SUNDANCE SHORTS 2016
Thursday, January 19, 7:30PM
This touring program features the Houston premieres of eight short films selected from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival–widely considered the premier showcase for shorts and launchpad for independent filmmakers for more than 30 years. Including fiction, documentary, and animation from around the world, the distinct 2016 program traverses styles and tones, with each film breaking through its limited timeframe to resonate with audiences long after it ends. Many of the films in the program won a Short Film Jury Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
Program:
Affections
Written and directed by Bridey Elliott. USA, 16 min.
This comedy about isolation and loneliness follows a young woman who is adrift and seeking intimacy in the most unlikely places. Affections is the directorial debut of actress, comedian, and writer Bridey Elliott.
Jungle
Written and directed by Asantewaa Prempeh. USA, 13 min.
The lines between trust, betrayal, and forgiveness are intertwined for two Senegalese vendors as they try to make a living on the streets of New York City. Asantewaa Prempeh is a Ghanaian-American filmmaker whose interest in film began while studying graphics.
Edmond
Written and directed by Nina Gantz. United Kingdom, 9 min.
Winner of the Short Film Jury Award for Animation. Edmond's impulse to love and be close to others is strong—maybe too strong. As he stands by a lake contemplating his options, he reflects on his defining moments in search of the origin of his desires. Filmmaker Nina Gantz was born in Amsterdam and grew up in Rotterdam.
Bacon & God’s Wrath
Written and directed by Sol Friedman. Canada, 9 min.
Winner of the Short Film Jury Award for Non-fiction. A 90-year-old Jewish woman reflects on her life experiences as she prepares to try bacon for the first time. Sol Friedman is a Toronto-based filmmaker who blends a variety of live-action and animation techniques.
Her Friend Adam
Written and directed by Ben Petrie. Canada, 17 min.
Winner of a Short Film Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance (Grace Glowicki). A boyfriend's jealous impulse spirals out of control in this tale of romantic doom. Ben Petrie is based in Toronto.
The Grandfather Drum
Written and directed by Michelle Derosier. Canada, 13 min.
As the balance of the world turns upside down for the Anishinabek people, the elder Naamowin builds a healing drum to save his grandson and his people. Michelle Derosier, of the Anishinaabe tribe, is an award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of the Biindigaate Indigenous Film Festival.
The Procedure
Written and directed by Calvin Lee Reeder. U.S.A., 4 min.
Winner of the Short Film Jury Award for U.S. Fiction. A man is captured and forced to endure a strange experiment. Calvin Lee Reeder’s genre-bending feature films films (The Oregonian, The Rambler) have excited and divided previous Sundance audiences.
Thunder Road
Written and directed by Jim Cummings. USA, 13 min.
Winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize. Officer Arnaud loved his mom. Jim Cummings is a writer, director, and actor from New Orleans, currently based in Los Angeles.