Today was going to be massive! Not only did we have the Dendy shorts being screened in the 750 plus theatre but we also had 3 more screenings to review later on in the evening, with two being in separate venues. Having had an awesome night on the town the night before with my beautiful girlfriends, my energy was waning. However, I decided that this was an opportunity not to be missed and made the effort to get my butt down to the George St Cinemas to prep for the Dendys.
For those of you who don't know, the Dendys are probably one of, if not the most prominent short film awards in Australia. Catapulting the careers of such filmmakers as Jane Campion, Phillip Noyce, Bob Connolly, and Gillian Armstrong, the Dendys are synonymous with achievement and success and have become a focus point for many hopefuls. This year's entrants were a varied bunch. Ranging from the highly popular animation, Nullarbor (which screened more than three times during the festival), to Andrew Kavanagh's At The Formal (the impact of which is still residing over my mind.) Out of the 10 films screened and of the 8 I got to watch, these are my ratings for them in order from best to worst, with comments on the top 3:
1. Fragments
2. The Missing Key
3. Nullarbor
4. Two Laps
5. Peekaboo
6. Cropped
7. At The Formal
8. Comfortable
It's no surprise that the top 3 on my list are all animations. Not only do I have an unrequited love for this genre, but I also believe it is the best form for short films to be made in. Adam Elliott's shorts Brother, Cousin, Uncle and Harvie Krumpet are the epitome of what I believe short films should strive to achieve - quick, immersible stories which reverberate throughout your core for years to come. There are many more examples of animations that I can attribute this success to but I shall focus on the three mentioned above for clarity.
Fragments is an apocalyptic narrative similar to Wall-E in its disuse of dialogue to tell the story of an old man in search of life amongst debris. The film was shot amazingly using (and excuse me for my lack of knowledge of animation terminology) a combination of stop-motion animation with painting which I believe was superimposed over real footage. Its been a long time since a short film has made me cry but Fragments did this well. The circular narrative worked efficiently to draw you in as soon as possible (a must-do technique for short films) and carries you throughout the remainder of the film in a way which allows you to become attached to the old man and his quest for companionship. I automatically connected with the story and I believe everyone can relate to the idea of "the search" which fuels our reason for living.
The Missing Key was not so much a short as a short feature. Set in Venice, Italy, it details the story of a wannabe composer who attempts each day to write the perfect melody for the approval of his strict lecturer. The aim? To win the coveted award given each year to the most outstanding musical piece. The Missing Key is visually gripping, with a degree of detail to the art I have not seen since The Cat Piano in 2009. As well as this, the film uses a number of inter-textual references which adds another meaning to the narrative. I believe it is important for shorts to do this because they act as signifiers for the audience to connect with and lessens the time required to explain narrative elements. I enjoyed the ending of the film, though expected, because of its beautiful climax which was timed extremely well and finished, like an orchestral flourish, with gusto and passion. The character of the cat was also a touching addition.
Finally, Nullarbor would be my third choice in the lineup however I'm not going to write about it again only to comment on the great reception it received. That shot yet again got everyone and it is so pleasing to hear that audible gasp rise up from everyone in the room.
Having never seen the Dendy's before, I was pleased to see the wide variety the festival employed in their selection. I believe it could have been topped off by an inclusion of Nash Edgerton's Bear but maybe another time. Read on for my thoughts on Saturday nights proceedings.
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