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The Exhibitionist: Long Story on Short Films
Filed under: Animation », Foreign Language », Independent », Romance », Shorts », Exhibition », Columns », Cinematical Indie »
When was the last time you saw a short film in the theater? I don't mean an 85-minute animated movie; I mean an actual short, like they give separate Oscars to. Otherwise known as a short subject, defined (by the Academy) as anything with a running time less than 40 minutes. Chances are, unless you attend film festivals, go to see the toured screenings of Oscar shorts, or bought a ticket to Paris, Je T'Aime, it's been awhile since you actually saw a short film on a big screen.
Or, maybe I should specify that it's likely been awhile since you purposefully went to see a specifically timed screening of a short film or compilation of shorts at the theater. Technically some ads for Coca-Cola and other companies, the ones made by novice filmmakers as part of a competition or something, count as shorts. And, I'm fully aware that some arthouse cinemas, such as NYC's IFC Center, run a short film in place of pre-show commercials. But as far as I can tell, such shorts are not specifically advertised as screening at a designated time. Sure, you can go on the IFC Center's website and find out that Erik Rosenlund's Looking Glass is the short currently being shown (as it was this past week when I saw Trouble the Water there), but for most people (myself included), it's a surprise. And I doubt anyone has trekked to IFC just to see that particular film, unless anyone is a huge aficionado of frightening black and white Swedish animation.
Wenders and Bardem are Invisibles
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Casting », Deals », Shorts », Politics », Cinematical Indie »
Am I the only one who didn't know anthology films compiling related segments by different filmmakers (New York Stories; Four Rooms) are called "portmanteau" films? Well, regardless of what we call them, there's a new one in the works called The Invisibles. Though it may sound like a comic book movie, it is really a set of four stories focusing on overlooked conflicts and world causes. Wim Wenders is doing one of the segments, which is about violence towards women in the Congo. The other subjects are sleeping sickness in Africa, young soldiers in Uganda and a non-fiction part about displaced Colombians (this time I spelled it right, even though Empire Magazine didn't!). Other people involved in the project include Oscar-nominated actor Javier Bardem, Spanish directors Fernando León, Mariano Barroso, Javier Corcuera and Isabel Coixet (wait, I have a feeling there are more than four segments). Wenders may seem to stick out like a sore thumb, but I'm sure he isn't the only one whose segment is worth watching. Typically, I figure there's at least one part in these things that weighs the quality of the whole film down. Although, after Eros, which I hear was weak all around despite featuring three very well-regarded filmmakers, we probably can't even depend on the majority of the segments to be worth the effort.
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