1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Silence is Golden
Chris Shepherd
Set in 70's Britain, the film chronicles young Billy’s feud with his seemingly simple-minded neighbor Dennis. Shepherd masterfully mixes unnerving realism with fantastical animation to express Billy's inner thoughts on screen. (UK, 35mm, 15 min.)
Changes
Lorcan Finnegan
When two wildly-in-love caterpillars embrace the transformation of their lives, the changes that ensue are a little more than they bargained for. (Ireland, 35mm, 4 min.)
Judas
Nicolas Bary
At a party, in a time of war and austerity, an old man spies on two lovers talking about the future. A stunning achievement in production design, Judas is sure to be one of the most exquisite films you will see this year. (France, 35mm, 17 min.)
Warlord
David Garrett
When a young boy decides that he no longer wants to be kept under the thumb of his consumerist mother, he inspires other children to join in the revolt. AVIFF alumnus David Garrett returns to the festival after screening Clown Car in 2000. (USA, video, 10 min.)
Surgery
Alberto González Vázquez
A chance meeting with a beautiful woman over coffee sparks a young man’s fantasies of how his life might have been different. Through elegant, hand-drawn animation, Surgery explores the places where fantasy and reality meet. (Spain, 35mm, 2 min.)
The Lonely Lights. The Color of Lemons.
Ben Piety
In this beautifully lyrical cinematic memoir, director Ben Piety reimagines his childhood in “flickers of memory and light.” In the film, a series of inkblot images trigger a young man’s reflections on the simple yet defining moments of his life. At once ethereal and intensely real, the film’s episodic structure reveals a new layer of reality and emotion with the passing of each interval. (USA, video, 16 min.)
Lifted
Gary Rydstrom
Pixar offers up this 2007 Oscar nominee about a young alien student who tests the patience of his increasingly weary instructor as he attempts to abduct a human for the first-time. The film’s animator, Gary Rydstrom, has received a stunning fourteen Oscar nominations. (USA, video, 5 min.)
Men From Older Space
Yann Chayia
In a world much like our own, a young man finds himself alone amid a sea of white hair and wrinkles. As the men (and women) from “older space” threaten to take over the planet, he is forced to flee or face becoming one of them...immediately. Eerie and exquisitely photographed, this film is a striking revisioning of the science fiction genre that puts a new spin on the idea of premature aging. (France, 35mm, 13 min.)
Guide Dog
Bill Plympton
Guide Dog is the hilarious sequel to Bill Plympton’s Oscar nominated short Guard Dog. This time our hero dog attempts to help the blind but with typically disastrous results. (USA, video, 6 min.)
The Saddest Boy in the World
Jamie Travis
Surrounded by hostile playmates and an indifferent mother, Timothy Higgins realizes on his ninth birthday that he is, in fact, the saddest little boy in the entire world. Marked by the stunning production design that is quickly becoming director Jamie Travis’ trademark, this film artfully employs the black situational humor that Travis developed in his first film, 2004 AVIFF favorite, Why The Anderson Children Didn’t Come to Dinner. (Canada, 35mm, 14 min.)
Tic Tac Toe
Matthew Swanson
Created on a mobile phone, Tic Tac Toe is a funny and clever twist on the popular game in which the director bearing facial hair is pitted against his own clean-shaven image. (Canada, video, 2 min.)
Mr. Schwartz, Mr. Hazen & Mr. Horlocker
Stefan Mueller
Unable to concentrate any longer due to the loud music coming from his neighbor’s apartment, a man calls the police. While the policeman struggles to understand the situation, everything escalates. The hilarious state of affairs underlying the disturbance is ultimately revealed to produce an outlandishly explosive butterfly effect. Official selection of the Cannes Film Festival. (Germany, 35mm, 8 min.)
The Speeding Ticket
Michael Fanter
In this tribute to film noir, a young man has a decisive run-in with a police officer on a deserted highway. (6 min.)
A New Beginning
Cody Djonne
A homeless young man is given a second chance through a lucky encounter with a generous hot dog vendor. (5 min.)
The Land of Treetch: The Art of Frank Robert Dixon
Josh Doll
This documentary explores the world of local AV artist Frank Dixon who has developed a reputation for his beautifully fanciful tree-portraits. (18 min.)
The Anniversary
Douglas Garvin
In this haunting film, a man observes a special anniversary. (5 min.)
Tough Love
Matthew Blackburn
Alone in the desert, two “brothers” endure a difficult confrontation. (8 min.)
Ball
Kenneth Arlington Jr.
In Ball, a girl plays catch with a mysterious, unseen partner. (6 min.)
Confession
Arturo Gonzalez
Wrought with guilt, a young man attempts to rid himself of the source of his anxiety and pain. (8 min.)
Closure
Julio Nieves
In this original silent film, a mysterious figure loses for the object of his desire. (8 min.)
No Time For Nuts
Chris Renaud & Michael Thurmeier
While trying to bury a nut during the Ice Age, Scrat uncovers a frozen time machine. The result is a wildly cinematic ride through cosmic time and space. 2007 Oscar nominee. (USA, video, 7 min.)
Patterns 1
Jamie Travis
In this first installment to a provocative trilogy, we are introduced to the strange world of Pauline, which is filled with houndstooth dresses, ghastly visions, tiny dancing reindeer and a mysterious telephone call. Gorgeous and eccentric, The Patterns Trilogy marks director Jamie Travis’s third return to AVIFF. (Canada, video, 9 min.)
The Rick
Tim McCarthy
Living in a dilapidated trailer and working as a dishwasher, Rick endures one bad day that threatens to push him over the edge. Nearing the point of combustion, he makes one final mistake that will either result in a prison term or complete and utter humiliation. Shot in the Antelope Valley, The Rick is a highly irreverent black comedy that was featured at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. (USA, 35mm, 21 min.)
The Job
Jonathan Browning
As a group of well-dressed professionals stands crowded outside of a building, it seems that a dire emergency must have flushed them out of their offices and into the street. Concern gives way to humor however when a stranger enters the scene and puts a clever spin on our expectations. (USA, video, 3 min.)
Patterns 2
Jamie Travis
In answer to the central question of Patterns 1—who is on the phone?—we learn that it is Michael, a love-struck young man who is haunted by his own puzzling dreams of moving objects, paper airplanes, death and Chinese take-out. In this second part of the trilogy, we gain a fuller picture of the restlessness that underlies this troubled relationship. (Canada, video, 14 min.)
The Toll
Zachary Pike
Created in a mockumentary style, J. Zachary Pike’s multi-award winning animated film shatters traditional mythologies as he takes us into the realm of the Troll, who comments on everything from his life as a toll-bridge operator, to his online dating experiences. (USA, video, 7 min.)
Cricket Head
Grant Greenberg
A teacher, recently released from prison, tries to rekindle a romance with an underage ex-student. Cathy Curtin delivers a powerhouse performance as the emotionally damaged and obsessed teacher. (USA, video, 19 min.)
Patterns 3
Jamie Travis
This film is the third installment in The Patterns Trilogy, which chronicles the bizarre neuroses of the feuding lovers Michael and Pauline during the breakdown of their romance. This triptych of surreal, stop-motion musical mockumentaries is exquisitely designed and explores an array of life’s patterns from the environmental to the unconscious. (Canada, video, 19 min.)
Maestro
Geza M. Toth
Donning a top hat and tails, Maestro’s iconic avian protagonist primps and preens in preparation for a surprising performance. Nominated for a 2006 Oscar, this film is beautifully animated and explores the idea of unseen life behind closed doors. (Hungary, video, 5 min.)
Forfeit
Andrew Shea
Forfeit explores the human traits of greed, obsession, and revenge. This clever and engaging heist flick tells the story of a man hell-bent on exacting vengeance on the people who have wronged him. Frank O’Neal (played by Billy Burke) appears to be re-adjusting to life back in his old neighborhood, including a reconciliation with his ex-girlfriend. We quickly learn however, that his motives are not entirely what they seem. Ultimately, his friendship with an overzealous televangelist places him on the brink of self-destruction. Andrew Shea’s taut thriller features an impressive cast, including Sherry Stringfield (ER) and Wayne Richards (Seinfeld). (2007, USA, video, 84 min.)
Animator vs. Animation
Alan Becker
Unhappy with the manner in which his creator is treating him, an animated stick-figure rebels. With few resources at his disposal (being a stick-figure), he turns his setting, the Flash Animation interface itself, into an arsenal of weaponry. A riotously imaginative battle ensues. (USA, video, 3 min.)
Ninth Street Chronicles
Megan Martin
It is the 1980s. Her neighbor robs drugstores (or so he says), her crush is a child prostitute (or so she thinks), and while her parents are engaged in a passive-aggressive domestic battle and her friends hold parties to which she is not invited, Sara has to figure out how to live life as a ten-year-old suburban maverick. (USA, video, 25 min.)
Little Trip
Mike Wilson
A stop-motion bus full of rocking musicians navigates beneath the striped-stockinged legs of a giant, stomping girl in this imaginative musical short film reminiscent of classic MTV. (USA, video, 3 min.)
1 Phone, 2 Phone, 3 Phone, 4
Darren Leis
A succession of ringing telephones leads a man to a mysterious congregation in the desert. 1 Phone, 2 Phone, 3 Phone, 4 was locally shot in the Antelope Valley by the producer of the 2005 AVIFF short, Four Corners. (USA, video, 12 min.)
Compassion
Tom Geens
Driven by her empathy for the less fortunate members of her community, a professional woman spends her spare time collecting change for charity. One day she sees an old man rummaging in the garbage and follows him home only to find that her concerned snooping reaps very unfortunate consequences. (Belgium, video, 18 min.)
Side Dish
Leigh Hodgkinson
Inspired by the song Side Dish by Psapp, Leigh Hodgkinson playfully uses a variety of animation styles to explore the song’s quirky metaphor of what it means to be a “side dish” in a relationship. (UK, video, 3 min.)
Happiness
Sophie Barthes
Unhappy with her mundane job in a condom factory, Iwona attempts to remedy her discontent by purchasing a box of ‘happiness.’ Artfully interweaving the abstract and the physical, director Sophie Barthes creates an arresting world of longing and desire. Official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. (USA, 35mm, 11 min.)
Skate Song
Mike Wilson
A group of skate boarders join together in an empty parking lot to make music. Part skating showcase and part stomp musical, Skate Song is one of three music videos by Mike Wilson featured in this year’s AVIFF. (USA, video, 4 min.)
Daddy’s Vacation
Kim Kwang-Bok
In this provocatively amusing tale, a man decides that he can no longer deal with the pressures of his life. He elects to take refuge from his job and family in an unlikely hiding place where he is simultaneously hidden from view and at the center of everything. (Korea-France, 35mm, 15 min.)
Sounds of Sand
Marion Hänsel
(2006, Belgium/France, 35mm, 96 min.)
Harrowing in its implications yet deeply humane in its testimony to the endurance of hope under impossible circumstances, Marion Hänsel’s beautifully observed family saga takes place beneath the unforgiving sun of East Africa where the increasing scarcity of free-flowing water is devastating entire communities and causing civil unrest. When the well in their village has run dry, stoic Rahne, his steadfast wife, and their three children pack their meager belongings and ragtag livestock—treated as members of the family—and head into the desert in search of water and hospitable terrain. What follows is a treacherous journey that cruelly tests familial bonds. Exquisitely shot, acted, and scored, Sounds of Sand is not only a stirring and poetic parable of one family’s travails but an extraordinarily moving wake-up call to the reality of resource shortages in Africa.
Ousmane
Dyana Gaye
At seven years old, Ousmane wanders the streets of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, begging to earn a living. One day he decides to write a letter to Santa Claus in hopes of changing not only his life but the lives of everyone in his city. (Senegal-France, 35mm, 15 min.)
Sounds of Sand will rescreen on Tuesday, May 8, at 2pm and 7pm at the AVIFF Cinema Series in our World Cinema Showcase.
Potl
Rick Guinan
Potl is a lone, defenseless penguin struggling to survive in a cruel and frozen world. His prospects look bleak until an improbable resource falls into his lap. Packed with dry humor, Potl demonstrates how human intervention can bring out the darker side of nature. (USA, video, 4 min.)
Wrong
Tom Geens
In an effort to alleviate his loneliness, a solitary man brings home a bizarre new companion, only to realize that her presence simply makes him feel more depressed. This situation ultimately results in an impressively acted film that is at once disturbing and hilarious. (UK, video, 9 min.)
Pull the Lever
Mike Wilson
In this dynamic film a band is “animated” into motion through an assembly of electrodes. Festival alum Mike Wilson (So Long, Sweet Summer, 2003) artfully employs stop-motion animation in the music video format to create an exciting combination of reality and illusion. (USA, video, 4 min.)
Heirloom
Jon Teboe
Charged up at the prospect of celebrating the holidays at home, a young man’s mood plummets when he realizes that the spark has gone out of a cherished member of his family. Through a series of flashbacks in this quirky comedy we learn about one Christmas that fell a little short. (USA, video, 13 min.)
Machine
Gabe Ibáñez
Following a frightening encounter with a strange man, an isolated girl finds that she has a mysterious new organ planted deep within her. Unsure of its nature as creature or machine, her initial fear gives way to fascination at the wondrous powers with which it endows her. (Spain, 35mm, 16 min.)
The Passenger
Chris Jones
Stepping onto a bus one afternoon, a young boy has no idea of the supernatural struggle that awaits him. Each time he plugs in his headphones, a bizarre transformation occurs in one of his fellow passengers. (Australia, video, 7 min.)
Night of the Zombie
Greg Benson
Paying tribute to kitschy “B” horror films, Night of the Zombie turns old conventions on their heads in a story in which the flesh-eating undead ultimately become the victims of the fresh-faced, All-American teenager. (USA, video, 4 min.)
Lighten Up
John Viener
The friendship between two men is taken to a new level when an embarrassing secret is revealed on a brief car ride. Created by comedy writer and actor John Viener (The Family Guy), Lighten Up was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. (USA, video, 8 min.)
Shame
Tom Geens
“You like looking at them, don’t you?” says this short film’s main character of her giant appendages. Shame, the third film in the festival from provocative British director Tom Geens, is an outrageous vision of the horrors that lie behind serene suburban doors. (UK, video, 4 min.)
Served
Phil Zlotorynski
A man who serves subpoenas for a living comes home one afternoon to find his own unwelcome surprise awaiting him. Served is the newest project by Phil Zlotorynski of the 2004 AVIFF favorite Walkentalk as well as My Big Fat Independent Movie. (USA, video, 4 min.)
Broadcast 23
Tom Putnam
Professor Russell Morgan is out to solve one of the great mysteries of the twenty-first century. He succeeds, but with his success also comes surprising and horrific consequences for himself and his team. Official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. (USA, 35mm, 8 min.)
Swappin Heads
Greg Benson
Eager to demonstrate the depth of their friendship, two buddies attempt to go well beyond blood brothers and become brain brothers instead. Along with Night of the Zombie (also playing at Midnight!), Swappin Heads marks the third return of “mediocre” filmmaker Greg Benson to AVIFF. (USA, video, 2 min.)
The Aftermath on Meadowlark Lane
David and Nathan Zellner
A tragic car accident on the way to a mariachi recital spurs two brothers to confront their mother about a mystery from their past. This explosively funny film is the latest project by veteran short filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner and was an official selection of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. (USA, 35mm, 10 min.)
Dunny
Phillip Van
There are few things more apocalyptic than the life of an obese eleven-year-old in the American suburbs. When Dunny decides to court Stacey, the object of his affection, the result is a painfully funny glimpse into that awkward period of adolescence. (USA, video, 10 min.)
The Exception
Charlie Call
AVIFF alumnus Charlie Call (Peep Show) presents an unsettling story about a woman who seeks to end her pregnancy. Inspired by a South Dakota law banning abortion. (USA, video, 4 min.)
My Mother’s Swimming Pool
Yann Chayia
This poetic and expressive film is the second in this year’s festival by Yann Chayia who is also screening the revisionist sci-fi short Men From Older Space on Opening Night. Shot on Super 8 film, La Piscine de Maman searches the memories of a woman whose life changed dramatically at the public swimming pool she still looks after. (France, 35mm, 10 min.)
In the Net
Asier Altuna
Billed as a “short documentary about fishing in the North Seas,” In the Net tells the disturbingly surreal tale of a fishing vessel that brings in an unsettling catch. (Spain, 35mm, 4 min.)
Wraith of Cobble Hill
Adam Parrish King
Enlisted by the owner of a convenience store to watch the shop while he's away, a troubled youth is both tempted by the spoils he's guarding and uneasy about the implications of the responsibility. Employing impressive clay animation and gorgeous camera work, The Wraith of Cobble Hill is an arresting and powerful meditation on the difficulties facing urban children. (USA, video, 16 min.)
Transit
Joe Care
An homage to the city symphony films of the 1920s, Transit captures all the beauty and the ugliness of Western European mass transportation with captivating images of people, cars, trains, and planes, transporting the viewer into a dreamlike reverie. (USA, video, 4 min.)
Fair Trade
Michael Dreher
Set in Morocco on the Strait of Gibraltar, this film explores the tremendous disparity between the wealth of Europe and the poverty of Africa, separated only by a small stretch of water. In Fair Trade, a European woman ventures across the Strait to make a forbidden purchase. (Morocco-Germany, video, 15 min.)
A Gentleman’s Duel
Francisco Ruiz Velasco and Scott McNally
A seemingly innocent tea party takes a dramatic turn for the worse when two imperious aristocrats suddenly find themselves competing for the affections of the same fair lady. (USA, video, 8 min.)
Pop Foul
Moon Molson
Returning home from little league one night, a young boy sees his father assaulted by a gangster. Forcing the boy to keep the incident secret from his mother, the father insists that his bruises were caused by a “pop foul” ball. Official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. (USA, video, 20 min.)
Confessions of a Late Bloomer
Jen McGowan
For 15 year-old Donny, high school sucks. He’s the smallest in the class and is only ever noticed when he’s the butt of someone else’s joke. Now, Donny must stumble along the absurd journey to manhood and prove to the world that manliness is only a state of mind. (USA, 35mm, 15 min.)
Flighty
Leigh Hodgkinson
A witty and whimsical vision of butterfly speed dating that packs in as many verbal and visual gags as the time and frame will allow (they do only have two weeks to live). The butterfly belles are intriguingly textured collages of wool, buttons, and shiny cardboard. (UK, video, 2 min.)
Dog Days Dream
Ichii Masahide
Ichii Masahide’s droll black comedy features a young, poverty-stricken couple trying to cope with a long hot summer with no air conditioning. When the two can no longer endure their painfully dead-end jobs, their humble existence starts taking on increasingly absurd forms. Principal actors Kunie Nakamura and Ayako Moriya offer pitch perfect timing as they slowly succumb to an extreme state of lethargy while hanging out in their underwear in their small. rubbish-laden apartment. Masahide infuses the film with a disarmingly wry sense of humor and wonderful deadpan style reminiscent of early Jim Jarmusch. Dog Days Dream is an irresistible Japanese indie with a fine comic edge. (2006, Japan, video, 73 min.)
Blue Kraning
Blue Kraning’s poignant and fun-loving film is a tribute to Gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson, and a document of how his legacy continues to live on in the hearts and minds of his fans. When the Aspen Daily News ran an essay contest so that private artillery owners could describe why they should be the ones to fulfill the good doctor's last wish to have his ashes fired from a cannon, over 50 private cannon owners applied. Blasted!!! offers a glimpse into why these ‘Gonzo patriots’ adored Thompson’s work and how they envision the future of America. Punctuated with readings from the doctor (and a requisite number of cannon blasts), the film is both a unique portrait of Americans rarely seen in the media, and a testament to why Thompson was an important voice that will be sorely missed. The screening will be preceded with readings from Hunter S. Thompson by a variety of special guests. (2006, USA, video, 58 min.)
John Williams
Disguised as animals, two young boys hide in their tree house and conduct experiments attempting to revive the life to a dead bee. Their ultimate intention however, is to bring back something much bigger. This award-winning short film is a touching tribute to the passion and invention of young minds. (UK, 35mm, 15min.)
Mr. Malikai Battles the Aeroplane
Drew Blatman
Mr. Malikai was born with eardrums that turn the world’s volume up too loud. He cleverly devises methods of coping with his mysterious affliction until the day that a vicious airplane comes to hover over his house. Beautifully shot on Super 8 film, Mr Malikai Battles the Aeroplane is a tragicomic reflection on the world and its cacophony of sounds. (USA, video, 10 min.)
Unzipped
Eli Akira Kaufman
Created from start to finish in one week as part of a professional challenge, Unzipped reveals the awkward moment that occurs between a teenage boy and the girl for whom he has a desperate crush. (USA, video, 2 min.)
The Danish Poet
Torill Kove
Narrated by Norwegian actress-director Liv Ullmann, this 2007 Oscar winner for Best Animated Short tells the tale of Kasper, a Danish poet who, after his creative well runs dry, takes a holiday in Norway in search of personal inspiration. (Norway/Canada, video, 15 min.)
Death to the Tinman
Ray Tintori
Filmmaker Ray Tintori has created a unique vision of the tale of the Tinman. As a young man suffers a series of accidents, he replaces more and more of his body with tin. In the process, he looses his lover and is forced to go to great extremes to restore her happiness. (USA, video, 13 min.)
Sea Change
Joe King & Rosie Pedlow
Filmed on a caravan park at the end of the season, Sea Change reveals a landscape dramatically transformed by light and time. Winner of Best Experimental Short at South by Southwest, the film becomes a meditation on the impact of development in the natural world. (UK, video, 5 min.)
Conversing with Aotearoa/New Zealand
Corrie Francis
Corrie Francis’ beautiful and engrossing documentary Conversing with Aotearoa uses unique visual imagery to take the viewer into the physical and mental wilderness of New Zealand. A gorgeous mixture of animation styles perfectly expresses the local people’s deep, personal connections to their land. (USA, video, 15 min.)
Redemptitude
David Zellner
A preacher travels into the Australian outback in an attempt to redeem the soul of a man who has been disabled in a car wreck and subsequently lost his faith. What follows is a riotous confusion of accusations, forgiveness, flying paintballs and an attempted baptism. Redemptitude is the second film in AVIFF 2007 featuring the irreverent humor of brothers David and Nathan Zellner. Official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. (USA, 35mm, 11 min.)
Everything Will Be OK
Don Hertzfeldt
Hertzfeldt’s latest short offers a sardonic spin on the meaning of life when its hero is forced to reckon with a series of dark and troubling events. Jury Prize Winner for Best Short Film at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. (USA, 35mm, 17 min.)
