Friday, October 11, 2002

Vancouver International Film Festival

Back from seeing my final opportunity to see another VIFF '02 film. The Festival finishes tomorrow, but Erich and I can't see any evening shows, because there's only one, and it's sold out! I was relieved to get in tonight -- Granville Street was buzzing and there were long queues. My favourite short films (see below) were: The Stone of Folly and Fata Morgana. I also thought Big Shoes to Fill was very creative.


IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD


The power of the imagination takes centre stage in this mix of award-studded shorts that explore both the sinister and silly aspects of the brain's foibles. Program includes:

The Stone of Folly
Canada, 2002, 9 min
Director Jesse Rosensweet
Inspired by a Bosch painting, this brilliant animated short is an absurd black comedy about a medieval hospital where the surgeons open up brains to search for the cause of madness. Winner, Prix du Jury, Cannes 2002.

Death's Dream
Canada, 2002, 15 min
Director David Massar
Massar's Leo Award winner follows a man through a landscape of memories after he awakens seemingly unharmed from a serious accident. An angelic woman appears to hold the key to the mystery of this lyrical short.

Fata Morgana
Canada, 2001, 8 min
Director Alexandre Franchi
In this epic musical adventure, the figures in a young boy's game come to life and turn on him, forcing his favourite sword-wielding figurine to come to the rescue.

Big Shoes to Fill
Canada, 2002, 15 min
Director Michelle Porter
The eerie world of the circus is creeping into Jim's dreams. Try as he might to stop it, this penchant for frivolity may be hereditary.

Once Upon a Time on the Beach
Canada, 2002, 11 min
Director Byron Lamarque
In this charming spaghetti western, a boy's thirst for revenge leads him to confront a school bully.

Stiltwalkers
Canada, 2002, 13 min
Director Sjaak Meilink
A fisherman's drawings give rise to a strange, surreal and ultimately fragile two-dimensional world.

The Space Between
Canada, 2002, 19 min
Director Chad Lowe
Vincent Gale and Hilary Swank star in this compelling caper about a frustrated young man and a "stolen" parking spot.

The Brainwashers
Canada, 2002, 12 min
Director Patrick Bouchard
Using puppet animation, Bouchard crafts a creepy and darkly humorous world in which two sinister men, dressed as 19th century chimney sweeps, are injected into a man's head.