East London’s Short and Sweet found their feet as London’s only weekly short film festival, running every Monday night since 2006.
With popcorn at the ready courtesy of Love Da Pop in bizarre and wacky flavours, the authentic pop-up cinema at the i-D NOW space commenced! When everybody had arrived and taken their seats, Jack Robinson, our compare for the night, got the show running. Eight films rolled in total, ranging from animations to music videos.
Always worst going first, Eagleman Stag by Mike Please set the standard high and Mike was on hand to share a few words about the film, which won this year’s BAFTA for best animated short as well as the critic’s prize at the Clermont-Ferrand festival and numerous other awards. The film features cult actor David Cann and looks at the fascination and fear of quickening perception within the context of time and age.
Next up was music video El Guincho directed by a trio of young directors called CANADA, consisting of Luis Cerveró, Nicolás Méndez and Lope Serrano. The encapsulating storyline and stunning shots made a fantastic work of art. These guys are doing pretty well at the moment and no doubt we’ll be hearing more from them in the near future.
And then came Watching by Max Myers. Watching won best screenplay at the Manhattan short film festival and was nominated for best UK short at Raindance. With a real twist at the end, the short felt epic. It had everything, from the scares, to the laughs, the love story, the goodie, baddie and the outcome.
Fourth was Dad’s New Girlfriend by Clay Weiner. We had to watch through our fingers. Dad’s new girlfriend is the nightmare stepmother from hell. With the audience in rapturous hysterics throughout, this film certainly provided entertainment aplenty.
Up next was Love & Theft by Andreas Hykade, a continuous stream of animated transformations. The music accompanying was in sync and this worked to great effect. The time, dedication and sheer skill involved in a film like this was immediately felt and made it one of the many highlights of the evening.
The following film was Floatsam and Jetsam by Sam Walkerdine. This short was a documentary about the beachcombers of Texel, one of the largest Frisian Islands just north of mainland Holland. Due to Texel’s geographical position, tidal system and strong north-westerly winds, an estimated 2 tons of flotsam and jetsam is washed up on the beaches a day. The beachcombers provided much entertainment and many laughs with their stories about beachcombing.
The penultimate film of the evening was Young Galaxy “Blown Minded” by Carine Khalife. Carine is a French visual artist, based in Montreal. Her work spans graphic design, illustration, drawing, painting, photography, video and animation. The film was all painted on glass so it had a very natural and organic feel to it.
Closing the evening was Logorama by H5. Logorama is an Oscar nominated short film which has screened at numerous festivals worldwide. It features about 2,500 logos, which a lot of people thought might get them into trouble with the copyright police but so far so good. The film is available now on iTunes and we fiercely recommend it.
Text: Declan Higgins
El Guincho
Love and Theft
Eagleman Stag