FILM FEST PETALUMA
May 4, 2013, Mystic Theatre
Saturday Afternoon Shorts (2:30pm)
REDUCING PLASTICS
Kendra Goff & Sullivan Rutherford, USA, 2 minutes
Local student film directors Kendra Goff and Sullivan Rutherford create an informative short about reducing plastics.
ANTARTIC: CONCORDIA STATION
Bastien Dubois, France, 3 minutes
In this beautifully animated documentary, Bastien follows the life of a woman living in the Concordia Research Station of Antarctica.
SATURDAY GIRLS
Émilie Cherpitel, France, 15 minutes
After a drunken night spent in the arms of a virtual stranger; Eva awakens in his apartment confused and alone. After doing some investigation she finds herself in charge of the man’s little brother, an astute young boy named Leon.
MADE BY ME
Jess Dang, USA, 16 minutes
This documentary explores the connection between three Los Angeles artists and their crafts. A custom bike maker, furniture designer, and glass blower explain the importance and cultural need for more handmade products.
RIDDLE OF THE BLACK CAT
Jonathan Rinzler, USA, 10 minutes
Based on the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, this animated short follows the legendary detective C. Auguste Dupin as he struggles to understand the bizarre circumstances surrounding the crimes of Prisoner-X.
THE LITTLE TEAM
Roger Gómez, Dani Resines, Spain, 9 minutes
This documentary follows the story of fourteen children on a football team as they seek to solve their football mystery and end up teaching an unexpected life lesson to the grown-ups.
HERE AND THE GREAT ELSEWHERE
Michèle Lemieux, Canada, 14 minutes
This abstract and wonderfully crafted animated short uses Alexeïeff-Parker pinscreen to tell the tale of a mans struggle with the metaphysical.
PUNCHED
Michael Rittmannsberger, Austria, 11 minutes
When Turkish emigre hassled by the subway police decides to spare a co-passenger from the same fate, his good Samaritan act may end up changing the course of the their lives forever.
THE BOY IN THE BUBBLE
Kealan O’Rourke, Ireland, 8 minutes
In this beautifully crafted animated short, a 10 year old boy named Rupert Shelley falls madly in love with one of his schoolmates. Heartbroken by her refusal to reciprocate his affection he makes a wish that alters their lives.
FRIEND REQUEST PENDING
Chris Foggin, United Kingdom, 12 minutes
Starring the wonderful Judi Dench, this comedic short tells the story of an older woman named Mary who seeks companionship via a social networking site.
World Shorts Showcase (7:30pm)
PHAT BRAHMS
Max Brickey & Miles Pepper, USA, 3 minutes
This creative and entertaining Phat Brahms music video is directed by two local student film directors Max Prickey & Miles Pepper.
PITCH BLACK HEIST
John Maclean, United Kingdom, 13 minutes
Winner of the BAFTA award for Best Short Film in 2012, this short features Liam Cunningham and Michael Fassbender as two professional safe crackers out to pull off the heist of their lives.
IVORY COAST: WAX FABRICS
Bastien Dubois, France, 3 minutes
Just one of a series of animated documentaries by Bastien Dubois, this short follows Bastien into the Ivory Coast where he meets a woman who explains the meaning and importance of the fabrics she sells.
NOWHERE
This short tells the story of Etienne, a man frustrated by the foreclosure of the family farm. A bank heist he plans goes wrong and has unexpected consequences.
HOT IN THE ZIPPER
James Westby, USA, 18 minutes
In this wickedly funny comedy, a young woman aspiring to become a professional singer moves to Manhattan only to be met by two roommates who find her Minnesota wholesomeness detestable.
THE HJEMKOMST: THIRTY YEARS LATER
Eli Akira Kaufman, USA, 12 minutes
This documentary revisits the Minnesota community who supported a mans dream of building a viking ship and sailing it to Norway. Inevitably, the venture becomes the story of legend and binds the tight knit town even closer together.
EELING
Peter McCully, New Zealand, 11 minutes
A wife develops an unhealthy obsession to eels much to her emotionally distant husband’s disapproval. This exquisitely designed short merges animation with live action in an original, surreal, and hauntingly memorable way.
VOICE OVER
Martín Rosete, Spain, 10 minutes
A stranded astronaut runs out of oxygen as two other accidents occur at the same time in different parts of the world. A spacecraft crashes, a soldier is left dying in battle, and a fisherman’s boat collapses. All three stories are equally dramatic as these three men struggle to stay afloat.
ASAD
Bryan Buckley, South Africa, 17 minutes
This visually stunning short chronicles the story of a boy from a poor Somali village who must decide between piracy and life as a fisherman. Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the 2013 Academy Awards.
BOO!
Rupert Reid, Australia, 4 minutes
Ma and Pa have found the secret to a long loving marriage. At any cost.
Late Night Shorts (10:30pm)
DOW JONES
Ryan Santos Phillips and Jackson Rosenfeld, USA, 9 minutes
Created by local student filmmaker Jackson Rosenfeld, this blaxploitation comedy features the story of Dow Jones, a black man who battles the oppressive and corrupt industry of Mr. Whitman.
FOXES
Lorcan Finnegan, Ireland, 16 minutes
In a remote neighborhood, a young married woman begins to develop strange behaviors after acquiring an unnatural fixation on the foxes that rummage through her yard. This visually stunning film leaves a haunting impression as it explores the landscapes of the paranormal and psychological.
JAPAN:HOJO JUTSU
Bastien Dubois, France, 3 minutes
This animated documentary follows Bastien Dubois into the illustrious country of Japan, where he meets a woman who gives him a history lesson on a particular aspect of their fetish culture.
BUNKER 731
Jacob Scarpaci, Kerrie Scher, USA, 21 minutes
After a nuclear attack, a young married couple is forced to survive in an abandoned government bomb shelter. Starving and desperate they struggle to keep their sanity as their relationship slowly begins to unravel.
MARIA MAGENTA
Orlanda Laforet, France, 9 minutes
After Francois retrieves his daughter from her weekly music session, he spots a striking beauty in the woods and stops to offer her a ride.
ROOT
Caleb Johnson, USA, 12 minutes
A young woman desperately attempts to rectify the damage of an affair which only seems to make matters worse.
TEMPEST IN THE BEDROOM
Laurence Arcadias & Juliette Marchand, France, 11 minutes
This stop-motion animated short features Suzan and Duayne Cleveland, a sexualy dysfunctional couple struggling to regain the passion in their marriage.
THE MINES
Grzegorz Jonkajtys, USA, 5 minutes
When a young woman explores an abandoned Polish Uranium mine she soon finds herself trying to escape after meeting an unsavory guest.
TRAM
Michaela Pavlátová, France/Czech Republic, 7 minutes
In this cleverly animated short, a tram conductress breaks free from the monotony of her routine by embracing the vibrations of the vehicle and the rhythms of the ticket machine, catapulting a surreal flurry of erotic images.