Extremely Shorts Film Festival 18
Presented by Whole Foods Market
June 5 & 6, 2015
Juried By Jolene Pinder of the New Orleans Film Festival
Aurora Picture Show is pleased to announce the selections for the 18th Annual Extremely Shorts Film Festival presented by Whole Foods Market. The Extremely Shorts Film Festival is a juried competition of adventurous three-minute or shorter films and videos from around the world. Juror Jolene Pinder from the New Orleans Film Society finalized the selection of 26 films from over 180 submissions. These short films will be screened on June 5 and 6 at Aurora Picture Show, 2442 Bartlett Street, at three separate screenings: Friday, June 5 at 7PM and 9PM; and a Screening with the Whole Foods Market Awards Reception on Saturday, June 6 at 7:30PM.
The annual competition brings to the forefront the latest in artist-made experimental, narrative, and avant-garde short film. At each screening, audience members will be invited to cast votes for their top three films to determine the winners of the 2015 Extremely Shorts Film Festival. The screening includes an international selection of films from across the United States, Canada, Iran, Austria, United Kingdom, and Korea, in addition to five local filmmakers from Houston, TX. Filmmakers range in age from as young as 15 years old, to university students and two veteran filmmakers who have screened as part of the festival before.
Juror Jolene Pinder, Executive Director of the New Orleans Film Society, will be in attendance for all screenings. Of the experience, Pinder stated, "The jurying process for the Extremely Shorts Film Festival was thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly challenging at the same time. To make such a short film and have it stand out, the director has to have a crystal clear vision. The über-short length can also allow for an exciting experimentation in form and technique. The selected films for this year's festival demonstrate vision and experimentation; the collection is at once playful, meditative, original, revelatory, and very attuned to the craft of short filmmaking."
The final night of the festival will feature a reception courtesy of Whole Foods Market with the Awards Ceremony to announce the top three cash prizes selected by the audience. Special thanks to Saint Arnold Brewery for their support of the festival.
In addition to and inspired by Extremely Shorts Film Festival, Aurora will host a screening of the Extremely Young Film Festival geared toward filmmakers under 17 years old the weekend prior. The youth film festival will take place May 29, 2015 in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (1001 Bissonnet). The Extremely Shorts Film Festival and it's sibling festival, the Extremely Young Film Festival, are both presented by Whole Foods Market.
The following films are included in the Extremely Shorts Film Festival program:
Rooftop Serenade (2:36m, USA) by Thomas Campbell
This film is about the infinite possibilities that life offers when two people meet under circumstances that allow for individual expression.
In-Between Frames (1:15m, USA) by Mariam Eqbal
A part of an experimental series exploring the fundamentals of animated motion through repetition, In-Between Frames questions the unlimited in-betweens of movement through time and space.
Mirror in Mind (2:04m, Republic of Korea) by Seung Hee Kim
A woman looks into her mind. Chasing her ideals on a tightrope. Every imperfect piece of her mind completes herself.
Presence (2:00m, USA) by Jessie Brugger
This is a stop animation video done by Jessie Brugger to her father's poem, "Presence." It is a short video about a young boy in a rowboat who loves nature and the feeling of being alone with his environment.
The Weed Eater (1:00m, United Kingdom, Italy) by John Charles Jopson
A gardener regresses into a primitive man.
Fortunes Told (2:00m, USA) by Clare Hulfish
Who hasn't had a bad morning? Join Hakubi and Zazu as they transform a bad mood and encourage creativity, raise their spirits and explore new options.
A Door Hinged to Obvilion (1:37m, Iran) by Teymour Ghaderi
A partridge is forgotten in a deserted village.
The Lovebird (2:00m, Iran) by Kouros Samanian (University of Arts, Tehran)
An overview to the modernity and its challenge to the tradition and its effects on the family relations with next generation
Stardust Serenade (2:52m, USA) by Kathleen Quillian
Mid-century advertising comes to life in a surreal mash-up of interstellar dimensions. Sound design by Gilbert Guerrero
Oops (2:02m, USA) by Johnny Chew
Music video for LA based band BRAAINZZ.
The Break Up (3:00m, USA) by Desta Reff
A boy and his imaginary friend decide it is time to part ways.
899 Krosno Blvd. (3:00m, USA) by Vanessa Godden
After relocating to Texas in 1996, the space the filmmaker missed the most was her paternal Grandparents' home in Pickering, Ontario. 899 Krosno Blvd is a rendering of the process she conjured to reconstruct the house via memory in order assuage to the one thousand five hundred and seventy nine miles that now lay between her place of refuge and herself.
Michael S., versammelt (3:00m, Austria) by Steven Swirko
Michael Schneider is a passionate cinéaste. No love in his life has been as enduring as his love for the movies. Ever since he was a teenager he has been collecting Super 8mm versions of films of all sorts: features, commercial, old newsreels - he's got it all. Now, for the first time, Michael has to ask himself, if the choices he made will keep him happy.
Turkey (2m, USA) by Rob Silcox
A girl takes it into her own hands to see a bowling alley to its end.
Sonnet 134 (3:00m, USA) by Edward Shieh
Sonnet 134 is a visual twist on Shakespeare's Sonnet 134 through the eyes of a young conflicted mother who must repay a debt to her childless sister.
The Adventures of Meow Meow (3:17m, Canada) by Dennis Zaidi
A cunning cat meets its enemy, a red fish. He swears to destroy her...but will his carefully calculated plan succeed?
Little Star (3:02m, USA) by Luke Palter
A small girl begins to learn "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on a toy piano, her financially struggling mother decides to pull the girl away from music.
The Emotional Dimensions of the James River (3:09m, USA) by Michelle Marquez
This experimental film was musically and visually designed based on neuro-scientific research that correlates the fractal dimension of sounds and images with selective triggering of emotional states.
1-0 (1:00m, Islamic Republic of Iran) by Saman Hosseinpuor
The barber started cutting the boy's hair while watching a football game on TV.
Lyrics on the Paper (3:00m, USA) by Jeremy Rourke
An animated music video for a song of the same title. The animator is also the musician. This was made during a residency at Recology, a Bay Area waste management facility, and all of the images and objects were scavenged from the waste flow of San Francisco, CA.
La Routine de Bleu (3:00m, USA) by Irene Reece
"This video was a tribute to my brother. His name is Froncell he's 23 years old. He is dealing with autism, cerebral palsy and echolalia. I don't know what goes through his head, I don't know if he's sad, happy or angry. Yet, I know he's a wonderful human being that I love and am proud of what he's accomplish so much so far."
The Market (1:15m, USA) by Monica Kennedy
Who's the Market for? Can you see one thing or can you hear something else?
Missed Connection (1:55m, Canada) by Bright Young Things Productions
Love moves quickly.
Morning Coffee (1:00m, USA) by Tracy Miller-Robbins
Peering into one's coffee, time moves in a different way. Part dream, part daydream while one gains consciousness.
Resemblance (1:16m, USA) by Asad Badat
Memories from happy and fearful times converge.
Pulse (1:43m, USA) by Yangzi She
This film explores portraying lives as ECG lines. Some lives are safe and sound and some are different.
ABOUT EXTREMELY SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL
Started in 1998, the Extremely Shorts Film Festival is a juried competition of adventurous three-minute or shorter films and videos from around the world. Each year a different juror (esteemed filmmaker, film programmer or arts curator) selects 20-25 mini-masterpieces to be shown at a two day screening event. Audience Choice cash awards are given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The short format of the festival encourages innovative approaches to movie-making in a range of genres including narrative, art, experimental, documentary and animation.
ABOUT JUROR JOLENE PINDER
Aurora is honored to have Jolene Pinder as the Juror for this year's competition. Jolene Pinder is the Executive Director of the New Orleans Film Society, the organization responsible for the New Orleans Film Festival. Prior to assuming that role, she worked at Arts Engine in New York for three and half years as a documentary film producer and Director of the Media That Matters Film Festival. While there, she was a Consulting Producer on Pushing the Elephant (broadcast on Independent Lens in March 2011) and a Producer and Director of Photography on the documentary (A)sexual. She directed the short film Bismillah which won first place at the 2008 Student Emmys and was the recipient of a CINE Golden Eagle Award. In 2012, Jolene was named by New Orleans' weekly magazine Gambit to their annual "40 Under 40" list that honors the contributions of 40 New Orleans residents under 40. Jolene holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in English Literature from the University of Chicago and a Masters in Journalism and Communications from the University of Florida's Documentary Institute.
The following events are included in this program:
Friday, June 5, 7PM & 9PM
Extremely Shorts Film Festival Screening
Aurora Members $5, Non-Members $15
The first night of the festival features two screenings of the program and libations courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewery.
Saturday, June 6, 7:30PM
Screening and Award Reception on Saturday
Aurora Picture Show Members $15, Non-Members $25
Saturday’s screening will also include the awards presentation and a reception with light bites from Whole Foods Market and libations courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewery.