Films & Schedules - SHORT CUTS

Join us for the Best of the Festival Shorts as decided by Festival audiences!

Join us for the Best of the Festival Shorts as decided by Festival audiences!

Whitsell Auditorium     96 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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A CURIOUS CONJUNCTION OF COINCIDENCES

DIRECTOR: Joost Reijmers - (Netherlands)

An absurdist journey through time in which the worlds of three hapless heroes living in different centuries collide unexpectedly in present-day Amsterdam. (9 mins.)

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THE OTHER SIDE

DIRECTOR: Khen Shalem - (Israel)

A young Israeli boy, the last to be picked for soccer teams but the one who owns the ball, finds an unusual friendship with someone on the Palestinian side of the West Bank separation wall. But can a wordless, gaze-free relationship survive with only a ball between them? (22 mins.)

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HEAD OVER HEELS

DIRECTOR: Timothy Reckart - (United States)

After many years of marriage, Walter and Madge have grown apart: he lives on the floor and she lives on the ceiling. (10 mins.)

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PITCH BLACK HEIST

DIRECTOR: John Maclean - (Great Britain)

Michael Fassbender stars in this dark, suspenseful tale of a professional safe cracker who encounters a hitch while on the job. (13 mins.)

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MR. CHRISTMAS

DIRECTOR: Nick Palmer - (United States)

Bruce Mertz is the kind of guy who lights up the lives of those around him—quite literally—when every holiday season he transforms his house into a beacon with 50,000 colorful lights and himself into Mr. Christmas. (15 mins.)

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF JOHN BALDESSARI

DIRECTOR: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman - (United States)

No more boring films! Everything you need to know about the godfather of conceptual art. Narrated by Tom Waits. (6 mins.)

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LATER THAN USUAL

DIRECTOR: David Hovan - (Oregon)

An elderly couple marks time toward a not-so-inevitable end. (7 mins.)

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WHILE YOU WERE OUT

DIRECTOR: Noah Lambie - (Oregon)

Flip books made of memo pads and other found folios come to life. (7 mins.)

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THE CENTRIFUGE BRAIN PROJECT

DIRECTOR: Till Nowak - (Germany)

Since the 1970s, scientists have been conducting experiments with bizarre amusement park rides to study their effects on the human brain. (7 mins.)

Sponsored by Red Giant.

86 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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THE FACTORY

DIRECTOR: Aly Muritiba - (Brazil)

A mother and her imprisoned son carefully prepare for her crucial visit to the penitentiary in honor of a very special occasion. (15 mins.)

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THE OTHER SIDE

DIRECTOR: Khen Shalem - (Israel)

A young Israeli boy, the last to be picked for soccer teams but the one who owns the ball, finds an unusual friendship with someone on the Palestinian side of the West Bank separation wall. But can a wordless, gaze-free relationship survive with only a ball between them? (22 mins.)

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CHICKEN AND ZOE

DIRECTOR: Yael Bridge - (United States)

Eating chicken takes on new meaning for four-year-old Zoe as she observes her first slaughter. (4 mins.)

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DIRECTOR: Isamu Hirabayashi - (Japan)

The Japanese tsunami and earthquake from the perspective of a 66-year-old cicada. (8 mins.)

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A CURIOUS CONJUNCTION OF COINCIDENCES

DIRECTOR: Joost Reijmers - (Netherlands)

An absurdist journey through time in which the worlds of three hapless heroes living in different centuries collide unexpectedly in present-day Amsterdam. (9 mins.)

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THE DEVIL’S BALLROOM

DIRECTOR: Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken - (Norway/Greenland)

After burying his last remaining companion, a fearless explorer has to find his way to the North Pole alone, fighting snow blindness and physical strain. An unexpected encounter forces him to decide between honor and fame or keeping the moral high ground. (15 mins.)

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WILD

DIRECTOR: Edward Bishop - (Great Britain)

The unsettling effects of rumor on a teenage girl. (13 mins.)

Sponsored by Red Giant.

89 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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EDMOND WAS A DONKEY

DIRECTOR: Franck Dion - (Canada/France)

Edmond is diligent, hard working, and effective at his lowly job—loved by his boss but maligned by his colleagues. But when co-workers play a juvenile prank, Edmond’s life begins to change. (15 mins.)

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FISHING WITHOUT NETS

DIRECTOR: Cutter Hodierne - (United States/Kenya)

A story of pirates in Somalia told from the perspective of the Somalis. (17 mins.)

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THE MAKER

DIRECTOR: Christopher Kezelos - (Australia)

A strange creature races against time to make the most important and beautiful creation of his life. (6 mins.)

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GRANDMOTHERS

DIRECTOR: Afarin Eghbal - (Great Britain)

Take a wonderfully inventive tour inside a grandmother’s apartment in Buenos Aires. A seamless blend of animation and real-life testimonials creates an unforgettable tale of history, memory loss, and new beginnings. (9 mins.)

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CATERWAUL

DIRECTOR: Ian Samuels - (United States)

An aging fisherman develops an intimate relationship with a lobster as he struggles to find closure with his lost wife. (14 mins.)

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TUMULT

DIRECTOR: Johnny Barrington - (Great Britain)

A tribe of Norse warriors retreats after a bloody battle. With their chief near death, they come upon an army they could never have expected. The comedic be-all and end-all of culture clashes! (13 mins.)

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PREMATURE

DIRECTOR: Rashaad Ernesto Green - (United States)

After Tisha, a streetwise teenager from the Bronx, discovers she’s pregnant, she must face a difficult decision. With nowhere to turn, she confronts the grim realities of her situation alone. (15 mins.)

Sponsored by Red Giant and Lamar Transit Advertising.

97 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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HEAD OVER HEELS

DIRECTOR: Timothy Reckart - (United States)

After many years of marriage, Walter and Madge have grown apart: he lives on the floor and she lives on the ceiling. (10 mins.)

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THE CURSE

DIRECTOR: Fyzal Boulifa - (Great Britain/Morocco)

Fatine has ventured far from the village to meet her older lover. When a small boy catches her, all she wants to do is return home. (16 mins.)

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THE CENTRIFUGE BRAIN PROJECT

DIRECTOR: Till Nowak - (Germany)

Since the 1970s, scientists have been conducting experiments with bizarre amusement park rides to study their effects on the human brain. (7 mins.)

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF JOHN BALDESSARI

DIRECTOR: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman - (United States)

No more boring films! Everything you need to know about the godfather of conceptual art. Narrated by Tom Waits. (6 mins.)

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ABIOGENESIS

DIRECTOR: Richard Mans - (New Zealand)

A strange mechanical device lands on a desolate world and uses the planet to undergo a startling transformation. (5 mins.)

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ONE WRONG WORD

DIRECTOR: Nicole Volavka - (Great Britain/United States)

Novelist Tony faces the most difficult obstacle yet to publishing his magnum opus: his publishers. (11 mins.)

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ASAD

DIRECTOR: Bryan Buckley - (South Africa/United States)

In a war-torn fishing village in Somalia, a boy is faced with falling into the pirate life or rising above to choose the path of an honest fishing man. (18 mins.)

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THE GREAT RABBIT

DIRECTOR: Atsushi Wada - (France/Japan)

Once we called the noble, profound, and mysterious existence “The Great.” We have moved with time; our thoughts and consciousness have changed. And yet, what makes us still call it “The Great”? (7 mins.)

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THE PALACE

DIRECTOR: Anthony Maras - (Cyprus/Australia)

Cyprus, 1974. When a young Turkish-Cypriot conscript soldier comes face-to-face with a Greek-Cypriot family in hiding, he confronts the brutal reality of war and his role in it. (17 mins.)

Sponsored by Red Giant.

86 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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PITCH BLACK HEIST

DIRECTOR: John Maclean - (Great Britain)

Michael Fassbender stars in this dark, suspenseful tale of a professional safe cracker who encounters a hitch while on the job. (13 mins.)

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THE BOY IN THE BUBBLE

DIRECTOR: Kealan O’Rourke - (Ireland)

After experiencing heartbreak, Rupert uses a book of magic to invoke a spell to shield him from emotion forever. (8 mins.)

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MR. CHRISTMAS

DIRECTOR: Nick Palmer - (United States)

Bruce Mertz is the kind of guy who lights up the lives of those around him—quite literally—when every holiday season he transforms his house into a beacon with 50,000 colorful lights and himself into Mr. Christmas. (15 mins.)

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WRITTEN IN INK

DIRECTOR: Martin Rath - (Poland)

This compelling story of a man trying to get back in touch with his sister after 14 years asks the question, “Can one change what has already been written in ink?” (11 mins.)

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DEATH OF A SHADOW

DIRECTOR: Tom Van Avermaet - (Belgium/France)

Nathan died during World War I, but a strange collector imprisoned his shadow and gave him a second life. (20 mins.)

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HATCH

DIRECTOR: Christoph Kuschnig - (Austria/United States)

A newborn’s destiny hangs in the balance as grownups come to terms with what they cannot have. (19 mins.)

Sponsored by Red Giant.

78 Minutes    

Interests: Short Cuts.

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DEAR PLUTO

DIRECTOR: Joanna Priestley -

An open letter to the celestial body formerly known as a planet, written and performed by slam poet Taylor Mali and wryly animated by Priestley. (4 mins.)

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TO BEE OR NOT TO BE

DIRECTOR: James Lowry -

An accidental meeting recording the possible (last) thoughts of a bumblebee. (3 mins.)

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DOING VERY WELL

DIRECTOR: Zach Schultz -

A stream-of-consciousness tribute to our own often ridiculous, rambling inner monologues. (4 mins.)

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WHILE YOU WERE OUT

DIRECTOR: Noah Lambie -

Flip books made of memo pads and other found folios come to life. (7 mins.)

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CPR

DIRECTOR: Kimberly Warner -

While watching lifeguards perform rescue drills at a neighborhood pool, a woman faces her own need to be saved. (7 min.)

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THE TITANIC OF SOUTHAMPTON

DIRECTOR: Justin Zimmerman -

The city of Southampton feels the lasting and haunting effects of the Titanic disaster a century later. (13 mins.)

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CONTENTS OF C___’S BOX, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

DIRECTOR: Ian Berry -

The filmmaker examines the artifacts of an ended love affair. (3 mins.)

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JANUARY DRIFT

DIRECTOR: Enie Vaisburd -

In the cold of January, a mind drifts. (4 mins.)

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BIRD OF FLAMES

DIRECTOR: Chel White -

With music by David Lynch and Chrysta Bell, a spider-like Vietnamese sorcerer coaxes a beautiful chanteuse to perform like a living doll. (6 mins.)

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THE BUS

DIRECTOR: H.L. Mitchell -

A young man finds a microcosm and possibilities in transit. (8 mins.)

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LOST AND FOUND

DIRECTOR: Joan Gratz -

Metamorphosed images with the appearance of sculpted wood and shifting sand summon memories of a life. (4 mins.)

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DEAR PETER, WOODCHIPS I

DIRECTOR: Orland Nutt -

Orland’s open letter to Peter concerns a steaming pile of woodchips, Mt. Fuji, and the concept of context. (4 mins.)

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LATER THAN USUAL

DIRECTOR: David Hovan -

An elderly couple marks time toward a not-so-inevitable end. (7 mins.)

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DEAR PETER, WOODCHIPS II

DIRECTOR: Orland Nutt -

A continuation of the correspondence in which Orland’s relationship to the woodchips evolves. (4 mins.)