Short Films, And Tons Of ‘Em

Varied, vast and sometimes hard to watch, but I made it my goal to watch every short film offered at SXSW. Have I succeeded? Hell to the no, but I did manage to catch is a well-rounded view of selections from all of the shorts programming. There is still time, there is still some semblance of hope, a ray of light if you will, that I can make it to see all of the official selections at SXSW.

But something has happened. I caught SXSARS and I have been pinned to a bed for the past two days. Coughing, sneezing, aching, chills, fatigue and horrible sleep have plagued my movie going experience. At least partially to blame are all of you nasty humans who brought your regionally specific bugs from every corner of the earth. Blame also lies with you, SXSW, for making it too damned easy to get drunk at every turn and keeping the parties coming morning through night. I am also to blame, with my utter weakness when it comes to social activity, couple that with my disgusting desire to embalm myself at almost every turn and we have disaster. Oh, how I love disaster.

Triple dosed on DayQuil, vitamin C and still feeling the NyQuil hangover from last nights over-the-counter medicine binge. I have my partner in SX crime drop me off at the Alamo Drafthouse on Lamar for some five hours of movie grill / tavern action. What a fitting selection of shorts do I have on the agenda today for the state I find myself in. First, I witnessed the SX Animated Shorts Program and then after an hour-long break I go into the trippy world of SX Experimental Shorts.

Animated Short Films have always been hit or miss with me, and that proved true of this year’s selection at SX. Ranging from stop-motion to computer-generated performance captured wonders, funny and airy to serious and morbid animated flicks danced upon the screen.

“The Orange” by Nick Fox-Geig was the winner of the Animated Shorts Program as judged by the SXSW Film Festival jury. Though I thought the grand prizewinner was a formidable selection, was it worthy of the win? A social and political look at an Orange that has suddenly come to rule the world, causing farmers to weep and prompting meetings from the Dalai Lama. A sort of reflection of our idolization of some of our esteemed politicians and religious leaders, “The Orange” delivered funny post-modernisms in a poignant and tight package.

My choice to win would have been “Poppy” by James Cunningham, the short based on a true story, which told the heartwarming story of bravery, ethics and brutality in the trenches of the French western front of WWI. A CGI experience that shows two men caught behind enemy lines that face a difficult decision when they find an infant baby beneath her recently killed parents. I cried in this film. For a short to illicit a catharsis such as mine is truly memorable. This was the clear choice to win, in my opinion, but what do I know. I’m just a moviegoer.

Now, I have an hour-long break and my body is still heavy from all the OTC dope that I have been consuming. I am freezing. Shivering from the sick chills, I step into the Austin sun and soak in some rays. Austin truly is beautiful in the spring. I need some natural vitamins. As much as I hate the sun, I welcome his radiant heat vitamin D packed goodness. A short walk for some of the earth’s herbal medicine to counteract all the tension I am feeling from the non-drowsy decongestants I am ingesting and to prepare my mind for the hardest of hardcore movie going experiences, Experimental Shorts.

Back in the theatre, I take the same seat as before and I order a 5 dollar chocolate milk shake topped with candied sunflower seeds. Settled in to be entertained by the weird. The program opens with an exploratory journey of sound and imagery by Karl Lemieux’s, “Mamori.” Black and white lines (think about the video for A-Ha’s “Take on Me,” without actual drawings) that represent the Amazonian forest fill the screen while accompanied by sounds as composed by Spanish composer Francisco Lopez. I didn’t get it, but I heard a fellow audience member say that it reminded them of camping and how your senses become heightened in a dark forest. Maybe that’s it, but I would never know because I have never ventured into the wild for a primordial camping trip.

Director Guy Maddin won best Experimental Short with his movie “Night Mayor.” “Why did that win?” I thought to myself as the tweet from @SXSW arrived on my mobile device? Hmm? I quickly ran to the Internet and to my notes, to refresh my memory and reabsorb what had been lost in my foggy sick infested brain. Watching the trailer and reading the synopsis and bam it all came back. I actually wrote in my notes that I did not get the film but thought it was the most compelling visually of all the films I had seen thus far at SX. I think it was a commentary on censorship in Canada in the mid Twentieth century or something. Congrats, Mr. Maddin.

If I were a juror I would have gone in another direction. Even though an open mind is something that one must carry to judge experimental films, I gravitate towards the more conventional offerings, silly to say. “The Feeder” by Joseph Ernst was heads above the other films in the SX Experimental Shorts selection. Filmed entirely inside the mouth of a human, if follows a person through a full day of feeding, consuming and excess. I wondered from the beginning of the film till its last frame how in the world did he get a camera in this dudes mouth? The filthy soundtrack made me plug my ears and it all culminated in a regurgitation that must of played against the jury’s selection, especially if they were viewing in the movie tavern / grill setting. Buen Provecho!