Monday—DIFF
As I compose these words, I finally feel in my element. I am in the press lounge next to the Angelika theater with a cold Stella Artois in my hand. The Dallas International Film Festival has gone all out and set up a meeting place for all the press to hang out between films. Not only is there world class food and drinks available but they have placed a table soccer game, shuffleboard and a pool table for the reporters to use.
Surrounding me are the beautiful people one sees on television, the print media who always look a bit feruled and the internet scribes who seem to have just made it out of the basement—AKA my people. It is great to see such a varied group all mingling and sharing their love of cinema.
I decided to take on a night of short works. First up is the Animation Competition. There are seven films in competition. The films use every style and techniques available to make the inanimate come to life. There was yet another standing room only crowd and I was the lucky last one to get a seat.
Slow Derek is first up and it is a 3D animation, done with puppets. The story is of a man who contemplates the ideas of science and how they affect his commute in a cross between Office Space and Metropolis. 663114 is the most beautiful work of the evening. It is equal parts about nature and human destruction and how the two intersect in ways that are subtle. The film is from Japan and reflects the tragedy of recent events.
Wild Life looks more like a painting and is a whimsical tale of English men moving to the wiles of Canada at the turn of the last century. It shows how hard it is for these men ton conquer the harsh lands. Moxie is the strangest of the bunch. Though it looks like something from the earliest days of animation, the story is much more modern and gross. There were many uncomfortable laughs during the screening.
A Morning Stroll is easily my favorite of the lot. The film is a computer animated work of a chicken taking a walk in the city and shows how this would have happened in the 1950’s, today and 50 years in the future. It is silly and gross, just as one expects from a great cartoon. This film could make the Twisted Animation Festival Tour. Dr Breakfast is a close runner-up to being the favorite and feels like an outtake from something on Ren & Stimpy or The Powerpuff Girls. It is the story of a breakfast out of control and a couple of forest deer who decide to help. There is a large degree of ‘flight of the imagination’ one seldom sees anymore in the genre.
It’s Such a Beautiful Day was just a bit too long at 23 minutes. It is set out more in a chapter setting and uses just about every technique of animation from simple hand drawings to overlays of shot footage. The story is sad and evocative but drags to a dull ending.
The Animation Competition repeats at the Angelika on Tuesday, April 17th.
After going back to the lounge for another Stella, it was time for the Documentary Shorts. Again it was a full house even this late in the night.
Family Nightmare is the saddest film I’ve seen in a long time. It is a lot of handheld shots of a family at different holidays. The exercise feels like a home movie until we are told the final endings of all those involved. Lifelike is about taxidermy. The film is a graphic showing of how hunters bag game and the process of taking the animal through the procedure. It is not as gross as one expects. There is a degree of talent and artistry in mounting the beast.
Everything is Incredible is from Honduras. The little flick is about a dreamer, a man who is crippled by a childhood disease but still has a vision. He has been working on making a helicopter for 50 years. Using scraps and junk, the man believes that he can create a flying machine. The film is a testament to the human spirit.
The Elect is the movie that caused the most walkouts of the evening. It is of the horrible Westboro Baptist Church. They are the people who protest funerals saying that the men in the military deserved to die because ‘God hates Fags’. These people are despicable but at the same time we see the love they have for each other. It is an interesting balance between love and hate. They are wrong but committed in their mission.
Heart Stop Beating felt more like an overlong commercial for a new heart service. Easily, the film is the weakest of the lot. Love Hacking is my favorite film of the night. The story is of an awkward man who finds his bride on the Internet in Nepal. It is about his journey to the other side of the world to marry a woman he only knows over the computer. They actually meet the night before they wed. It is a touching testament to the power of love.
The Love Competition is our last film and wraps up the idea of love. A team of scientists are examining the brains of seven different individuals as they think about loved ones. They range from a seventy year-old couple to a ten year old boy who will be thinking about his new baby cousin. The most touching part is to see the couple talk about how much they still care for one another.
This was the last showing for the Documentary Shorts for the DIFF.
