I’ll
Scratch Yours
Directed by Danette Jackson
5 min
I figured I should open the
evening with The Best Short Film of the 20th Century.
I'll Scratch Yours was made by a forty-something female
ex-postal worker who attended the North Carolina School
of the Arts as an undergraduate in the late 1990s (or
at least that's how it was explained to me). As for
the film itself, it's like nothing you've ever seen
before. Take a black porno. Now remove the porno. Now
remove the black. That's I'll Scratch Yours. This film
changed my life forever.
By
Modern Measure
Directed by Matthew Lessner
My favorite short film of 2007,
Matthew Lessner's By Modern Measure is a masterfully
executed gem, which uses beautifully grainy black-and-white
film and French New Wave techniques to comment on just
how difficult it is to make an honest romantic connection
in our commercialized and corny modern world. But there's
a sincerity and gravity to the work that makes it more
just mere satire and elevates it to greatness. This,
my friends, is what short films should be.
Weekend
Directed by Henrik Andersson
32 min - 2006 - Sweden - Swedish w/ English Subtitles
- Color
www.swedishfilm.org
There has never been a more
apt occasion to use the word b-i-z-a-r-r-e than when
describing Henrik Andersson’s hilarious and oddly
terrifying Weekend, which concerns a seemingly innocent
weekend in a cabin for two Swedish couples that is turned
upside down by… well, I’m not sure what
exactly. To say anything more would be to ruin the surprise.
Imagine if 1970s-era Wes Craven directed a Mentos commercial
and that doesn’t even begin to capture the insanity
that is Weekend.
A
Catalog of Anticipations
Directed by David Lowery
12 min - 2007 - USA - English - Color
www.road-dog-productions.com
From one of the sharpest writing
minds in the independent film world comes a strikingly
gorgeous triptych that takes my breath away every time
I watch it. In three segments, David Lowery blends fantasy,
reality, and the avant-garde to create something that
surpasses labels and categories and strikes a deeper,
more universal human chord. Separately, these works
are striking. Together, they're downright transcendent.
We’re
Going to the Zoo
Directed by Josh Safdie
15 min - 2006 - USA - English - Color
www.redbucketfilms.com
With the help of some friends
(Samuel Lisenco, Brett Jutkiewicz, Dan Samiljan), writer/director
Josh Safdie has begun to establish an incredibly distinct
cinematic voice. We're Going to the Zoo is a minor miracle,
a short film that is whimsical, comical, poignant, and
unexpectedly moving. It's a rare treat to see something
that so perfectly reflects an artist's approach to life,
and this striking short does just that. I worry about
the poor, unfortunate soul who isn't completely swept
away by We're Going to the Zoo. I'm sure you will be.
Foxy
and the Weight
of the World
Directed by David Zellner
9 min - 2005 - USA - English - Color
www.zellnerbros.com
Epic stupidity. Slapstick profundity.
The Zellner Brothers are not easily classifiable, and
while I'm a fan of everything they do, this short remains
my favorite. For one, I simply can't conceive of two
human beings sitting down and coming up with an idea
like this, and then executing it to such perfection.
Foxy and the Weight of the World has no cinematic precedent.
Or if it does, I haven't seen it yet.
The
Intervention
Directed by Jay Duplass
15 min - 2005 - USA - English - Color
www.duplassbrothers.com
It's hard for me not to refer
to The Intervention as My Favorite Short Film Ever,
and for these purposes, I will stick with that grand,
lofty statement. When I first saw this film a few years
ago, I had simultaneous pangs of exhilaration and jealousy,
for I felt like someone had literally reached into my
brain and pulled off something I had always wanted to
do. As with my favorite filmmaking, The Intervention
feels realer than real life, presenting a situation
that is awkward, uncomfortable, hilarious and dramatic
at the exact same time. How do these guys do it?
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Barbés
Traveling Cinema &
