Short and sweet

Short film is the medium through which so many filmmakers cut their teeth in the movie-making business, and yet we have so few opportunities to see these little gems on the big screen. New Zealand in particular has a fine tradition of short films, with a number of Kiwi shorts in recent years screening and winning prizes at prestigious international film festivals while many more short films are being made around the country by amateur filmmakers every weekend.

Many of these short films would slip by largely unnoticed were it not for the annual Show Me Shorts Film Festival, a collection of the best short films that year from New Zealand and Australia. The 2009 programme is packed with 40 films split into six themed sessions: Brothers In Arms; Curious Child; Meet The Locals; Calamitous Love; Wrong Turn; and Random Encounters. The grouping of these films under a loose theme allows audiences the chance to see a range of genres, production values, locations and aesthetics within each 80-ish minute session. The result is the cinematic equivalent of tapas or yum cha – a selection of different morsels each offering you a brief taste of a story and a set of characters.

But Show Me Shorts does more than just screen short films – it also acts as a platform to support and celebrate the medium and those practicing it. Eight awards, judged by a panel of industry professionals, will be presented on opening night – including Best Film, Best Actor Best Director, and more. This year, for the first time, Show Me Shorts picks up a feature of the now sadly no longer running Wellington Fringe Film Festival, and will be running development workshops for aspiring filmmakers.

In the preview screening we were lucky to see six films from across the programme, a varied and highly entertaining selection. Highlights for me included two animated shorts. I Was The D.J. (directed by Julian Stokoe) is the story of Electric Ian, who dreams of being a world class DJ, but whose manager rivals Murray of Flight of the Conchords in incompetence. A Break In The Monotony (directed by Damien Slevin), is a short but compelling post-apocalyptic tale, with black and white sketch animation and a great twist. Melissa Kent’s documentary P.U.A. is a fascinating insight into the secretive world of Pick Up Artists, a community of men who devote much time to studying and discussing the best techniques to pick up women – techniques which incidentally, as one participant mentions, can also help improve your martial arts.

Head along to a Show Me Shorts session and you’ll get a taste of the best emerging filmmaking talent from here in New Zealand and across the ditch and great value entertainment – seven films for the price of one!

Show Me Shorts screens in Auckland (5-11 November); Matakana (5-11 November); Wellington (12-18 November); Christchurch (12-18 November); Dunedin (12-18 November); Motueka (19-25 November); Papakura (19-25 November); Arrowtown (19-25 November) and Whitianga (7-13 January). More details including films and venues are available on the Show Me Shorts Website: www.showmeshorts.co.nz

Image above: Take3 by Roseanne Liang, 2008.

- Rosie Hole 11 October 2009