotion, the stories in “The Family
Compact” come to WSFF from across the globe, yet their personal, intimate
portraits offer universal messages that should resonate with audiences.
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| The Maker |
The second screening of the day was “Creative Control.”
“Creative Control” offers one of the better programmes in the Official
Selection at WSFF. Presenting seven
films that illustrate the relationship between the artistic process and
identity, “Creative Control” showcases some original and daring works.
The Maker (Australia, 6 min.) opens “Creative Control” with an
impressive animated film that sets up the play between art, love, and loss that
runs throughout the series. A little rabbit-like creature works to beat the
clock to make his double, but his homemade doppelganger turns out to be a
surprise mate. The Maker boasts spectacular
animation and offers a tale of ill-fated love that is both disheartening and
endearing. While The Maker looks at
one creative individual, Gravity of Center (Canada, 14 min.)
showcases the RUBBERBANDance troupe in an evocative contemporary routine. Fluid
cinematography and precise editing accentuate this aesthetically pleasing
showcase of motion and art: fans of So
You Think You Can Dance? will really like this film!
After the experimental steps of Gravity of Center comes the revealing documentary Heaven
(Niebo) (Poland, 15 min.). Heaven
is a lyrical, fleeting portrait of an artist named Robert who escapes from a
painful, life-threatening disease by pouring himself into painted works. A
striking and intimate exploration of the creative process, Heaven captures Robert’s story in beautiful natural light and pairs
it with a sumptuous score by Atanas Valkow, which allows one to appreciate the
work of a truly devoted artist. Cheese (Canada, 5 min.), on the
other hand, offers a tale of a true amateur when one couple’s sightseeing is
interrupted by the wannabe paparazzo from hell. This funny film shows that even
the most madcap encounters make for the best travel stories. The next film, Lifetripper
(USA, 14 min.), tells of one amateur comedian who regales his fellow bus-riders
with jokes and anecdotes, and then uses his comic persona to gain confidence in
life. How to Raise the Moon (Germany/Denmark, 9 min.) tells not of
amateurs making art out of life, but of art coming alive. A haunting yet
amusing film about a rabbit and a fox that jump from the canvas and into the
real world, How to Raise the Moon is
a surreal game of the horrors (or wonders) that occur when blending art with
reality.
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| Withering Love |
“Creative Control” ends with a film that looks to be in the
running for my favourite short at the festival so far. Withering Love (Les amours
perdues) (Denmark, 29 min.) is a breathtaking examination of the
destructive, all-consuming nature of love. Emmanuelle Béart (Nathalie…) gives a stunning performance
as Maria, a woman who meets a lonely chain-smoking writer named Vincent (Denis
Lavant, A Very Long Engagement) at a
small Parisian café. Maria quickly falls for Vincent’s elegy for lost love;
however, as Maria tries to pursue a relationship, Vincent backs away from the
patio and attempts suicide before her eyes. Shocked and incensed by Vincent’s
actions, Maria spirals into an obsessive responsibility for Vincent’s life. Withering Love is an unsettling tale of
romantic desire thanks to Béart’s showstopping work as the elusive and
enigmatic muse. The film also unnerves a sense of happily-ever-after through
the Dogme 35 approach taken by writer/director Samanou Sahlstrøm. Sahlstrøm
shows an adept hand at the shaky camerawork and sparse minimalism of the Dogme
style, and it’s no wonder since the director’s previous credits are from
working alongside Lars von Trier as a production assistant on Antichrist and Manderlay. Sahlstrøm’s crafting of the broken and heartbreaking
Maria is just as good as any female character of von Trier’s films – there’s even
a scene of Maria watching Breaking the
Waves if one wants an additional clue as to how to interpret this ill-fated
tale. A beautiful work all around, Withering
Love offers a masterful hand at creative control and shows that a student
can be just as good as his teacher.
“Family Compact”
screens again at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema on Saturday, June 9 at 2:15.
“Creative Control”
screens again at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema on Friday, June 8 at 4:30.
Please visit www.shorterisbetter.com for tickets,
program/film info, and show times.
(And click here for updates & reviews of this year's Worldwide Short Film Festival.)
(And click here for updates & reviews of this year's Worldwide Short Film Festival.)
