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Sundance Unveils Shorts Lineup
Afronauts The final piece of the Sundance puzzle emerges today in the shape of the shorts lineup, with that broken down into U.S. narrative, international narrative, doc and animation. With U.S. narrative, as ever there are a handful of directors already with features under their belts who are returning to the festival, such as Musa Syeed (The Big House), Todd Rohal (Rat Pack Rat) and Dustin Guy Defa (Person to Person ). There are also few directors with new work who have distinguished themselves already in shorts, such as The Strange Ones‘ co-director Christopher Radcliff (Jonathan’s Chest) and Boneshaker‘s Frances Bodomo (Afronauts), plus a handful of “25 New Faces”alums such as Moon Molson (The Bravest, the Boldest) and Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate (Catherine). Also of note are debut shorts from actress Rose MacGowan (Dawn) and producer Toby Halbrooks (Dig), plus a 3-D film about Marina Abramovic.
The doc strand also has a lot of strong titles, including new films from non-fiction feature regulars such as Lucy Walker (The Lion’s Mouth Opens) and David Redmon and Ashley Sabin (Choreography), avante-garde auteur Kevin Jerome Everson (Fe26) and even Community actor Danny Pudi, who has a short about the winning 1977 Marquette University basketball team, Untucked. Finally, the animation section features an episode of Crime: The Animated Series entitled “Marcus McGhee,” directed by occasional Filmmaker contributor Alix Lambert (more on the series here) and the latest short from emerging British talent Mikey Please, Marilyn Miller.
From the press release, here’s the full lineup:
U.S. NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS
130919 • A Portrait of Marina Abramovic / U.S.A. (Director: Matthu Placek) — This one-take, 3-D film majestically documents legendary performance artist Marina Abramovic, capturing the breadth of space in infinite detail: the life of an artist, her keen sense of transition, a space’s decay, and the ripeness of rebirth.
Afronauts / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Frances Bodomo) — On July 16th 1969, America prepares to launch Apollo 11. Thousands of miles away, the Zambia Space Academy hopes to beat America to the moon. Inspired by true events.
The Big House (Al Bayt Al Kabeer) / U.S.A., Yemen (Director and screenwriter: Musa Syeed) — When a young Yemeni boy ventures out of his cramped apartment and finds a key to the empty mansion down the street, he lets himself and his imagination run wild in the big house.
The Bravest, the Boldest / U.S.A. (Director: Moon Molson, Screenwriters: Eric Fallen, Moon Molson) — Two army casualty-notification officers arrive at the Harlem projects to deliver some news to Sayeeda Porter about her son serving in the war overseas. But whatever it is they have to say, Sayeeda ain’t willing to hear it.
Catherine / U.S.A. (Director: Dean Fleischer-Camp, Screenwriters: Dean Fleischer-Camp, Jenny Slate) —Catherine returns to work after a hiatus.
Chapel Perilous / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matthew Lessner) — Chapel perilous is an occult term describing a psychological state where people are uncertain if they have been aided or hindered by a force outside the natural world.
Cruising Electric (1980) / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Brumby Boylston) — The marketing department green-lights a red-light tie-in: 60 lost seconds of modern movie merchandising.
Dawn / U.S.A. (Director: Rose McGowan, Screenwriters: M.A. Fortin, Joshua John Miller) — Dawn is a quiet young teenager who longs for something or someone to free her from her sheltered life.
Dig / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Toby Halbrooks) — A young girl watches her father dig a hole in their backyard. Mystified about his purpose, the neighborhood comes to watch.
The End of Eating Everything/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Wangechi Mutu) — The End of Eating Everything traces the journey of a flying, planetlike creature navigating a bleak skyscape. This sick soul is lost in a polluted atmosphere without grounding or roots, led by hunger toward its destruction.
Funnel/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andre Hyland) — A man’s car breaks down and sends him on a quest across town that slowly turns into the most fantastically mundane adventure.
Gregory Go Boom/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Janicza Bravo) — A paraplegic man leaves home for the first time only to discover that life in the outside world is not the way he had imagined it.
Here Come the Girls/ U.S.A., Norway (Director and screenwriter: Young Jean Lee) — An examination of the life of Joe Truman, an aspiring musician, father, and drug user. This unsettling paradocumentary investigates Joe’s private life through invasive snapshots of his environment and relationships and is a painful pleasure to watch.
I’m a Mitzvah / U.S.A. (Director: Ben Berman, Screenwriters: Ben Berman, Josh Cohen) — A young American man spends one last night with his deceased friend while stranded in rural Mexico.
The Immaculate Reception / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charlotte Glynn) — It’s 1972 in the hardworking steel town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sixteen-year-old Joey has the chance to prove himself when his crush ends up at his house to watch the infamous football game between the Steelers and the Raiders.
Jonathan’s Chest / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Christopher Radcliff) — Everything changes one night for Alex, a troubled teenager, when he is visited by a boy claiming to be his brother—who disappeared years earlier.
Kekasih / U.S.A., Malaysia (Director and screenwriter: Diffan Sina Norman) — While pursuing his late wife, a botanical professor encounters a divine presence that will transform him forever.
Master Muscles / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Efrén Hernández) — Veronica and Efren go on a trip.
Me + Her / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Oxford) — In a faraway world, tucked away in a small fold of land behind an enormous willow tree, exists the tiny city of Cardboard. After a tragic event, Jack Cardboard goes on a journey to mend his broken heart.
Person to Person / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Dustin Guy Defa) — Waking up the morning after hosting a party, a man discovers a stranger passed out on his floor. He spends the rest of the day trying to convince her to leave.
Rat Pack Rat / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Todd Rohal) — A Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator, hired to visit a loyal Rat Pack fan, finds himself performing the last rites at the boy’s bedside.
Verbatim / U.S.A. (Director: Brett Weiner, Screenwriter: Court Document) — A jaded lawyer wastes an afternoon trying to figure out if a dim-witted government employee has ever used a photocopier. All the dialogue in this short comes from an actual deposition filed with the Supreme Court of Ohio.
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS
2 Girls 1 Cake / Denmark (Director and screenwriter: Jens Dahl) — Two girls reunite after a traumatic near-death experience, which occurs in 10 central minutes of 24-year-old Julie’s life. She stands face to face with unbearable injustice.
Best / United Kingdom (Director: William Oldroyd, Screenwriter: Adam Brace) — With his wedding only moments away, a man and his best friend confront their future.
Black Mulberry / Georgia, France (Director: Gabriel Razmadze, Screenwriters: Gabriel Razmadze, Tinatin Kajrishvili) — In a small, remote mining town in the Republic of Georgia, Nick and Anna, two teens from vastly different backgrounds, come together for an idyllic moment in time.
Burger / United Kingdom, Norway (Director and screenwriter: Magnus Mork) — It’s late night in a burger bar in Wales…
Butter Lamp/ France, China (Director and screenwriter: Hu Wei) — A photographer weaves unique links among nomadic families.
The Cut/ Canada (Director and screenwriter: Geneviève Dulude-Decelles) — The Cut tells the story of a father and a daughter, whose relationship fluctuates between proximity and detachment, at the moment of a haircut.
Exchange & Mart / United Kingdom (Directors: Cara Connolly, Martin Clark, Screenwriter: Cara Connolly) — Reg is a lonely girl at a remote Scottish boarding school where paranoia about rape is rife. Her unorthodox self-defense class provides the human touch she craves so deeply. When she is attacked in the woods, she knows what she has to do…
Here I Am…There You Are… / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Dikla Jika Elkaslassy) — Domination emerges during foreplay between a married couple. As the film evolves, the gray areas between controlling and being controlled cause confusion for both partners. When reality eclipses their imaginary game, they realize what is controlling them.
Life’s a Bitch / Canada (Director: François Jaros, Screenwriter: Guillaume Lambert) — Love. Grief. Choc. Denial. Sleeplessness. Bubble bath. Mucus. Masturbation. Pop tart. Pigeons. Toothpaste. Hospital. F__k. Bye. Hair. Sports. Chicken. Bootie. Kids. Rejection. Squirrels. Cries. Awkward—95 scenes, five minutes: life’s a bitch.
Metube: August Sings Carmen “Habanera” / Austria (Director and screenwriter: Daniel Moshel) — George Bizet`s “Habanera” from Carmen has been reinterpreted and enhanced with electronic sounds for MeTube, a homage to thousands of ambitious YouTube users and video bloggers, and gifted and less gifted self-promoters on the Internet.
Mi nina mi vida / Canada (Director and screenwriter: Yan Giroux) — Jack and his giant stuffed bear move through the bustling crowds and noisy rides at an amusement park. In this strange world he can no longer relate to, he searches for a reason to smile.
More Than Two Hours / Iran (Director: Ali Asgari, Screenwriters: Ali Asgari, Farnoosh Samadi) — It’s 3:00 a.m., and a boy and girl are wandering in the city, looking for a hospital to cure the girl, but it’s much harder to find one than they thought.
My Sense of Modesty / France (Director and screenwriter: Sébastien Bailly) — Hafsia, an art history student, must remove her hijab for an oral exam. To prepare, she goes to the Louvre to view the painting she has to comment on.
Mystery / Spain (Director and screenwriter: Chema García Ibarra) — They say that if you put your ear to the back of his neck, you can hear the Virgin talk.
Pleasure / Sweden (Director and screenwriter: Ninja Thyberg) — Behind the scenes of a porn shoot, the actors practice various positions. The rumor is that one of the girls is doing an advanced routine that requires someone extremely tough. Pleasure is a startling film about workplace intrigue.
Syndromeda / Sweden (Director and screenwriter: Patrik Eklund) — Leif wakes up on the road—naked and bloody—with no memory of what has happened. No one believes him when he claims he was abducted by aliens.
Wakening / Canada (Director: Danis Goulet, Screenwriter: Tony Elliott) — In the near future, the environment has been destroyed, and society suffocates under a brutal military occupation. A lone Cree wanderer, Weesakechak, searches an urban war zone to find the ancient and dangerous Weetigo to help fight the occupiers.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS
Choreography / U.S.A. (Directors: David Redmon, Ashley Sabin) — Donkeys gaze at those who gaze at them.
Fe26 / U.S.A. (Director: Kevin Jerome Everson) — Two gentlemen make a living hustling metal in Cleveland, Ohio.
Godka Cirka (A Hole in the Sky) / Spain, France, U.S.A. (Directors: Alex Lora, Antonio Tibaldi) — Young Alifa looks up at the Somali sky and thinks about her daily life as a shepherdess. She knows the day that will change her life forever is about to come.
Hacked Circuit / U.S.A. (Director: Deborah Stratman) — This circular study of the Foley process portrays sound artists at work constructing complex layers of fabrication and imposition.
I Think This Is the Closest to How the Footage Looked / Israel (Directors: Yuval Hameiri, Michal Vaknin) — A man with poor means recreates a lost memory of the last day with his mom. Objects come to life in a desperate struggle to produce a single moment that is gone.
The Last Days of Peter Bergmann / Ireland (Director: Ciaran Cassidy) — In 2009, a man claiming to be from Austria arrived in the town of Sligo, Ireland. During his final days, Peter Bergmann went to great lengths to ensure no one ever discovered who he was and where he came from.
The Lion’s Mouth Opens / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker) — A stunningly courageous young woman takes the boldest step imaginable, supported by her mother and loving friends.
Love. Love. Love. / Russia (Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram) — Every year, through the endless winters, her love takes new shapes and forms.
Notes on Blindness / United Kingdom, U.S.A., Australia (Directors: Peter Middleton, James Spinney) — In 1983, writer and theologian John Hull became blind. To help make sense of his loss, he began keeping an audio diary. Encompassing dreams, memories, and his imaginative life, Notes on Blindness immerses the viewer in Hull’s experience of blindness.
Of God and Dogs / Syrian Arab Republic (Director: Abounaddara Collective) — A young, free Syrian soldier confesses to killing a man he knew was innocent. He promises to take vengeance on the God who led him to commit the murder.
One Billion Rising / U.S.A. (Directors: Eve Ensler, Tony Stroebel) — In 2013, one billion women and men rose and shook the earth through dance to end violence against women in the biggest mass action ever. The event was a radical awakening of body and consciousness. This is what it looked like.
Remembering the Artist, Robert De Niro, Sr. / U.S.A. (Directors: Perri Peltz, Geeta Gandbhir) — Robert De Niro, Sr., was a figurative painter obscured by the powerful pop art movement. His work has returned to the spotlight because of his son, who happens to be one of the world’s most famous actors.
Tim and Susan Have Matching Handguns / U.S.A. (Director: Joe Callander) — Love is swapping clips with your spouse in the middle of a three-gun problem.
Untucked / U.S.A. (Director: Danny Pudi) — This documentary explores the iconic “untucked” jersey worn in 1977 when Marquette University won its first and only national college basketball championship. It was designed by one of Marquette’s players, Bo Ellis, under the fearless leadership of Coach Al McGuire.
ANIMATED SHORT FILMS
Allergy to Originality / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Drew Christie) — A humorous, animated op doc explores the rich history of adaptation, plagiarism, and other forms of appropriation in art.
Astigmatismo / Spain (Director and screenwriter: Nicolai Troshinsky) — A boy loses his glasses and can only see one thing in focus at a time. With his sight shaped by the sounds around him, he must learn to explore a blurry world of unknown places and strange characters.
Blame It on the Seagull / Norway (Director: Julie Engaas, Screenwriters: Julie Engaas, Cecilie Bjørnaraa) — An animated documentary about Pelle Sandstrak and the way he showed the first signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette’s syndrome as a teenager.
Crime: The Animated Series (Marcus McGhee) / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Alix Lambert, Sam Chou) — When Hartford teacher Marcus McGhee has his car stolen, the police refuse to assist him. Directors Alix Lambert and Sam Chou mix humor with stark reality in this animated documentary short.
Marilyn Myller / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Mikey Please) — Marilyn maketh. Marilyn taketh awayeth. Marilyn is trying really hard to create something good. For once, her expectation and reality are going to align. It will be epic. It will be tear-jerkingly profound. It will be perfect. Nothing can go wrong.
The Obvious Child / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stephen Irwin) — Somebody broke the girl’s parents. The rabbit was there when it happened. It was an awful mess.
Passer Passer / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Louis Morton) — An animated city symphony celebrates the hidden world of background noise.
Phantom Limb / United Kingdom, Australia (Director and screenwriter: Alex Grigg) — James and Martha narrowly survive a motorcycle accident. During the aftermath, however, James begins to experience Martha’s phantom pains.
Piece, Peace / South Korea (Director and screenwriter: Jae-in Park) — Psychological changes among different characters lead to a more and more extreme situation.
The Present / Taiwan (Director: Joe Hsieh, Screenwriters: Joe Hsieh, Ching-Chwang Ho) — A married man on a business trip checks into a hotel. The hotel manager’s daughter falls for him at first sight. Rejected by the man, she embarks on a journey of revenge.
Subconscious Password / Canada (Director and screenwriter: Chris Landreth) — Chris Landreth, the director of the Academy Award–winning short Ryan, plays Charles, a man paralyzed by his inability to remember a friend’s name. Thus begins a mind-bending romp through a game show of the unconscious—complete with animated celebrity guests.
White Morning / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Paul Barritt) — A short film about the violence of little boys and little men.
Yearbook/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bernardo Britto) — A man is hired to compile the definitive history of human existence before the planet blows up.
