Md Film Fest programmers Eric Allen Hatch and J. Scott Braid put together a selection of seven short films that were so good that I regret to tell you that you won't get a chance to see most of them. One that you can see is Junko's Shamisen, which will be part of the "Animated Shorts" program that looks like it has at least one more winner, Pigeon: Impossible.
Junko's Shamisen is an artful and modern combination of live action and animation. Director Sol Friedman puts the translation of what the Japanese narrator is saying in comic-book style white boxes with text, avoiding the more pedestrian subtitles and adding to, rather than distracting from, the beauty and mystery of the images.
And I absolutely loved The Late Mr. Mokun Williams, which has a keen sense of balance and humor. It will resonate with anyone who has gotten one of those e-mails from the orphan/widow of someone who has thousands of dollars in an offshore bank that must be transferred to your savings account so please give the account number.
This film was so popular with the crowd that one man hated to see it end so much that he asked director Kenneth Price if he was planning a sequel and my husband said he thought the concept could even hold up for a feature-length film.
Also loved the collage-1050s look of Voice on the Line by Kelly Sears, the only woman among the filmmakers of the opening night programs. I'm wondering why I don't see more women directors.
To choose short films for the festival from among the submissions, Hatch said he and Braid will typically spend 9 hours a day watching 50 to 60 short films to select the ones to show. I didn't get the sense he was complaining, though.
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I absolutely loved Junko's Shamisen and agree with your apt observations. Catch this film if you can!!!
One quibble with Voice on the Line is that some of the phones used in the animation are actually much later models than those that would be in keeping with the storyline. (This anachronism is perhaps bothersome only to those who remember life before voice mail.)
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