Festival Wrap-Up

Well, the DC Shorts film festival is over — though you can still catch one of the “Best of DC Shorts” screenings across this week, something I would highly recommend. No, “Quite Contrary” isn’t part of that show, but there are some really fascinating films that are. Some are viewable elsewhere, but not all, so you really won’t want to miss this.

The festival itself — apart from the screened content itself — was truly a remarkable experience, and hats off to Jon Gann and everyone involved in the DC Film Alliance for putting together a truly memorable weekend. Next year I will definitely be submitting again, and even if we’re not in the show, I’ll likely be springing for a VIP pass. Yes, it was that good (the nonstop stream of free beer probably didn’t hurt either).

As for the content itself — other than our own, of course — there were some personal highlights (and even this is by no means a comprehensive list):

• “Available Men” — just plain funny, without going too far into caricature
• “Bone Mixers”* — a surprisingly engaging documentary
• “The Cell-Phone” — a pretty damned amusing bit of animation
• “Checkout” — this could have been a one-gag bit, but the characters make it a lot of fun
• “The Cole Nobody Knows” — I may be biased by my affinity for the music, but this was a compelling documentary
• “Full Disclosure”* — a really funny first-date film starring Arrested Development’s Judy Greer and Deadwood’s Brent Sexton
• “Fumi and the Bad Luck Foot” — some absolutely hysterical animation
• “Hairlady” — an intriguing experimental film, and some absolutely amazing time-lapse, steadicam, and editing work
• “Ignotus” — an Italian period piece, weaving an artistically speculative tale
• “Jesus Beer” — a funny (if verging on blasphemous) gag commercial
• “Karma Café” — a fun (and funny) little treatment on self-improvement mantras
• “The Leeward Tide” — a remarkable story, but also fantastically shot... and on MiniDV, no less
• “Multiverse” — the Washington Improv Theater’s award-winning HD 48 Hour Film Project entry
• “Olyver Brody” — really dark, but a great story and performances
• “The Package” — a dramatic tale of money, self-interest and betrayal
• “Victoria”* — a spec music video that tells a truly moving story
• “Zombie-American”* — The Daily Show’s Ed Helms is a zombie just trying to fit in

Once again, thanks to everyone involved — and I can’t wait until next year. Maybe this’ll finally get me off my ass to finish my next (non-contest) film...

* Screening as part of the “Best of DC Shorts.”