Short Film Saturday

Short Film Saturday: Trevor (1994)

Posted on by bernardovillela

For June, at least in the short film department, I will be featuring gay-themed films for Pride month. 

Here is what I wrote about Trevor when I featured it in My Year in Film: 1994.

This film I first saw only last year. It’s the only short on this list. It’s almost more important for its significance than the film itself for this film is what spawned The Trevor Project. Perhaps what’s most impressive is that it really was ahead of the zeitgeist in terms of a hot button issue. It deals with a youth struggling with his sexuality and is suicidal. It won an Oscar after it was made and was re-introduced in a TV special hosted by Ellen DeGeneres but now it has a third incarnation as The Trevor Project is one of the most notable and active NGOs in the nation right now. Granted its a film buoyed by its message and its significance but few films, especially shorts, have this kind of track record so far as reemergence and staying power are concerned.

It’s a bit of a somber piece, that’s bittersweet at best, so “enjoy” seems an inappropriate sign off. I hope you find the film as enlightening as I did, at the very least as to the origins of a very worth cause.

Short Film Saturday: Hoje Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho (VIDEO – Subtitled)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Being June now the shorts will be fitting for LGBT Pride month and if you read the blog regularly the first selection will not be that surprising.

This short eventually was expanded into last year’s BAM Award Winner for Best Picture, Best Foreign Film and Best Director, titled in English The Way He Looks.

As fate would have it I saw the feature first, but having seen them both I can assure you there are surprises in store for those who have seen either of the two. The longer version adds conflicts, expands on themes and has a few different surprises in store. Whereas there are some different surprises here.

Click the “CC” icon for myriad subtitle options.

Short Film Saturday: Minnie the Moocher (1932)

Posted on by bernardovillela

This is a pre-Code/Depression era short featuring Betty Boop. I’m not much of an authority on the character. I knew some of the shorts when I was a kid before I saw Who Framed Roger Rabbit I’m sure. Those were likely the more sanitized Code era shorts. So, yes, the imagery here will be a littleut even animated shorts felt the power of the Depression.

An interesting pre-cursor to The Three Little Pigs that features similar ideals if a different vibe. It takes some of Cab Calloway’s songs and dramatizes them well. I almost snuck this on to a Music Video Monday post but decided against it.

Enjoy!

Short Film Saturday: Alma

Posted on by bernardovillela

It would not do too well to set this one up too much, but here’s a teaser: there is no dialogue, a simple, well-rendered premise and one brilliant cut that says it all. It’s visual, jaw-droppingly well-rendered in its simplicity, and memorable even down to the score.

The short has been optioned by DreamWorks Animation to be developed into a feature. See the short now to get a leg-up; and was created by a Pixar animator. Proof, yet again, that animation is a medium and not only for kids’ stories; but kids with an ability to deal with the macabre can see this.

Enjoy!

Short Movie Saturday -Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)

Posted on by bernardovillela

Yes, you read that right. 1888. This is the oldest known surviving film fragment. While the YouTube claims it’s 65 seconds long that’s because of replays and slow-motion replays. It’s actually two seconds long. Sure, that’s not much to go on, but in such a young art something so old is noteworthy. Furthermore, Movies Silently, where I discovered this snippet brings some humor to its brevity:

That’s where the fun really comes in. Put on your best know-it-all voice and proclaim that the second half did not live up to the potential of the first. That you feel the film could have done with tighter editing. That the symbolism of the garden scene strikes at the very meaning of life itself.

Welcome to the in-joke! (And a very important milestone in the history of cinema.)

Enjoy!

Short Film Saturday: Rooty Toot Toot (1951)

Posted on by bernardovillela

If you ever needed proof that even at the Academy Award-nominated level, even when the official category was called cartoons; that animation isn’t just for kids’ stories. This is proof. Sure, it was unlikely to be selected over The Two Mouseketeers (Tom & Jerry) and Lambert the Sheepish Lion (Disney), but its nomination is noteworthy. As is the musical treatment and minimalist animation style, and usage of color.

Short Film: Chasing Ice

Posted on by bernardovillela

There are many natural wonders that are great fodder for nature docs and a Earth Day-themed post. However, it’s not right to be overly-rosy about the state of the climate at all times. Recognizing this fact and making people more cognizant of the environment lead to the creation of the day.

This is a historic recording in Greenland of a large ice calving. It is breathtaking on many levels and more reason to be mindful of what we do on this and every day. If interested in further pursuit follow the link above or the one cited at the end of the video.