An eclectic film shorts night may be appearing very soon at your local cinema, in the shape of 'Future Shorts'. Founded by Fabien Riggall, the events are an always wonderful and diverse programme of short films, a medium that Fabien intends to see accepted as an artform in itself. Close-Up Film went along to find out what you might expect (besides the unexpected!)
Future Shorts at The Phoenix Cinema
This month, Close-Up Film was invited to experience the old and the new as part of the Future Shorts commitment of bringing the best of the world's short films to local audiences. In the UK 's oldest cinema, The Phoenix, East Finchley , there was a diverse mix of drama, comedy, music, animation and downright strangeness in a packed program of 17 shorts ranging from the languid to the very brief.
The Future Shorts mission is to allow experienced directors (including Spike Jonze, Shane Meadows and Mike Leigh) the opportunity to get their shorts on the big screen while also getting the viewers themselves excited by sampling these little delicacies whether they be comedy or tragedy. Reaching cinemas as far as Moscow the tour is dedicated to providing an eclectic taste for any connoisseur.
Northern Soul (directed by Shane Meadows, UK )
 Nottingham's answer to Rocky, Mike Sherbert (Toby Kebbell), gives up married life to follow his dream of becoming a wrestler. Despite the caveman costume and hard sounding name he unfortunately can't escape the fact that he's just plain useless at it. Shot as a mockumentary we follow Sherbert's comical attempts at getting in the ring and with his Karate Kid training regime we nod sympathetically at his attempts to be the best of the best of the best. This being the drizzly North however and not the magical lands of America it quickly becomes clear that not all dreams are meant to be fulfilled. As with the gritty 24-7 Meadows ensures his working class hero is always on the edge of attainment but conspired against by the ordinariness of the real world around him.
A squeakily charming lead performance by Kebbell ensures he's always looking on the brighter side of life and helped along by a foot-tapping song from Clayhill Northern Soul is an entertaining look at small town dreams clashing with small country reality.
To Have and to Hold (directed by Emily Montell, UK )
A quirky pencil drawn animation of large hipped women literally taking the lead by keeping penis's as pets. Those with fears of short films merely being an excuse to show shagging can rest assured as this is a catchy riff on the battle of the sexes where both are dependant on the other. While the women seem to be dominant they are also trapped in a world of vanity where they need to show off their prize. Of course the larger variety needs more taming.
Watermelon Love (directed by Joji Koyama , Japan )
An odd look at hypnotic seduction that combines anime with 3D wizardry. The slinky girl that draws in the viewer promises delights but not in the usual way, here tripping out means watermelons and the imagery and tinkling soundtrack combine to make a dreamy journey. Quickly the experience is packaged up on a production line to be distributed to friends and family in a surreal twist of addiction made for the masses.
Tom Hits His Head (directed by Tom Putnam, USA )
 Does what it says on the tin, in hospital Tom (Morgan Rusler) falls and hits his head. In the months that follow he's increasingly gripped by a crippling anxiety that nearly costs him everything. This exhausting short packs a punch as Putnam fuses a frantic voiceover with jagged filming reminiscent of Aranofsky's Pi to recall the UFO paranoia of the 50s but set in a contemporary world where 9/11 has America questioning its own safety and freedom. The central character working at an airport is quickly consumed by fear, transfixed by the planes he's certain are going to crash and he's soon embroiled in all sorts of trends to battle mental illness; drugs, religion, pornography, eBay. The tragic-comedy comes to a head when he starts communicating with the Devil in his bathroom who informs him he is the next anti-christ.
Absorbed by all the inanities of the world Tom is able to escape the terrors of the global village that are now so close to home. Although played to excess Tom Hits His Head is an important study of a man coming to terms with his own life and the acceptance of a world he has little chance of fixing.
Solkatten (directed by Stina Bergman , Sweden )
A simple little idea of two strangers waiting for a train and to pass the time the man uses the sunlight reflecting from his watch to 'turn on' the prim and proper woman sat opposite him. Not as satisfying as it should be and slightly unnerving the Reflection of Light of the title plays on the sexual tension between two people and the desire to express emotion without physical interaction.
Who Killed Brown Owl (directed by Christine Malloy and Jo Lawlor, UK )
Commissioned by the borough of Enfield the single shot of Who Killed Brown Owl drifts over a typically English park on a seemingly innocent summer's day. As the real-life residents go about their business we're introduced to varying degrees of misfortune that has beset them, from beer drinking kids to an abandoned baby and culminating in the bloody murder of the title character, the film silently displays the violence underpinning everyday life while offering no catharsis. Whether it's a twisted tourist video or not it succeeds in encouraging its community to be vigilant, looking out for each other in even the safest of places.
Klaus Forklift Driver (directed by Jorg Wagner and Stefan Prehn, Germany )
Any white/blue collar drone will have had to sit through tedious safety videos warning of the mundane dangers that can suddenly strike at the workplace and it seems Germany have them to. Beginning innocently enough with 70s style title cards the chirpy voiceover introduces the happy-go-lucky Klaus, fresh from passing his forklift driver exam and keen to put his skills to practice in a busy warehouse. First warning is to not let clumsy employees be raised on the forks in case they fall off but soon Klaus's various escapades result in exponentially more pain for whoever gets in his way. Blending the slapstick of You've Been Framed with the horror comedy of Evil Dead the short is a hilarious exercise in how much damage can be done with simple machinery while making a mockery of common sense training. Prepare yourself for chainsaws, severed limbs and the odd decapitation where the Germans prove they can be just as outlandish as the Brits.
Bathtime in Clerkenwell (directed by Alex Budovsky, UK )
A nifty two-tone music video for a fun ditty by The Real Tuesday Weld sees cuckoos spreading their wings over London . Recently picked up and developed for Lucozade ads Bathtime in Clerkenwell blends its own anarchic humour with an economical approach to short films making it easy to digest and endlessly repeatable.
Natan (directed by Jonas Bergergard and Jonas Holmstrom, Sweden )
An offbeat tale of Natan sacked on his first day at a burger joint but then taken on a ride to buy a dog by his overbearing boss. Natan is a bullied Forest Gump character until he attempts to stand up to authority and live life how he wants it in a very underplayed power struggle but a satisfying one.
JoJo in the Stars (directed by Marc Craste, UK )
 Another slice of the bleak and metallic future from Marc Craste. This time his twisted world revolves around a circus of freaks one of which captivates a particular audience member with her beauty; the JoJo of the title. Attempting to get close to his object of desire the audience member encounters the vicious jealousy of an uncompromising world. Like a post-apocalyptic Tim Burton Craste imbues his 3D landscape with a nightmarish quality and while his characters remain mute he does so much with what little features they have to convey a touching yet doomed love story.
www.studioaka.co.uk
Le Cheval 2.1 (directed by Stephen Scott Hayward and Alex Kirkland, UK )
Short, funny, French.
Lift (directed by Marc Issacs, UK )
The highlight of the program is this simple yet extremely personal study of the residents of a particular London tower block. Positioning himself in a lift with a camera Issacs quickly breaks the silence usually associated with getting from one floor to another and over the days passengers come to trust him enough to reveal their innermost thoughts.
All walks of life occupy the confined space and we gradually learn what makes them happy and what makes them sad through sometimes emotional journeys and Issacs asks questions as random as how their day has been to what's their earliest memory. It's astonishing that with the camera present people are suddenly willing for their thoughts to be recorded and we learn of the diversity of our neighbours with their own religion and backgrounds. From the nun who's never experienced love to the tale of a lonely guy on the pull mixed in with the drunks Issacs encounters at all hours this is proof that getting a camera and getting out there filming is the best way to produce astonishing and real results.
I Want More (directed by Dan Gordon, UK )
A music video for A State of Mind by Faithless that is both a rigorous display of colour, dance and movement using North Korean footage but also a wry look at Eastern over population and its strive for development and respect. Almost as an opposite of Western laziness it hints at the potential energy stored in one of Asia's sleeping and unknown giants.
Music For One Apartment and Six Drummers (directed by Johannes Stajarne Nilsson , Sweden )
A group of musicians wait for a couple to leave their home and then go into various rooms to perform carefully timed music using everyday objects. Fans of the band Stomp and various other 'street' artists making sounds with dustbin lids and shopping bags will get some inspiration from this as toothbrushes, dog food and pills are put to good use but there's the niggling thought that everything is too perfect, as if the beats were already pre-recorded or amplified. Despite it's apparent in-authenticity the idea was picked up for a major advertising campaign across Europe.
Non Fat (directed by Olivier Monzi, Italy )
A quick, vicious attack on America 's whiny approach to food and every waiter's dream.
Ward 13 (directed by Peter Cromwell, Australia )
 This extremely ambitious stop-motion short is clearly inspired by Wallace & Gromit but in terms of style and action it owes more to Hollywood blockbusters. The mini-epic sees a man wake up in a strange hospital following an accident but the twisted characters who run it would rather he stayed to be part of their fiendish experiments. Cue plenty of thrills and spills as the hero speeds his way through hospital corridors attempting to find an exit pursued by a variety of mutants and exotic weapons. There are several nasty deaths in this sometimes gruesome chase movie proving that clay doesn't have to be all about cheese and crackers. Cromwell is a talent to look out for and no doubt someone who'll make the transition to bigger things as he has a keen eye on producing exhilarating sequences while building the story's central tension.
www.ward13.com.au
Bloody Olive (directed by Vincent Bal, Belgium )
What starts as a plot between husband and wife to kill a business partner quickly becomes an amusing series of bluffs and double bluffs as the three try to figure out who's working with who. Told as a b&w 40s crime drama it's an effective homage to a less cynical age of cinema while spoofing the rules and genre in the same way Scream did with horror.
Following the screenings there was a panel discussion including Nick Bradshaw, Film Editor of Time Out and director Ian Sciacaluga who's short Leon was also screened as an addition to the program and showed a London teenager good at heart but failed by the system. As Nick stated "Film funding in this country has been centralised with the Film Council," allowing Ian to tell his tale of getting his short made. "I felt like a film student again," said Ian "We had to battle against all odds to get it made through pure willpower. Pitching is now a lot harder to art councils." Future Shorts are helping matters, not making any money they allow these hard fought films a chance to be seen and all in attendance agreed that shorts were a valid and challenging medium. "They allow a lot more room for invention," continues Nick "and the possibilities are broadening for them to be seen on not just a cinema screen but DVD and the internet." For Ian they've given him valuable training in filmmaking, "It is the best outlet to be expressive, to thrive on good ideas and engage the audience which is more important than being technically good.
Richard Badley
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