2015 Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Film Festival
This year, instead of attending the full festival, I attended the Sunday afternoon encore, which featured all the films from the festival the previous day that had won awards, been runners' up or were judge's choice. Here's what we saw--and let me note that people who are interested in awarding the Hugo to true short films really need to see some of these:
The Looking Planet (Dir.: Eric Law Anderson, USA, 17 min.) (link goes to the trailer and official website)
During the construction of the universe, one young engineer decides to alter the design of one particular planet. This beautiful little origin story is just a delight, told with humor, epic visuals, and great affection for its characters.
Caldera (Dir.: Evan Viera, USA, 11 min.) (link goes to full video)
A young woman puts aside the medications she takes regularly to experience the world in a whole new way. This film won the grand prize of the festival. While I think it's visually beautiful, it made limited sense to me.
The Nostalgist (Dir.: Giacomo Cimini, UK 18 min.) (link goes to the trailer and official website)
A man tries to protect his son from the outside world, but also from the fearsome truth about their lives together. I loved this beautiful, Kickstarter-funded, steampunk short film. It's stylishly produced, offering a contrast between its filigreed prettiness and its hard-edged, super-slick danger. And the actor who plays the father is not only kind of gorgeous, he's also very good indeed.
Time Travel Lover (Dir.: Ben Mirosseni, USA, 10 min.) (link goes to full video)
A first date goes awry when the couple receives a visit--well, several visits--from the young man's future self, with news of how their relationship turns out. Entertaining and occasionally sympathetic-wince-inducing, this short film is light fluff, but it also offers some real truth about how insecure we can all be, and about how badly 20-20 hindsight could be turned around by the invention of time travel.
Little Quentin (Dir.: Albert 't Hooft and Paco Vink, Netherlands, 9 min.) (link goes to full video)
Oswald Bunny gets help from his friends to cover up a terrible crime. Taking a twisted page from "Toy Story," this short film offers a dark, funny glimpse into the harrowing world of toy noir. You'll recognize analogs to beloved cartoon characters and childhood toys. The end offers a great twist.
Gumdrop (Dir.: Kerry Conran and Stephen Lawes, USA, 8 min.) (link goes to full video)
A robot auditions for a plum cinematic role. This short won the Douglas Trumbull Award for Best Visual Effects, and I suspect that more technically savvy eyes than mine will understand precisely why, though I thought there were more eye-popping visuals in other films we saw that afternoon. I found it to be another light bit of fluff, though when the robot starts spouting its assigned monolog, I admit that I kind of laughed my head off at the material chosen for her to read.
Wanderers (Dir.: Erik Wernquist, Sweden, 4 min.) (Link goes to full video)
Narrated by Carl Sagan, this short film offers a vision of the universe as imagined based on the most current science about interstellar environments. I sat there completely gobsmacked watching this film. Completely amazing.
In the Beginning (Dir.: Arthur Metcalf, USA, 3 min.) (Link goes to full video)
One little girl takes a key role in the creation of the universe. Ever wonder why bees are what they are? This delightful, giggle-inducing little film provides one marvelous theory. This film won the Audience Choice award at the festival and the reason will become obvious when you watch it.
The Looking Planet (Dir.: Eric Law Anderson, USA, 17 min.) (link goes to the trailer and official website)
During the construction of the universe, one young engineer decides to alter the design of one particular planet. This beautiful little origin story is just a delight, told with humor, epic visuals, and great affection for its characters.
Caldera (Dir.: Evan Viera, USA, 11 min.) (link goes to full video)
A young woman puts aside the medications she takes regularly to experience the world in a whole new way. This film won the grand prize of the festival. While I think it's visually beautiful, it made limited sense to me.
The Nostalgist (Dir.: Giacomo Cimini, UK 18 min.) (link goes to the trailer and official website)
A man tries to protect his son from the outside world, but also from the fearsome truth about their lives together. I loved this beautiful, Kickstarter-funded, steampunk short film. It's stylishly produced, offering a contrast between its filigreed prettiness and its hard-edged, super-slick danger. And the actor who plays the father is not only kind of gorgeous, he's also very good indeed.
Time Travel Lover (Dir.: Ben Mirosseni, USA, 10 min.) (link goes to full video)
A first date goes awry when the couple receives a visit--well, several visits--from the young man's future self, with news of how their relationship turns out. Entertaining and occasionally sympathetic-wince-inducing, this short film is light fluff, but it also offers some real truth about how insecure we can all be, and about how badly 20-20 hindsight could be turned around by the invention of time travel.
Little Quentin (Dir.: Albert 't Hooft and Paco Vink, Netherlands, 9 min.) (link goes to full video)
Oswald Bunny gets help from his friends to cover up a terrible crime. Taking a twisted page from "Toy Story," this short film offers a dark, funny glimpse into the harrowing world of toy noir. You'll recognize analogs to beloved cartoon characters and childhood toys. The end offers a great twist.
Gumdrop (Dir.: Kerry Conran and Stephen Lawes, USA, 8 min.) (link goes to full video)
A robot auditions for a plum cinematic role. This short won the Douglas Trumbull Award for Best Visual Effects, and I suspect that more technically savvy eyes than mine will understand precisely why, though I thought there were more eye-popping visuals in other films we saw that afternoon. I found it to be another light bit of fluff, though when the robot starts spouting its assigned monolog, I admit that I kind of laughed my head off at the material chosen for her to read.
Wanderers (Dir.: Erik Wernquist, Sweden, 4 min.) (Link goes to full video)
Narrated by Carl Sagan, this short film offers a vision of the universe as imagined based on the most current science about interstellar environments. I sat there completely gobsmacked watching this film. Completely amazing.
In the Beginning (Dir.: Arthur Metcalf, USA, 3 min.) (Link goes to full video)
One little girl takes a key role in the creation of the universe. Ever wonder why bees are what they are? This delightful, giggle-inducing little film provides one marvelous theory. This film won the Audience Choice award at the festival and the reason will become obvious when you watch it.