LIFE IS SHORT AT THE 13TH FIKE INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL - 9 THROUGH 13 June 2015 in Evora, Portugal

The motto of the FIKE International Short Film Festival is “Life is Short”, and the five day festival did seem to literally fly by. FIKE is a showcase for short live action, animation, and documentary films. I seldom have the opportunity to see short live action films and so it is a special treat for me. Watching films coupled with the warm hospitality of festival director Joao Paulo Macedo made it five perfect days for me.

The highlight of the animated films was Fuligem (Soot) from Portuguese animators David Doutel and Vasco Sa. The beautifully animated fourteen minute film is the story of two young brothers as remembered by one brother on his trip back to the abandoned railway station where the boys used to play. The story is also a sad reminder of the numerous railroad stations that have actually closed in Portugal, leaving remote small towns isolated. The beautifully animated film has already garnered several major awards including the Grande Prémio CINANIMA 2014 at the Cinamina International Animation Festival in Espinho, Portugal last fall. The win was a double victory because Fuligem was the first Portuguese film to win the top International prize at the festival and that win qualified it for the Academy Awards. At FIKE, Fuligem walked away with three awards: Best Portuguese Short Film, the Regional Directorate of Culture Award, and Best Animation.

David and Vasco are just as nice as their film. I had met them at Cinamina so it was great fun getting to know them better. They told me that they are working on a new film, Augure, which will also be in 2D traditional animation. The story involves two cousins, a white bull, and an ethical dilemma.

Fuligem’s producer Rodrigo Areies told me that his production company, Bando A Parte, produces live action and documentary films as well as animation - not only in digital form but also on 35mm and 16mm film. Areies believes, as I do, that no matter what technical advances are made a movie still looks best on film. He produced Double Play, a documentary portrait of the friendship between filmmakers James Benning and Richard Linklater as well as working with such other renowned film directors as Peter Greenaway.

In the live action category February from Russian director Ruslan Magmadov totally captivated me. Based on a true story of the Soviet deportation of an entire village in Chechnya in February, 1944 the film is a chilling reminder that the harsh rule of the Stalin regime touched even the most remote Russian villages. February is the story of two poor brothers hunting a wolf that kills one of their sheep. While the brothers are out hunting the wolf they unknowingly evade the deportation of their village. They return home to find death and destruction everywhere in their town. The film is visually beautiful, heightening the horror of events portrayed on screen. It garnered the Best Fiction Film Award as well as a Special Mention for Best Cinematography at the festival.

The opening night film Vista Ou Memorias e Confissoes (Visit to Memories and Confessions) by renowned Portuguese director and screen writer Manoel de Oliveira was a special tribute to the director who passed away in April 2015 at the age of 106. De Oliveira first began making films in 1927 when he and a group of friends tried to make an epic about World War I. His 80 year career explored themes of desire, fear, guilt, and love, and his work was suppressed by the repressive Salazar regime. It was only in the 1980’s with eight feature films and six shorts to his credit that he began to gain international recognition and awards. In 1985 and again in 2004 he was awarded an honorary Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in recognition of his body of work.

Manoel de Oliveira directed Visita Ou Memorias in 1982 and left instructions that the film should not be screened until after his death because the autobiographical film about his life and home is intensely intimate and honest. He states in the film “A house, it’s an intimate, personal relationship, roots”. The film was stored at the Portuguese Cinematheque headquarters until May, 2015, when it was finally premiered in Porto, Portugal, his birthplace.

A large audience came to the opening night at the university theater specifically to see this film, but unfortunately, a few minutes into the screening, the projector in the University of Evora auditorium malfunctioned. There was a screening of the entire film the next day in the theatre where the festival presents regular screenings for the community but unfortunately it was a much smaller audience.

Nik, Rastko Ciric and his partner Selena Stankovic gave a three day workshop titled All Together Now. Rastko and Selena worked with a group of students from the university to create the images for the 2016 FIKE trailer while Nik and his students provided the music. The festival was held this year during the university’s exam period, and there were not as many students as the project needed, so Rastko, Selena, and Nik had to put in long hours themselves to have the trailer ready for the closing night ceremony. Much to our disappointment and after all that work, it didn’t get screened.

Our old friend Rastko is not only a brilliant animator and illustrator but a true Renaissance man. He also writes and plays music. As a life-long Beatles fan and a co-creator of the Rubber Soul Project. The project is a conceptual multi-media art project consisting of music, books, a feature movie, animated and live action clips and graphic design. The Rubber Soul Project “reconstructs” unheard and unpublished Beatles songs using instruments and equipment from the ‘60’s. The first imaginary Beatles album was published in Belgrade in 1996 and in 2004 the feature documentary was made about the project.

Nik and I knew that another imaginary Beatles album was in the works because some time ago Rastko had asked Nik to play on some of its tracks. At FIKE Rastko presented us with the beautiful new boxed edition which comes complete with two CD’s, the movie, a novella Rubber Soul written by project co-creator Goran Skrobonja and a book about the Rubber Soul Project titled The Rubber Soul Project Journey. I have listened to the first DVD and watched the movie many times since Rastko gave them to us several years ago and I still enjoy them. The new boxed set is a real treasure. You can learn more about The Robber Soul Project at: www.therubbersoulproject.com

Nik and Rastko love to play together and a concert was planned for closing night at the festival café. Unfortunately the amplifier for Rastko’s voice and guitar never showed up so it was impossible for them to perform. It was a big disappointment because there was a crowd waiting to hear them and they really wanted to perform. Nik ended up giving a solo concert of jazz songs and standards in the end, so they were all happy to get to hear him at least.

Evora is the capitol of the Alentejo region and one of Portugal’s most beautifully preserved medieval towns. The UNESCO World Heritage site has portions of the original city wall dating from 57 BC, Roman bath runes, and a temple dedicated to Diana which sits on top of the highest point of the city. In 715 the city was conquered by the Moors and there is still a Moorish Quarter.

Under the 12^th century rule of King Afonso 1 the court lived in Evora for long periods at a time and many royal weddings were held there. Remnants of the Royal Palace of Evora built by King Manuel are still visible in the city. It is recorded in antique chronicles as the place where Vasco de Gama was given the command of the fleet of ships that he would lead to discover India.

The Chapel of Bones is one of the most macabre and fascinating places that I have ever visited. The remains of nearly 5,000 skeletons cover the interior walls of the chapel. The bodies were originally buried in the square in front of the Church of St. Francis but with a lack of burial space in the square the Franciscan monks dug up the skeletons in the 17^th Century. They covered the interior of the chapel bone by bone. There are even several complete skeletons on the walls. The chapel was used by monks as a retreat and for contemplation. It’s worth a visit to Evora to visit the chapel if for no other reason.

On Saturday, the festival guests were taken to visit the Almendres Stones located on a hillside 15 kilometers from the city. The ninety-six standing stones, arranged in an oval, date from 5000 to 4000 B.C. making them older than Stonehenge by 2 Millennia. The exact purpose of the site is not known but it is theorized that it was used for astral observations and sacred rituals because several of the massive stones are engraved with designs.

The Alentejo region is known for its excellent food and wine. The best food is in the small family run restaurants. Our host Joao Paulo was born and raised in this region so he knows all of the best places to eat and once again this year he planned meals for the guests that were gastronomic delights that often involved drives into the country side to places he has eaten at with his family since he was a boy.

The area is known as the bread basket of Portugal, produces one half of the country’s wine, and is the largest producer of cork in the world. The meat from black pigs which are very large, black and feed on acorns on open ranges is unique. The delicate flavor is unlike any other pork I have ever tastes and comprises the base of many local dishes. Portuguese black pig haunches are shipped to Spain where they are smoked to create the famous hams which are prized all over the world. The area also produces a ewes milk cheese with a very distinctive taste and texture.

The most important products of the area are olive oil and wine. There are over 400 wineries in the region. We were taken wine tasting and I can personally attest to the excellent quality of the red wines which have a rich, full bodied tannin flavor and are very deep red in color.

All too soon it was time for the closing ceremony at the beautiful Garcia de Resende Theatre near the city center, which was named for this renowned poet who was born in Evora in 1482. The interior is a jewel box setting in the Italian style. The first order of business was the announcement of the jury’s decisions. The International jury was comprised of Portuguese actress Adelaide Texixeira, who has worked with such renowned directors as Manoel de Oliveira; Italian Carlo Dessi, artistic director of the Sardinian Film Festival; and Nik. The Documentary jury was Luccio Maura, director of the Atelier de Artista, Joanna Vasconcelos; journalist Sergio Gomes and Bruno Goncalvces of Ricochete Films in Lisbon. A complete list of the jury results is at the end of the article.

The finale of the closing ceremony was a concert by the Banda Euterpe which was formed in Portalegre, a neighboring town near the Spanish boarder, in 1866. The band, ranging in age from 12 to 72 years old, played familiar movie themes while clips from the films were shown on the screen behind them. They led off with Ennio Morricone’s iconic theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and they sounded fine but after a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd, they began to play The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly again. I was afraid that they were going to encore their entire performance. Thankfully they did not.

The closing party was at the festival bar and even though Rastko and Nik weren’t able to perform together, David Doutel, Vasco Se, and their producer Rodrigo Areias were in such high spirits after Fuligem received three awards that the party went on all night which was very good, because Nik and I had to leave for the airport in Lisbon at 6 the next morning to fly to the Annecy International Film Festival and our next adventure.

Unfortunately I felt that the overall quality of the films was not as high as at last year’s festival. FIKE director Joao Paulo Macedo told me that for this edition the festival had only received 525 submissions as opposed to the 1,000 to 1,500 in past years. He also said that the festival had to move to June this year due to the requirements of a major grant. The money had to be used by the end of June when the funding period ended. Joao Paulo felt that moving the festive to June from October meant that the film selection period had to be February through April, a time when directors are either finishing up their films or saving them for a possible premier at Annecy, Cannes, and other major festivals.

This year the festival also had a very limited budget compared to previous years and some key people in the festival organization dropped out at the last minute. Despite all of these problems I had a wonderful time, and I have been assured that the festival will return to its regular October schedule in 2016, which will give Joao Paulo and his staff ample time to recruit films.

The entire festival crew was warm and welcoming. I have to give a special mention to Jose Pedro Macedo, Joao Paulo’s brother, who was a tireless festival driver and all around do-it-all great guy. I owe a special thank you to Luis Rama who was my personal driver for the second year in a row. He shared his vast knowledge of Evora and the surrounding regions with me which really enriched my stay. One of the most indispensable people at the festival was Vítor Castro, who co-directed the event, edited this years’ trailer and could solve any problem. He is also a very kind man who found time to do personal favors and answer questions while he did three things at once. There are not enough words to thank festival director and perfect host Joao Paulo for inviting me to be part of his festival again this year and I look forward to another visit to FIKE soon.