The 2005 Slamdance Film Festival (Jan. 21-28, 2005 in Park City, Utah) announced its lineup of short films, including a new animation jury competition and a short filmmaking challenge.
Nearly five dozen short films will screen during the week-long festival in several categories. Short films will screen in special Blocks in the Gallery section: these free screenings will be in competition for the Spirit of Slamdance Audience Award. Short films screening before narrative and documentary features, as well as animated shorts, will be competing in individual Grand Jury competitions.
Also free to the public are the Anarchy-online screenings at the festivals headquarters, the Treasure Mountain Inn on Main Street in Park City. These films have been competing year-round on www.slamdance.com and now the nine monthly winners are in competition with each other for the Global Anarchy Award.
Additionally, the festival announced the return of the highly popular $99 Specials -- three filmmakers are given $99 to create a five-minute and under short film experiment, and to supply an often-suspect budget report. The films are made prior to the festival and screened in public for the first time at the festival.
Below is a list of all the animated films screening at the event.
COMPETITION ANIMATED SHORTS* DAYS THAT WERE FILLED WITH SENSE BY FEAR -- László Csáki (Hungary)Created in the spirit of film noir, this is the story of a classic love triangle, between the ultra-rich mafioso, Mr. Butter, his beautiful wife, Olga, and his servant or his right hand, Pedro. Their surreal adventures end in a car-crash, and the lovers are taken back to Mr. Butters villa where they are both punished, in a special way...
* EGG -- Benh Zeitlin (U.S.)A microscopic tale of epic tragedy. One pea-sized pirates quest to slay his golden nemesis three carnivorous baby birds. A surrealistic interpretation of Herman Melvilles MOBY DICK.
* PATRICIA GREY -- Anne Koizumi (Canada)A dark animated short about a woman who is interrogated for the death of her daughter.
* SHEOL -- Rubén Möller (Canada)Hebrew word for cave, Sheol is the place under the earth where departedspirits are believed to go.
* STILL I REMAIN (A FISH OUT OF WATER) -- Tom Gibbons (U.S. -- World premiere)Feels like a fish slipped through my hands, never really liked fish anyway, still I remain, along with you. A glimpse of a recurring relationship.
* THE GUILT TRIP ORTHE VATICANS TAKE A HOLIDAY -- Lisa Barcy (U.S.)In a dilapidated church, icons of Catholicism run amok, Jesus and Mary Magdalene steal away for a road trip, and the Pope tends his restless herd with an iron fist. Told with stop-motion animation, THE GUILT TRIP examines the notion that you can always leave, but you never really escape.
GALLERY SHORTS:* MAGDA -- Chel White (Canada)* DAMBO (stop-motion) -- Teruhito Noji & Yosuke Takeuchi (Japan)
ANARCHY SHORTS:* CLAUDE: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR (stop-motion) -- Matthew Gray Gubler (U.S.)* THE COIL -- Dimitrios Pouliotis (Australia)* ELEGY -- Nadine Takvorian (U.S.)* FOOD FOR THOUGHT -- Richard Turke (U.S.)* MILTON IS A SHITBAG -- Courtney Davis (U.S.)
MIDNIGHT SCREENING SHORT:* THE CARPENTER AND HIS CLUMSY WIFE -- Peter Foott (Ireland)
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
