Many young filmmakers get their start directing short films.
Yet, outside of festivals or the occasional cartoon in front of the latest
animated blockbuster, there’s not many opportunities left for audiences to see
short films on the big screen. The chance to see what the next generation of filmmakers
are creating is just one of the things that makes the Rochester International
Film Festival so special.
Now entering
its 59th year (making it the longest continually-held short film festival in
the world), this year’s RIFF will screen 29 animated, comedy, drama,
documentary, and experimental shorts by filmmakers from across the globe. The
shorts will be presented in four separate programs across three days — from Thursday,
April 20, through Saturday, April 22 — at the George Eastman Museum’s Dryden
Theatre. Adding to the screenings, several of the filmmakers will be in
attendance to participate in Q&A sessions. Admission to the festival is
free, though donations are encouraged. A complete schedule of films can be
found at rochesterfilmfest.org.
Thursday, April 20, 8 p.m.
Striking ocean-front cinematography distinguishes Chris
Fiorentini’s “Generation
Gap,” a work about a young man attempting to make peace with his
past after fleeing a stint at a nearby mental hospital.
The charming
dramatic comedy “Après
l’hiver (After Winter),” from Joachim Weissmann and Amandine
Hinnekens, finds an elderly woman using a bit of deception to gain some
companionship.
An
ayahuasca-fueled hallucination helps a man face his fears and find love in the
fantastical “Pounce,” directed by Conor Chandler Simpson.
It’s not
difficult to guess where it’s ultimately headed, but “Trunk Space” is a solidly effective thriller
about what happens when two friends on a road trip across the desert make the
ill-fated decision to pick up a stranded motorist.
The funny “Going Public“
finds an amorously deprived husband and wife doing their best to recapture their
adventurous life, which has recently taken a backseat to raising a baby.
Friday April 21, 8 p.m.
In the Italian drama “Una Bellissima Bugia (A Beautiful Lie),” a
young man confined to a wheelchair has a chance meeting with a stranger who may
end up changing the course of his life forever.
A man and
woman forge a connection while waiting for the bus on a rainy evening in David
Sanz and Tony López’s lovely “La
Parada (The Stop).”
Set in the
waiting room of a doctor’s office, the Iranian comedy “Mwah” peeks in
on the conversations between several expectant mothers’ unborn children, with a
“Look Who’s Talking”-style.
Struggling
to work up the courage to talk to his pretty neighbor, a shy New Yorker gets an
unexpected assist from an alarming radio transmission in the 1930’s-set “The Suitor.”
In “Riding the Highline,” poetry-writing brothers Kai and Anders Carlson-Wee document their adventurous
experiences jumping freight trains along the Burlington Highline route.
Saturday April 22, 4 p.m.
In “Stutter,” a father with a debilitating speech impediment is determined to make his son
proud and mend their strained relationship when he’s asked to speak in front of
the teen’s class on Career Day.
Despite the
anger of his competitors, a street vendor in China takes inspiration from the
King of Pop to connect with his young daughter in the sweet “Pancake Jackson.”
The
Taiwanese drama “Dots”
follows a teenage girl with fading vision who goes to great lengths
to help her mother see the world through her eyes.
A young girl
must adjust to life with her father when he returns from combat a changed man
in the powerful Australian drama “The
Ravens.” Cinematographer John Brawley’s 35mm photography is
absolutely gorgeous.
Saturday April 22, 8 p.m.
“Molasses
& Lemon” features testimonials from people doing their best to
describe the sensation of falling both in and out of love.
In the
somber “The
Promise,” a young boy is faced with some difficult decisions when
his parents leave him on his own while they go off in search of work.
After being
named the Most Average Israeli by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics, a
man’s life takes a most abnormal turn in the hilarious “An Average Story.“
Director and
choreographer Ben Hartley’s “Early
Mourning” is a tender and sensual exploration of death and loss told
through dance.
Short and
sweet, “All the
World’s a Stage” features cleverly stylized animation by director
Hannes Rall as he illustrates the famous monologue from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”
Check back on Friday for additional film coverage, including a review of “Gifted,”
starring Chris Evans, Jenny Slate, and Octavia Spencer.
This article appears in Apr 12-18, 2017.
