Calgary International Film Festival - Shorts

a scene from Mime Massacre

We went to see the 10 short films that were short-listed for this year's Alberta Centennial Awards at the Calgary International Film Festival. I wanted to see what else is being produced out there and know if our own efforts are not wasted. The good news? Narrative films are alive and kicking! None of the 10 finalists were purposefully obscure.

The bad news? You have a better chance of making the top 10 in Alberta if you make your film in Vancouver and it seems to be a necessity to have public funding. Gina makes the point that the festival jury probably puts more credence in films that have received government grants because they take comfort in the fact that they have been pre-screened and have met with approval elsewhere. Once again this proves that no one is willing to make the call themselves - things must be decided upon by consensus (if so-and-so liked it, it must be good).

What about those of us that would rather spend their time and money making films rather than filling out grant applications? We've seen the other side of public funding and the reality is, for what you get (if anything!) it's not worth the time. I don't even want to get into the MTV (Montreal Toronto Vancouver) factor.

One other thing to note: I am all for "film" (as opposed to video) making but for first-time movie makers I would recommend video. It's much better for the environment and it allows you to shoot rehearsals, resulting in fewer takes, better performances and lower costs. But of course, if it's not your money then who cares, right?


One Damn Thing After Another (25 min)
Director: Ben Babchishin

Dave says - Not a bad concept but I'm unsure on the execution. While the animation parts were excellent (and a great way to reduce the cost of shooting), I think there were too many "styles" - especially for a short film. It was also painful to watch the actors' extended laugh sequences. In response to the main character saying he's a 'Bridge Architect', Gina asks: don't Engineers make bridges?

Zoot Alors! (7 min)
Director: Tammy Primeau

Dave says - Funny & cute. It was strange to see the eyebrows of the little sock monkey disappear at times but hey, maybe they were going for that!

Fridge Management (3 min)
Director: Lawna Hurl

Dave says - Not funny, especially not "wickedly funny" as the blurb promised.

Mime Massacre (6 min)
Director: Colin Decker

Dave says - Exactly what the title says it is. It was bloody funny and well done. I especially liked the mime who built the wall of bricks to hide behind.

The Janitors (12 min)
Director: Daniel Arnold, Matthew Kowalchuk

Dave says - I was surprised to see "Cancer-man" William B. Davis in a film in this line-up but it was well-done. I think the premise was great and would like to see this expanded to a feature. For 12 minutes long, there was plenty of characterization which you don't usually see. Nice work.

Shipwrecked (10 min)
Director: Devon Bolton

Dave says - Out of the 10 shortlisted films for the Centennial Prize, this one was the obvious winner. Beautifully shot and scored, with a great kid who had no dialogue to work with but pulled it off perfectly. I can't figure out why they made this look like it took place in the 30s or 40s, other than kids these days have no imagination. Still, it works.

The Perfection of the Moment (4 min)
Director: Corey Lee

Dave says - The director was a year ahead of Gina at SAIT and the lead actor was in the first feature that Gina and I ever worked on - Trouble (1995) by Paul Di Stefano. Joel was very good as the man of a thousand "second thoughts". Overall it was pretty good.

The Artistic Taxidermist (5 min)
Director: Sandi Somers

Dave says - Weird - I had a similar script sent to me by an aspiring screenwriter a few years ago. While this has its funny moments, it seems to me that the whole second act (there are only two in this one) was the premise and that the first half was a misguided attempt at working towards that premise.

Missing Person (7 min)
Director: Trevor Smith

Dave says - Good concept. The acting was sub-par but you can overlook that in low-budget shorts, can't you? Speaking of actors, the younger cop was credited as "George Smith" but I'm sure that he's the Geordie Smith I knew in High School. The long, slow dolly shot at the end was very well done.

CEA (4 min)
Director: Robert Prowse

Dave says - "Synchronized Wheat Dancing" could have been the working title for this one. I apologize for not being up on my artisitc dancing but "CEA" is meaningless to me. While it was beautifully shot, Gina came up with a much better ending that would have taken this one to the next level: they should have considered making this an explanation of where crop circles come from.