This week I have added a new page of romantic short films to my short films website.
The first romantic short film on the new page is Validation by Kurt Kuenne (2007) (US).
Validation is an amusing film that could easily be in the comedy section. Validation is a modern-day fable about a guy who is validating parking tickets at the mall but also validating the customers by giving them compliments. He likes to see people smile but there's one girl he meets who appears to be a lost cause.
A slightly mawkish ending is outweighed by Validation's general awesomeness.
House On Little Cubes (Tsumiki No Ie) by Japenese animator Kunio Kato is the next romantic short film.
This short film won the Best Short Animation Oscar in 2009. As his town floods, an old man is forced to add levels onto his home in order to stay dry. But when he drops his favorite pipe into the watery levels below, his scuba-diving search for the pipe prompts him to keep on descending and relive scenes from his life.
It's a real weepy of a romantic short and could be considered the animated version of The Last 3 Minutes...
The next romantic short film is a science-fiction short romance. World Builder was written and directed by a digital effects artist looking to display his skills: Bruce Branit has worked on Hollywood series such as Lost and Pushing Daisies, and this was his fifth (and by far his best) short film.
The final film is Mei Ling, an unusual 'romantic' animation film but I like it!
Showing posts with label oscars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oscars. Show all posts
Monday, 30 May 2011
Monday, 16 May 2011
Best UK Short Films
This week I have added a new page of the best short films from the UK to my short films website.
The first short film on the page is Sign Language by Stephen Fellows, which won the reed.co.uk short film competition and the Virgin Media Shorts competition in 2010. It is a subtle and very likeable romantic comedy narrated by a 'board guy' - those guys standing on London's Oxford Street holding up signs - who spends his life making announcements but is too shy to talk to the co-worker that he fancies.
The next film is This Way Up by Adam Foulkes & Alan Smith (co-written by Christopher O'Reilly). I assumed it was American the first time I watched This Way Up. It shows just how good a short animation film can be even if you're not Pixar. Nominated for an Oscar in 2009, This Way Up sees two undertakers encounter a series of comical obstacles as they try to get their client to the graveyard in time. Events take a supernatural turn near towards the end with moments reminiscent of Disney's Skeleton Dance (hidden here).
The third films is Soft by Simon Ellis, which won the International Short Filmmaking Award at Sundance and was nominated for a BAFTA in 2008 with his great short film. Soft is the gritty story of a son and father tormented by a gang of youths, but with neither apparently being brave enough to fight back. Simon Ellis went on to make the feature film, Dogging: A Love Story, in 2009 but scored less success with this film.
The final film is Creature Comforts by Nick Park... visit the website to find out more!
The first short film on the page is Sign Language by Stephen Fellows, which won the reed.co.uk short film competition and the Virgin Media Shorts competition in 2010. It is a subtle and very likeable romantic comedy narrated by a 'board guy' - those guys standing on London's Oxford Street holding up signs - who spends his life making announcements but is too shy to talk to the co-worker that he fancies.
The next film is This Way Up by Adam Foulkes & Alan Smith (co-written by Christopher O'Reilly). I assumed it was American the first time I watched This Way Up. It shows just how good a short animation film can be even if you're not Pixar. Nominated for an Oscar in 2009, This Way Up sees two undertakers encounter a series of comical obstacles as they try to get their client to the graveyard in time. Events take a supernatural turn near towards the end with moments reminiscent of Disney's Skeleton Dance (hidden here).
The third films is Soft by Simon Ellis, which won the International Short Filmmaking Award at Sundance and was nominated for a BAFTA in 2008 with his great short film. Soft is the gritty story of a son and father tormented by a gang of youths, but with neither apparently being brave enough to fight back. Simon Ellis went on to make the feature film, Dogging: A Love Story, in 2009 but scored less success with this film.
The final film is Creature Comforts by Nick Park... visit the website to find out more!
Monday, 25 April 2011
New Short Animations
I recently added a new page of animated short films to my short films website.
The first new animation film is Alma by Rodrigo Blaas, a Spanish animator who has worked on Pixar features such as Wall-Eand Up. Alma is something close to an animation horror! Alma is the name of the title character, an angelic little girl who is writing her name on a wall when she spies a doll in a shop window that looks exactly like her.
She enters the empty shop. The doll keeps moving but Alma is determined to get her hands on it…
Alma won the Best Animation award at the LA Shorts Fest.
She enters the empty shop. The doll keeps moving but Alma is determined to get her hands on it…
Alma won the Best Animation award at the LA Shorts Fest.
Another new film is Bob’s Birthday by David Fine and Alison Snowden. This short animation is an amusing look at modern, middle-class life and how the best laid plans can go horribly wrong. It is dentist Bob’s 40th birthday and his wife has organised a surprise party. Unfortunately, the depressed Bob loses his pants as soon as he comes in the door and continues to say the wrong things while his party-guests are hiding and waiting to shout ‘surprise’.
It also won an Oscar in 1995.
It also won an Oscar in 1995.
The God is from Russian Konstantin Bronzit, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 2009. In 2004 he created this brilliant film in which a statue of Shiva is irritated by a fly and comes to life in order to rid himself of it. In his increasingly frustrated attempts, Shiva causes himself more and more problems… enjoy!
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Sundance Film Festival Animations
This week I have added a page of Sundance Winning Animations to my short films website.
The first film, Doc Ellis and the LSD No-No, comes from last year's Sundance Film Festival. Doc Ellis, who died in 2008, was a major league baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and best known for throwing a 'no-hitter' or 'no-no' (like bowling a lot of maiden overs!) against San Diego in 1970 and then admitting that he had thrown this 'no-no' while under the influence of LSD. It is this infamous incident that he narrates himself to a drug-fuelled backdrop in this engrossing Sundance animation.
Ryan by Chris Landreth is on one of my oscar animation pages too so I won't got into too much detail here. It is, of course, brilliant.
The next film is Papillon d'Armour by Nicolas Provost. I will tell anyone who will listen to me that Kurosawa was the best director that ever lived. Most of Hollywood is indebted to him on some level. So imagine my delight that Belgian filmmaker Nicolas Provost created this mesmerizing, reflective montage of Kurosawa's work.
Papillon d'Armour (Butterfly of Love) won an honourable mention at the 2004 Sundance Flim Festival.
The last film on the page is More by Mark Osborne, which won at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Mark Osborne was a co-director on the Dreamworks film,Kung Fu Panda, so has now 'made it'. In this Sundance winning and Oscar nominated short, a factory worker is at odds with the dark world he inhabits as he plays his part in the mass production of devices that promise happiness. In his spare time he creates something he wants to share with the world. To embed More I have had to replace the original soundtrack with DJ Shadow's Building Steam with a Grain of Salt...
Enjoy!
The first film, Doc Ellis and the LSD No-No, comes from last year's Sundance Film Festival. Doc Ellis, who died in 2008, was a major league baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and best known for throwing a 'no-hitter' or 'no-no' (like bowling a lot of maiden overs!) against San Diego in 1970 and then admitting that he had thrown this 'no-no' while under the influence of LSD. It is this infamous incident that he narrates himself to a drug-fuelled backdrop in this engrossing Sundance animation.
Ryan by Chris Landreth is on one of my oscar animation pages too so I won't got into too much detail here. It is, of course, brilliant.
The next film is Papillon d'Armour by Nicolas Provost. I will tell anyone who will listen to me that Kurosawa was the best director that ever lived. Most of Hollywood is indebted to him on some level. So imagine my delight that Belgian filmmaker Nicolas Provost created this mesmerizing, reflective montage of Kurosawa's work.
Papillon d'Armour (Butterfly of Love) won an honourable mention at the 2004 Sundance Flim Festival.
The last film on the page is More by Mark Osborne, which won at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Mark Osborne was a co-director on the Dreamworks film,Kung Fu Panda, so has now 'made it'. In this Sundance winning and Oscar nominated short, a factory worker is at odds with the dark world he inhabits as he plays his part in the mass production of devices that promise happiness. In his spare time he creates something he wants to share with the world. To embed More I have had to replace the original soundtrack with DJ Shadow's Building Steam with a Grain of Salt...
Enjoy!
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Oscar Winning Animations
This week I have added another page of Oscar winning animations to my short films website.
The first most noticeable addition is House On Little Cubes (aka Maison En Petits Cubes &Tsumiki No Ie) by Japenese animator Kunio Kato. House On LIttle Cubes won the Best Short Animation Oscar in 2009. It is a very touching story so have the tissues ready to wipe away the tears. As his Japanese town floods, an old man is forced to add levels onto his home. But when he drops his favourite pipe into the watery levels below, his scuba-diving search through his house prompts him to relive scenes from his life.
It could be considered the animated version of The Last 3 MInutes...
The fantastic Oscar winning animations, Chubbchubbs! and Father & Daughter were already there so the next addition is really Destino by Dominique Monfery.
Destino was started by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali in 1945 for the Walt Disney company. The story was created by Dali, J. Hench and D. Ernst with the music composed by Mexican, Armando Domínguez. Destino is perhaps best known as a collision between the two very differnt artists, Dali and Walt Disney, but it was acutally completed in 2003 by French animator Dominique Monfery, who more commonly works on feature animations, and nominated in 2004. It is certainly more Daliesque than Disney.
The last addition is Creature Comforts by Nick Park. This Oscar animation was the first the wider world saw from Nick Park, who would go on to thrill us with his Wallace & Gromit series.
The first most noticeable addition is House On Little Cubes (aka Maison En Petits Cubes &Tsumiki No Ie) by Japenese animator Kunio Kato. House On LIttle Cubes won the Best Short Animation Oscar in 2009. It is a very touching story so have the tissues ready to wipe away the tears. As his Japanese town floods, an old man is forced to add levels onto his home. But when he drops his favourite pipe into the watery levels below, his scuba-diving search through his house prompts him to relive scenes from his life.
It could be considered the animated version of The Last 3 MInutes...
The fantastic Oscar winning animations, Chubbchubbs! and Father & Daughter were already there so the next addition is really Destino by Dominique Monfery.
Destino was started by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali in 1945 for the Walt Disney company. The story was created by Dali, J. Hench and D. Ernst with the music composed by Mexican, Armando Domínguez. Destino is perhaps best known as a collision between the two very differnt artists, Dali and Walt Disney, but it was acutally completed in 2003 by French animator Dominique Monfery, who more commonly works on feature animations, and nominated in 2004. It is certainly more Daliesque than Disney.
The last addition is Creature Comforts by Nick Park. This Oscar animation was the first the wider world saw from Nick Park, who would go on to thrill us with his Wallace & Gromit series.
Monday, 24 January 2011
Oscar Winning Short Films
This week I have gone Oscars crazy on my short film website.
I have added yet another page of oscar winning films. Unfortunately, I have had to remove some recent winners due to a legal threat but I keep what I can and include the best of the Academy Award nominees.
Wish 143 was nominated for the Best Short Film Oscar this year. A black comedy directed by Ian Barnes and written by Simon Bigwell, Wish 143 follows the efforts of a young cancer patient, David, trying to fulfil his final wish: which is to lose his virginity. The charity offers him Gary Neville (the soccer player) instead and his friendly priest tries to deter him but David is determined to pop his cherry before he pops his clogs.
Another oscar winning short film from America is Two Soldiers by Aaron Schneider. The Academy has been rewarding longer short films during the last decade, and Two Soldiers is an extreme example. However, it is to its credit that it does not feel that long. Set during WWII, it is a touching account of a young boy who wants to join his brother in the "war at Pearl Harbour". It's very American (was 9/11 a factor in its win?) but a great performance by Ron Perlman (Hellboy) makes you more likely to cry than vomit by the end.
I have cheated slightly by adding I'll Wait For The Next One by Philippe Orreindy. I'll Wait For The Next One (J'attendrai le Suivant) was nominated for the 2003 Oscar but I include it because I have been unable to get hold of The Accountant by Ray McKinnon, which is nearly as long as Two Soldiers anyway.
I'll Wait For The Next One is a bitter-sweet tale of a lonely woman being offered the chance of true love on the Paris metro. I actually find it hard to watch it's so sorrowful! Anyway, enjoy the films at filmsshort.com
I have added yet another page of oscar winning films. Unfortunately, I have had to remove some recent winners due to a legal threat but I keep what I can and include the best of the Academy Award nominees.
Wish 143 was nominated for the Best Short Film Oscar this year. A black comedy directed by Ian Barnes and written by Simon Bigwell, Wish 143 follows the efforts of a young cancer patient, David, trying to fulfil his final wish: which is to lose his virginity. The charity offers him Gary Neville (the soccer player) instead and his friendly priest tries to deter him but David is determined to pop his cherry before he pops his clogs.
Another oscar winning short film from America is Two Soldiers by Aaron Schneider. The Academy has been rewarding longer short films during the last decade, and Two Soldiers is an extreme example. However, it is to its credit that it does not feel that long. Set during WWII, it is a touching account of a young boy who wants to join his brother in the "war at Pearl Harbour". It's very American (was 9/11 a factor in its win?) but a great performance by Ron Perlman (Hellboy) makes you more likely to cry than vomit by the end.
I have cheated slightly by adding I'll Wait For The Next One by Philippe Orreindy. I'll Wait For The Next One (J'attendrai le Suivant) was nominated for the 2003 Oscar but I include it because I have been unable to get hold of The Accountant by Ray McKinnon, which is nearly as long as Two Soldiers anyway.
I'll Wait For The Next One is a bitter-sweet tale of a lonely woman being offered the chance of true love on the Paris metro. I actually find it hard to watch it's so sorrowful! Anyway, enjoy the films at filmsshort.com
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Best Short Films From Germany
This week I have added a Best German Short Films page to www.filmsshort.com
It seems to me that German cinema is still struggling to get past the Holocaust and this is partly reflected in the most recent example of a short film from Germany - Toyland (Spielzeugland).
The idea of another Holocaust film, even an oscar winner from Germany, is not necessarily an enthralling idea. However, I challenge you to not have a lump in the back of your throat by the end of Toyland. Set in 1942, and co-written by the director Jochen Freydank and Johann A. Bunners, 'Toyland' is the euphemistic name a German mother invents when her son asks where his Jewish neighbours are going.
An ending reminiscent of Sophie's Choice makes it all worthwhile.
Then comes High Maintenance by Philip Van. A science-fiction short film and Sundance winner, High Maintenance was written by Scot Simon Biggs and directed by American Philip Van, but produced in Germany. Van says, 'I aimed to make a film about the future but emblematic of our era' and thus we find an attractive middle-class couple at dinner, but with the woman failing to get the romantic responses she wants from her 'man'... could I put this on my romance page?
Next comes Black Rider a drama/comedy from German director Pepe Danquart that proves some Germans do indeed have a sense of humor. Filmed in black & white, there is a sure European feel to it but this didn't stop it winning the Oscar in 1994. It is a simple story of bigotry and comical revenge.
I finish off with True by Tom Tykwer, most famous for Run Lola Run!.True stars Natalie Portman and was commissioned as one of the segments of Paris, Je T'aime - a collection of short films financed by the French capital. It is one of the few that stands on its own. Portman is an actress studying at the Conservatoire, who falls for a blind Frenchman. The film starts with what is apparently her break-up telephone call... but watch it!
Enjoy!
It seems to me that German cinema is still struggling to get past the Holocaust and this is partly reflected in the most recent example of a short film from Germany - Toyland (Spielzeugland).
The idea of another Holocaust film, even an oscar winner from Germany, is not necessarily an enthralling idea. However, I challenge you to not have a lump in the back of your throat by the end of Toyland. Set in 1942, and co-written by the director Jochen Freydank and Johann A. Bunners, 'Toyland' is the euphemistic name a German mother invents when her son asks where his Jewish neighbours are going.
An ending reminiscent of Sophie's Choice makes it all worthwhile.
Then comes High Maintenance by Philip Van. A science-fiction short film and Sundance winner, High Maintenance was written by Scot Simon Biggs and directed by American Philip Van, but produced in Germany. Van says, 'I aimed to make a film about the future but emblematic of our era' and thus we find an attractive middle-class couple at dinner, but with the woman failing to get the romantic responses she wants from her 'man'... could I put this on my romance page?
Next comes Black Rider a drama/comedy from German director Pepe Danquart that proves some Germans do indeed have a sense of humor. Filmed in black & white, there is a sure European feel to it but this didn't stop it winning the Oscar in 1994. It is a simple story of bigotry and comical revenge.
I finish off with True by Tom Tykwer, most famous for Run Lola Run!.True stars Natalie Portman and was commissioned as one of the segments of Paris, Je T'aime - a collection of short films financed by the French capital. It is one of the few that stands on its own. Portman is an actress studying at the Conservatoire, who falls for a blind Frenchman. The film starts with what is apparently her break-up telephone call... but watch it!
Enjoy!
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Film London & More Drama
I have broken my word and added two new pages to my website filmsshort.com this week. As my collection of short films grew, and especially as I hunted down those that won major festivals and awards I realised that I had more drama short films than any other genre. This is because festivals tend to reward drama, just as the Oscars do. So I added another drama page. In all honesty I could add several more drama short film pages but that would rather defy the point of having a deliberately small collection of the very best of each genre.
If you haven't seen The Last 3 Minutes by Po Chan then I suggest you go there. Written and directed by American cinematographer Po Chan, The Last 3 Minutes is an unashamedly tear-jerking flashback through a dying man's life. Every shot is lovingly crafted and there are some beautiful American landscapes! I've tried to get in touch with Po to find an official version but have been unable to find a contact. There is high-definition version with lots of background videos on another YouTube page but am not sure if that's Po's upload or not!
Then I really treat you with three festival winning dramas:
Tanghi Argentini (Argentine Tangos) by Belgian filmmaker Gus Thys (2006), Before Dawn by Hungarian Bálint Kenyeres, and Black Rider (Schwarzfahrer) by German Pepe Danquart.
As if all that wasn't enough, I then went and added a Film London page. Film London is taking over responsibility for attracting investment and film productions to the whole of the UK in the government's shake up of the quangos (and subsequent disintegration of the somewhat nepotistic Film Council). Film London has backed many short films over the last decade through various schemes, most notably their Borough Film Fund and Pulse - the latter theoretically being a step up. However, there have been some very bad misses in amongst the hits (and perhaps more misses than hits), which is very worrying to a film-maker looking for backing. When I talk to new producers I often hear the same fears: bodies tend to invest in people they know rather than the strongest script - and let's be honest: at investment stage the script has to come first!
Having said that, Film London has invested in some talented film-makers over the years and I add what I believe are the best of the available short films out there. It's up to you to decide how worthy they are. Peter & Ben is a lovely documentary and Pop Art is a skilful piece of fiction filmmaking - though I'm still not totally sure what it's trying to say. Enjoy!
If you haven't seen The Last 3 Minutes by Po Chan then I suggest you go there. Written and directed by American cinematographer Po Chan, The Last 3 Minutes is an unashamedly tear-jerking flashback through a dying man's life. Every shot is lovingly crafted and there are some beautiful American landscapes! I've tried to get in touch with Po to find an official version but have been unable to find a contact. There is high-definition version with lots of background videos on another YouTube page but am not sure if that's Po's upload or not!
Then I really treat you with three festival winning dramas:
Tanghi Argentini (Argentine Tangos) by Belgian filmmaker Gus Thys (2006), Before Dawn by Hungarian Bálint Kenyeres, and Black Rider (Schwarzfahrer) by German Pepe Danquart.
As if all that wasn't enough, I then went and added a Film London page. Film London is taking over responsibility for attracting investment and film productions to the whole of the UK in the government's shake up of the quangos (and subsequent disintegration of the somewhat nepotistic Film Council). Film London has backed many short films over the last decade through various schemes, most notably their Borough Film Fund and Pulse - the latter theoretically being a step up. However, there have been some very bad misses in amongst the hits (and perhaps more misses than hits), which is very worrying to a film-maker looking for backing. When I talk to new producers I often hear the same fears: bodies tend to invest in people they know rather than the strongest script - and let's be honest: at investment stage the script has to come first!
Having said that, Film London has invested in some talented film-makers over the years and I add what I believe are the best of the available short films out there. It's up to you to decide how worthy they are. Peter & Ben is a lovely documentary and Pop Art is a skilful piece of fiction filmmaking - though I'm still not totally sure what it's trying to say. Enjoy!
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Festival Winning Shorts
In order to research what films I should put on my short film website I had a good trawl of the major short film festival winners, both by going to their websites and by looking on the imdb, the trusted source for film.
One of the strangest consequences was that I realised that there was often no correlation between how good a film is considered by those who vote on the imdb and whether it won an award at this or that festival. Of course, the best films do tend to rise to the top like the proverbial cream but consider a film such as Megatron, which one the Palm d'Or for Best Short Film in 2008 at Cannes. It has averaged only 5.9/10 after 63 votes. That's simply not that great. And many directors fail to secure a career on the basis of such an award.
Thus I had to pay heed to these votes and watch as many of the films as I could myself to decide whether they deserved to go on my website - rather than just adding festival winners no matter what.This created some major problems because Megatron is by no means unique. The Cannes Film Festival throws up other problems: I began by researching Cannes, the Oscars and BAFTA. But unlike the latter two, which hand out awards for live-action and animated short films separately, Cannes has decided to judge both types of film together. One might argue that comparing different short film of the same type is difficult enough (consider how the brilliant Father & Daughter, and Rejected, were both nominated in 2000), but the Cannes Film Festival has decided to make matters that much more tricky by failing to distinguish between the two. Having said that, some of the animations the Oscars and BAFTA have rewarded have been rather poor!
One of the strangest consequences was that I realised that there was often no correlation between how good a film is considered by those who vote on the imdb and whether it won an award at this or that festival. Of course, the best films do tend to rise to the top like the proverbial cream but consider a film such as Megatron, which one the Palm d'Or for Best Short Film in 2008 at Cannes. It has averaged only 5.9/10 after 63 votes. That's simply not that great. And many directors fail to secure a career on the basis of such an award.
Thus I had to pay heed to these votes and watch as many of the films as I could myself to decide whether they deserved to go on my website - rather than just adding festival winners no matter what.This created some major problems because Megatron is by no means unique. The Cannes Film Festival throws up other problems: I began by researching Cannes, the Oscars and BAFTA. But unlike the latter two, which hand out awards for live-action and animated short films separately, Cannes has decided to judge both types of film together. One might argue that comparing different short film of the same type is difficult enough (consider how the brilliant Father & Daughter, and Rejected, were both nominated in 2000), but the Cannes Film Festival has decided to make matters that much more tricky by failing to distinguish between the two. Having said that, some of the animations the Oscars and BAFTA have rewarded have been rather poor!
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