1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Gulp!
directed by Jason Reitman (USA, 35mm) 7 min
Jason Reitman, the director of last year's AVIFF opening night audience favorite, In God We Trust, is back at it again with another fast-paced tale - this time with a film about a man who must save his saltwater fish. Premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
One Day Crossing
directed by Joan Stein (USA, 35mm) 25 min
Shot on location in Hungary, One Day Crossing is a haunting story about a family facing the Holocaust. Seen through the eyes of a woman, and a boy who suddenly enters her life, the film chronicles the struggle to survive a brutal war and protect a family secret. The film has received worldwide acclaim including a nomination for a 2001 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
Terminal: Paradise
directed by Jan Thuering (Germany, 35mm) 7 min
The little rats are living on a hill, but their situation is desperate: no food, nothing to drink, and garbage as far as you can see. Then one of the rats finds a postcard, and suddenly things seem to be changing for the better...
uP
directed by Chad Park (USA, 35mm) 15 min
A prison inmate paces his cell, yearning to be free. His jailer spends his free time making paper planes and flying them from out a tower window. Reality blurs and the prisoner, after long incarceration, finds that he has the power to fly away too. Gripping and atmospheric, uP is layered with metaphor, and invites multiple interpretations from an audience.
The Riblock Foundation
directed by Christopher Roche (Ireland, 35mm) 4 min
Ernest attends an interview at the Riblock Foundation, but as the questions grow increasingly bizarre, he wonders whether he'll get the job, and if he does, just exactly what the job is.
Horses on Mars
directed by Eric Anderson (USA, 35mm) 7 min
A tiny microbe blasts off from his home planet, propelled by a meteor impact, and embarks on a journey across the solar system. From the microscopic to the macroscopic, Horses On Mars will make you rethink your place in the universe. Official Selection at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.
Lunch
directed by Matthew Ehlers (USA, 35mm) 4 min
A hilarious short about a corporate cafeteria, an obscene lunch, and a strong desire to get fired. Official Selection at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.
Lily and Jim
directed by Don Hertzfeldt (USA, 35mm) 13 min
This award-winning short chronicles an achingly pathetic blind date between two hopelessly neurotic romantics that goes from very bad to much worse. Lily and Jim (1997) is a charming little film that toys with the melodrama of excruciating small talk and self-destructive heartbreak.
Zen and the Art of Landscaping
directed by David Kartch (USA, 35mm) 17 min
Zen and the Art of Landscaping is a comedy about an unsuspecting landscaper who gets caught in domestic crossfire after being seduced by a wanton housewife. This internationally acclaimed short received an honorable mention at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and Best Narrative Short at the 2001 Student Academy Awards.
Legalized America
directed by Michael Ball (USA, Digital) 25 min
A hilarious satire presented in the style of a British news show. This film draws you into an alternate reality…one in which America has unilaterally legalized all illicit drugs and found itself shunned by the rest of the world.
Non-Abductees Anonymous
directed by Philip Powell (USA, Digital) 10 min
Enjoy a look inside the goings on at a support group for people who have never been abducted by aliens. See them work through their feelings of rejection and work to find practical ways to gain the attention of the extraterrestrials whose attention they crave.
Farmer McAllister's Thinkin' Machine
directed by Brady Koch (USA, Video) 13 min
Farmer McAllister is henpecked by his wife and overworked to the point of exhaustion. There seems no solution until he has the sudden inspiration to build a robot from spare parts scrounged from the barn. The robot proves a handy labor-saving device but is both more and less than the McAllisters’ bargained for. A humorous and raunchy, sex comedy.
In the Red
directed by Lucy Weismann (USA, 16mm) 4 min
A woman's period may seem like a drag, but only to those uninitiated in the exciting and creative uses of menstrual blood. In the Red takes a look at the flip side of the curse.
Timmy's Wish
directed by Patrick Cannon (USA, 16mm) 10 min
After he's sent to his room for refusing to eat his vegetables, angry little Timmy prays to God to deliver him from his cruel parents. Much to his surprise, his prayers are answered… bigtime. Now it's up to Timmy to clean up the mess.
Ah, L'Amour
directed by Don Hertzfeldt (USA, 16mm) 2 min
Ah, L'Amour (1995) is Hertzfeldt’s look at the trials and tribulations of a single person looking for love. Made during Don's freshman year at UC Santa Barbara for a beginning production class, the film went on to win the World Animation Celebration’s Grand Prize – “the world’s funniest cartoon.”
Big Blue Bus
directed by Ashley Chiang (USA, BetaSP) 24 min
A stubborn Chinese grandpa, a Mexican laborer, and a French actress all land in Santa Monica and step on the Big Blue Bus. They have nothing and everything in common. Combining dramatic and documentary styles, Chiang weaves together a uniquely Los Angeles story about immigrants building a new life in America.
Kid Protocol
directed by Alexander Mamlet (USA, BetaSP) 15 min
Follow the exploits of the Harry Houdini of party crashing, as Kid Protocol teaches audiences the way to get inside without getting on the list. Kid Protocol is the world's leading expert in party crashing.
Wheels Locked
directed by Dave Bergeson (USA, BetaSP) 17 min
Within the stuffy confines of a hospital waiting room an emotional roller coaster ride unfolds as a man fighting pain and boredom becomes drawn to the plight of a quadriplegic woman forced to endure an abusive and condescending nurse.
The Newman Shower
directed by Danny Passman (USA, 16mm) 25min
Summer camp is often filled with rites of passage, but some of them are harder to deal with than others. For Newman, it's tough to be the least mature of all the boys his age _ boys who tower over him and seem to have their pick of the girls. But with the helpful advice of his friends and a camp counselor, Newman struggles to overcome that familiar period of awkward adolescence.
Genre
directed by Don Hertzfeldt (USA, 16mm) 5 min
This clever mix of animation techniques chronicles the creative struggles between a cartoon rabbit and his animator (played by Hertzfeldt) as they careen through a rapid-fire string of changing film genres.
Shikami
directed by Akiko Izumitani (USA, 16mm) 7 min
As his life comes to a close, a former Japanese WWII veteran is plagued by the memories of his war crimes.
Joey Petrone: TV Cop
directed by Denise McCarthy (USA, 35mm) 12 min
Joey Petrone is a former television star who was once famous for his portrayal of a law and order detective in Caruso!, a hit crime drama of the 1970s. When he is offered a demeaning role as a mobster in a hit Mafia drama, Joey must decide whether to compromise his ideals or give up his chance for a comeback. Times change. Will he?
Fifty Percent Grey
directed by Ruairí Robinson
(Ireland, 35 mm) 3 min
When Sgt. Cray wakes up alone in a desert landscape with only his gun and a widescreen television he soon realizes the afterlife isn't all it was cracked up to be. In death there is no black and white — only shades of grey. 2002 Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Short.
Howrah Howrah
directed by Till Passow (Germany/India, 35mm) 26 min
Till Passow’s internationally acclaimed verité documentary is a microcosm of life in an Indian metropolis. Howrah is the name of the central train station in Calcutta, one of the largest in Asia and an important hub for transportation of travelers and freight. The station is a bustling, chaotic place, full of the extreme contrasts that pertain to life in a third world city. Howrah Howrah’s sumptuous cinematography is a spellbinding account of the daily life cycle in one of the most populous cities on earth. Received an honorable mention at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.
Home Movie
directed by Chris Smith (USA, 35mm) 60 min
Home Movie is Chris Smith’s loving look at five extraordinary homes and the charming, bizarre people who inhabit them. From a missile silo near Topeka, Kansas to a bayou house in the swamps of Louisiana to a treehouse in the Hawaiian rain forests, Smith interweaves eccentric personalities in exotic locales in a way that makes the audience think about the meaning of "home" and the outer limits of architectural possibility. There’s truly no place like home!
Topa Topa Bluffs
directed by Eric Simonson (USA, BetaSP) 82 min
Shot in and around the Antelope Valley, this dark comedy follows two down-on-their-luck Hollywood writers who head off on a weekend backpacking trip to rejuvenate their creative spirits. The natural surroundings give rise to inspiration and they discover the perfect script idea… but the desert proves more than they bargained for. A clever, hilarious, yet cautionary tale of Hollywood greed and corruption.
Plus Zen and the Art of Landscaping the audience favorite from the opening night shorts!
The American Astronaut
directed by Cory McAbee(USA, 35mm) 91 min
Follow the adventures of Samuel Curtis, an interplanetary trader, in his quest to provide the all-female population of Venus with a suitable male. At the same time, he must elude the cold-blooded Professor Hess. With strange characters, bizarre music, and impressive cinematography, this space musical with a hint of the wild west is a quirky ride is not to be missed! Official selection at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
Plus Timmy's Wish the audience favorite from the midnight shorts!
documentary spotlight
Frozen: Battle Mountain to Death Valley
directed by Erik Sequeira (USA, BetaSP) 38 min
During the severe winter of 1996-97, AVC Photography Professor Lee Bergthold, along with companion Christine Bowers, trekked 350 miles in 35 days. They explored a survival route that Bergthold surmised, could have been an alternate direction for the ill-fated Donner Party of 1846. Filmmaker Erick Sequeira, with a crew of two, along with AVC Biology Professor, Bob Brister, kept track of Bergthold and Bowers who were backpacking cross-country. Live footage in combination with photography not only illuminates the historical accounts of the Donner Party, but compels us with the personal struggle of Bergthold and Bowers as they battle the elements.
Occupation
directed by Maple Razsa & Pacho Velez (USA, BetaSP) 45 min
This film documents the historic three-week sit in by the Harvard Living Wage Campaign. Narrated by Ben Affleck, the story unfolds to show how students and immigrant janitors took on and defeated one of the most powerful corporations in the world.
Is This Your Mother?
directed by Jeremy Garelick (USA, 35mm) 11 min
Jimmy is having a bad day. It's his birthday, a day of celebration, but also the same day that his girlfriend leaves him and he's fired from his job at the diner. And that's only the beginning! Things snowball from here in this delightful black comedy. Is it real or is it a nightmare? Make a wish…
Mother Ghost
directed by Rich Thorne (USA, 35mm) 83 min
Keith Bennett's overly protective mother passed away a year ago, but when her jewelry (that she was buried in) appears on his bathroom sink, Keith begins to wonder if she is trying to communicate with him from beyond the grave. Unable to talk to his wife (Dana Delaney) or his best friend (Joe Mantegna), Keith (Mark Thompson) turns to a radio psychologist (Kevin Pollak). Mother Ghost is compelling look at emotional issues that are both familiar and frightening.
Fuel
directed by Rachel Tillotson (England, 35mm) 3 min
Three cranky old English women are driving home from a dreary day of grocery shopping when they stop at a deserted gas station. There, they encounter a shirtless pump attendant who knows just what they need to brighten their day.
Three Exits
directed by Selena Chang (USA, 35mm) 11 min.
Shot on location in the Antelope Valley, Three Exits is a poignant short film about a family road trip in which a daughter is eager to grow up while her parents try to hang on to their little girl.
One Dance, One Song
directed by Daniel Wiroth (France/Luxembourg) 6 min
Bodies brush against each other, hands communicate and loving glances are exchanged. A cinematic dance poem dedicated to the other, without whom one is nothing. Official Selection, 2001 London Film Festival.
Billy's Balloon
directed by Don Hertzfeldt (USA, 35mm) 6 min
What if balloons could think? What if they were tired of being batted around by small children? What if they wanted REVENGE? A recklessly funny and unbelievably dark look at a little boy and his balloon. Official selection, 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
directed by Matt Martin (USA, 35mm) 14 min
Billy, a four-foot human cannonball in a traveling circus, and his full-sized, pregnant wife Katie cross paths with other travelers as it becomes a test of wills who will get the last word. Shot on location in the Antelope Valley.
Phoenix
directed by Steven Bordelon (USA, 35mm) 19 min
Simon works as a disabled janitor at a classified telekinetic research lab where children are being mechanically engineered for use as weapons. A sci-fi thriller about run away technology and the strength of the human spirit.
Motherly Love
directed by Eric I. Goldman (USA, 35mm) 15 min
When Irving comes home with news of his engagement, his reception isn’t exactly what he had hoped for. If only love were unconditional…
Nougat
directed by Tibor Szakaly and Bill Fiala (USA, 35 mm) 9 min
Nobody seems to pay attention to Nougat during the Easter Pageant. But this year, little Nougat has a big surprise! 2002 South by Southwest Film Festival Winner for Best Midnight Short.
The Offering
directed by Paul Lee (Canada, 35mm) 10 min
The Offering is about the progression and the passing of life. This meditative story centers on the evolution of love and friendship between a Japanese monk and the young novice who has come into his life, from their initial encounter to their final parting.
Strange Invaders
directed by Cordell Barker (Canada, 35mm) 9 min
Roger and Doris have everything they want except for a child. Then, one day the miraculous happens and a baby appears on their doorstep. Is he a gift from Heaven…or, from further out? A hilarious black comedy about the dangers of parenthood. 2002 Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Short.
