SHORTS: FROM FAERIES TO FATALITIES

SURPRISE / FAMILY
Total running time 88 min, Age 13+

This year’s collection of peer-reviewed, youth-produced short films showcases an international cohort of storytellers whose work spans genres. After a long, locked-down year, it’s unsurprising that some of these young filmmakers have leaned toward darker themes, with a fair amount of murder, death, and dystopia—balanced by a dose of social justice, a dash of fairy dust, and a bit of scatological humor. It’s a wild but worthwhile ride!

 

My Best Friend 

Director Benji Tucker, US 2020, 6 min

Niko is determined to bring his best friend Oli back from the dead but discovers that reanimation might be harder than it seems.

O.range 

Director Sunday Derham, Australia 2020, 5 min

In suburban Australia in the ’70s, a lonely teenage girl feels trapped between her overactive imagination and the obsessive boy next door she despises.

Beyond the Model 

Director Erin Kökdil, US 2020, 5 min

In response to the anti-Asian hate that has surged during the pandemic, this film shines a light on what it is like be a “model minority” in an increasingly divided America.

The Black Collective

Directors Roxy Morris, Shiva Kansagara & Sophia Lee, US 2021, 3 min

Three businesspeople of color discuss the Black Lives Matter movement, supporting black businesses, and the small shop in Encinitas, CA, that showcases their products.

Jasmine’s Book 

Directors Ashley Kumar & Chloe Meyer, US 2021, 8 min

Feeling lonely as Valentine’s Day approaches, a young woman falls in love with a book and becomes convinced that her soulmate is among the list of people who’ve checked it out.

Conjugal Revivification 

Reed H. Sharp, US 2021, 10 min

In the late ‘60s, a young couple experiencing problems in their relationship turn to a marriage therapist who insists on some decidedly nontraditional techniques.

Down Seafaring Way 

Directors Roxy Morris, Sophia Lee, Shiva Kansagara & Meia Voss, US 2021, 8 min

Sisters Maeve and Anna take a nighttime stroll down an empty street, revealing both painful and pleasant memories as their true reality slowly unfolds. 

Distanced 

Director Cassy Callari, US 2021,  1 min

A young filmmaker endures quarantine by reviving past memories of times spent hanging out with friends through rotoscope animation.

The Puppet

Director Will Nordstrom, US 2020, 2 min

A strange puppet encounters an old laptop that influences him to make a fateful decision.

The Fairy Tale 

Director Seung jae Lee, Korea 2020, 15 min, in Korean with English subtitles

After a classmate asks out Eun-jung, she gives him a handmade book with a fairy tale of her own design that helps him to gradually understand the real reason she has rejected him.

Faery Houses 

Director Marabee Barry, US 2021, 3 min

This short documentary explores the charming phenomenon of tiny fairy houses that have popped up around the town of Point Richmond, CA.

Distortion (Verzerrung) 

Director Samuel J Punto, Germany 2021, 7 min, in German with English subtitles

Masked figures wander through a surrealistic world, their actions influenced by a central screen. Any resemblance to our society is entirely intentional.

Spud

Directors Will McDonald & Gavin Bell, US 2021, 5 min

Potatoes become anything but bland when two roommates discover they have a magical microwave.

Closing Night 

Director David Camilo Cuevas, Canada 2021, 5 min

This cinematic tribute chronicles the final hours of the historic Bytowne Cinema, a Canadian theater closing its doors after 32 years as a community gathering place.

We will be joined in person for an onstage conversation with Jasmine’s Book co-directors Ashley Kumar & Chloe Meyer, Distortion director Samuel Punto and actor Charys Schuler, and Faery Houses director Marabee Barry. 

Community partner

BAY AREA VIDEO COALITION

GET TICKETS

IN-THEATER

Sunday, Oct 17, 11:00am, Smith Rafael Film Center

$10 All admissions

ONLINE

$6 Member | $8 General 

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