We all know April showers bring May
flowers, but do you know what May flowers bring? No, not Pilgrims. In these
parts, Shakespeare’s darling buds of May herald the unspooling of the Rochester
International Film Festival, better known as Movies on a Shoestring.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย I
always assumed the “shoestring” referred to the budgets of the films that
comprise the festival, but it actually refers to the width — or lack thereof
— of the 8mm film stock used by most filmmakers at the dawn of the festival.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Now
in its 46th year, the world’s longest-running film festival for shorts received
137 submissions in five categories — animation, comedy, drama, documentary,
and experimental — from all over the world. Thirty-seven made the cut and
will screen in the 2004 installment. I was lucky enough to see a number of this
year’s selections and can give you a few of the highlights.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย On
the homefront, Bracia, a touching local entry from John C. Brookins, Matt
Rosen, and Steve Edell, tells of heartbreaking sacrifice as two brothers
attempt to make their way out of Poland’s Lodz ghetto in 1944. In One
by Two, a computer-animated short by Hardeep Kharbanda and Suruchi
Pahwa, a bored little creature finds that ennui may be preferable to the
company of others.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Mark
Levy’s 800-Can Man was shot in and around Rochester and follows a man
as he rounds up empties with a singular purpose in mind. Incidentally, does
anyone besides me get distracted from the story while watching a locally shot
film (i.e., “Where’s that bus stop supposed to be?” or “Hey, I know that brick
wall!”)? I’m just wondering.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The
film with perhaps the best pedigree is the beautifully shot Stuff
that Bear!, directed by a Coppola (Bruno) and written by a Vonnegut
(Laureen). It’s set in Bucharest and tracks a reticent taxidermist, his conman
brother, and a troubled stripper during a get-rich-quick scheme designed to get
them out of the country.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Other
highlights include the acting in Chris Trebilcock’s Autobiography of an Insect,
about a comic-book artist whose latest project parallels his real life; Handjob,
a documentary by Hafeez M. Saheed in which we learn there’s a place in New
Jersey with 43 nail salons in a 5.3-mile stretch; and Beatbox Philly, by Warren
Bass and Lynn Goldberg, a great-looking live-action/animated piece that will no
doubt serve to lure cool people to the City of Brotherly Love.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย People
are always surprised when I profess my love for the Western, and I really dug
Aaron Brookner’s The Black Cowboys. It’s a documentary about a group of
African-American men and women who are doing their part to preserve the history
and uphold the legacy of the black cowboy in New York City.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย In
Their Absence, a quiet and gorgeous piece by Tina Cesa Ward, is set at
the end of World War II. It posits the ultimate good news/bad news scenario as
a woman arrives at a dancehall to deliver some information to her lover. And
the clever How to Eat a Banana, a silent short directed by and starring
Mary Szmagaj, is about just that, perverts.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย I
was reminded of two of my favorite people as I watched what would be two of my
favorite entries. Jill, by Xavier Janghoon Lee, shares a name with my sister as
well as a few of her traits — both are short, creepy, and slightly
incomprehensible. This latest addition to the
body-parts-with-minds-of-their-own genre focuses on an excessively doting
father and his fair-haired cherub, bringing attention to the hopefully
exaggerated pitfalls of organ donation.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The
festival closer, Seth Henrikson’s lovely Zamboni Man, could have been about
my own ice-cutting brother-in-law (Jill’s husband, for those working on my
genealogy) if he were a loner who had to shave more than once a week. It
features a score by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and tells the story of Walt, a put-upon
Zamboni operator with a soft spot for a figure skater named Tyler. The
shameless and heart-tugging twist at the end was designed for suckers like me,
and I would write more about it but my notes got splotched by somebody’s tears.
The
Rochester International Film Festival will screen at the Dryden Theatre, in
The George Eastman House, 900 East Avenue, on Thursday, May 6, at 8 p.m.;
Friday, May 7, at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, May 8, at 4 and 8 p.m. Donations are
encouraged. A complete list can be found at www.rochesterfilmfest.org. And if
you’re not all shorted out after this weekend, watch for a program of 2003’s
Oscar-winning short film and its four co-nominees, opening Friday, May 14, at
the Little Theatre.
This article appears in May 5-11, 2004.
