There were five films at the first evening of the 2012 Witney Film Festival.
The venue was the incongruously-named Fat Lil’s. This is a place I’ve been to many times, to watch/listen to bands (and have even appeared on-stage in, once or twice).
First on-screen was the Spanish mixed-media production Decapoda Shock by Javier Chillon.
From the outset, there was something vaguely familiar about this part real-action, part animation. It took a little while to sink in that, many years ago, I had read a SciFi short-story that contained a broadly similar, transformation-based, theme. Fine. No big deal.
The production values of Decapoda Shock were above average. Intentional or not, there were a couple of chuckles but, for me, the most stunning aspect of the presentation was the beautiful narration.
Decapoda Shock can’t have been an easy film to put together. The blend of animation and real-action worked well, the acting was above average and both the editing and the audio were superb.
Here’s a trailer:
The second film of the night was a cautionary dating tale ROFLMAO by Dublin-based Simon O’Neill.
Despite the acronymically-resplendent title, this film contained no overly-prominent internet dating or SMS-based plot-devices, for which I was thankful.
Cautionary in its tail(!), the sting is cleverer than the majority of the film.
At times stilted (or perhaps it was just the way the dialogue edited down), the interaction between the characters seemed to edge towards being periodically disjointed. However the writer displayed vision and originality throughout, and his cast delivered three solid performances.
I enjoyed ROFLMAO for the film it could have been, rather than for the film it was. Unfortunately I can’t find an excerpt to share with you.
The third film was the animated A Morning Stroll by Grant Orchard.
This deserved BAFTA-winning short takes a look at the same event in three timelines.
The soundtrack effortlessly matches the visual production and this viewer’s interpretation of the film can best be summed up as ‘classy’, ‘witty’, ‘amusing’ and also…. Zombies!
Well, only one zombie but that’s still better than none, right? Have a look at this mashed-up excerpt:
The fourth short film of the evening was Ella by Dan Gitsham.
This psychological drama screams quality from start to finish.
Ella is a finely-balanced production that delivers a skilfully-constructed modern-day shocker, through the skills of some fine acting by Anthony Head, and the obvious support of an above-average production team.
Ella is not quite world class, but it is certainly the best film in its genre that I’ve seen in recent years. It promises much greatness for the future.
ELLA (Teaser) from Sketchbook Pictures on Vimeo.
Fifth was the prophetically-titled Saw Misgivings by David Lilley.
If you lived in a world where the low-stated, every-day comedy of Terry and June (ask your parents, kids) blended seamlessly with Saw (ask your kids, parents), you would have Saw Misgivings.
Funny, clever, intelligent; this well-written, nicely-acted shocker has something for all the family (if the family is over 18).
Maybe the lighting let the production down a smidge, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film. And enjoyed myself enjoying it (if you see what I mean).
Saw Misgivings – Short Film Trailer from David Lilley on Vimeo.
The evening concluded with Love Is In The Air by Werther Germondari and Maria Laura Spagnoli.
This Italian humoresque brings more than one meaning to the word ‘inflatables’. I shall also never hear the phrase ‘puncture repair kit’ in quite the same way. Ever.
Also, there are some things that a mother should never do for her son. Really.
Starting from a surreal place and getting more surreal by the minute, Love Is In The Air still manages to bring chuckles as it progresses. The concluding scene, a big outdoor cliff-water-boat scene was beautifully filmed, and caused more chuckles. Unfortunately I can’t find a clip to bring you.