Sunderland Shorts Film Festival – Taster Event
Today I ventured into sunny Sunderland on a mission to discover the Sunderland Shorts Film Festival. The festival was launched last year and was a huge success. It is returning this year promising to be bigger and better for 2016.
The People behind the festival had organised two free taster sessions featuring some of the best short films from last years event. The first taster session featured some more mature movies while the one I was attending was a family friendly one, so I brought my nephew along with me to introduce him to the world of short film.
The taster lasted for 40 minutes offering up an excellent mix of family friendly shorts including animations, documentaries and comedies. There was a decent crowd of inquisitive minds looking to find out more about short film with the majority of the seats taken up. The staff were all very friendly and accommodating and the films were shown on a nice big projector.
Here is a quick overview of the shorts.
Centurian Ressurrection – 3 minutes
The film depicts a Roman Centurion coming back to life from within a Roman Bath. A golden eagle representing the Spirit of Rome, heralds his return. When the soldier emerges from the site of the ancient spa into the modern-day town of Bath, a busker and passers-by mistake him for a street performer.
This was a nice little fun opener with extremely impressive visuals and use of green screen. The high quality of this immediately set the standard for the shorts that followed.
Fresh Air – 3 minutes
Maudie lives in a care home, where all the residents just want to sleep; but she wants to feel the wind in her face. Unfortunately, fresh air is apparently against the rules. A short animation about independence and not growing up…
I loved the animation style of this. It had a very old-school feel to it and a very nice story that is sure to put a smile on your face.
The Reinvention of Normal – 8 minutes
The film follows Dominic Wilcox, an artist/inventor/designer, on his quest for new ideas… Transforming the mundane and ordinary into something surprising, wondrous and strangely thought provoking.
Myself and my nephew both agreed this was our favourite. This was a very interesting and intriguing look at Dominic Wilcox and his unique perspective on life. The movie was broken up with little animation sequences between interviews and Dominic showing off some of his creations.
Late – 1.5 minutes
A moment is a short, unfixed length of time. Minutes are fix units which measure time… This film shows a moment of my life. Every. Single. Morning.
This had another beautiful animation style and was an extremely fun short. The monotone colours were a perfect reflection of a typical morning for most of us at one point or another.
Delivery From Earth – 6.5 minutes
Science-fiction short film about the birth of the first human on Mars, told from the perspective of a Navajo family living in Gallup, New Mexico.
Delivery From Earth was a very interesting film. I wasn’t sure what direction this was going in until the end when it pulled everything together. This was another extremely strong movie making excellent use of the visuals and landscapes.
Companion – 3 minutes
A stray puppy suddenly appears to brighten up a lonely boy’s world. The two enjoy a long-lasting companionship as they grow together.
This was a very touching animation that takes an unexpected twist in another brilliantly done style.
Thundercluck: Chicken of Thor – 3 minutes
Half mortal. Half god. All natural chicken. This film chronicles the birth, life, and legacy of Thundercluck, the viking chicken with the power of thunder.
Unfortunately this short had some sound issues so I wasn’t really sure what was going on but again another high quality and impressive animation. I loved the style of this one.
After the screening free drinks and biscuits were available, along with a quiz to take part in.
Overall this was an excellent little taster that has got me looking forward to this years event. The high standard of work on offer showcased the talented minds behind them. These tasters have wet my appetite for the festival which is on from the 30 June until the 3 July. Make sure to get the dates marked down as I am sure it is one not to be missed!
