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| The memorable DAWG by Shelley Thompson tells the story of a busker who learns to deal with grief. |
Was it gluttony or a sense of responsibility that compelled
me to attend seven days-worth–or 44 short films– of the 2015 Nickel Independent
Film Festival? Perhaps I just got
caught up in the air of jubilation around this year's events that celebrated 15
years of the little film festival that grew. This year's offerings had a whopping 50% Newfoundland and
Labrador content and also featured a healthy dose of films from mainland Canada
plus a sprinkling from abroad (USA, UK, Hungary). The Nickel also exchanges films with a sister festival in
Kerry, Ireland.
Seeing so many short films in a concentrated series made me
speculate about the genre's characteristics and how they are used. The briefest films were about five
minutes and the longest were a leisurely 28. Several weighed in at around ten or 13 minutes and that's
when it hits you what a lean and muscular art form the short film is. These are in essence short stories with
characters to introduce, plots to navigate, atmospheres to create and messages
to deliver. The Nickel's strength
has always been showcasing emerging talent and the number of first time
filmmakers who had never been to film school was striking.
And that is why programs like Picture Start, a partnership
between Telefilm Canada and NIFCO, and First Time Filmmakers (NIFCO) are so
important.
This year the mentorship and collaboration of skills
provided by the First Time program seemed to really pay off. The light and funny Serenity Plow by Liam Small, based on real life events was one
example. But Catherine
Adelaide by Andrew Tremblett was a real
standout. His characters had
depth, the narrative had shading and Tremblett took risks with certain
scenes–not to mention that it was shot during Dark NL, our infamous power outage.
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| Examinations of Conscience by Andrew Harvey and James Harvey looks at how we rationalize our actions. |
I doubt it was intended but I was really struck by the
element of surprise that characterized a majority of the short films. Whether it was Examination of
Conscience with its bar booth confessional
that torqued on the supposition that you could be a good Catholic but a bad
person or Mr. Invisible where
(spoiler alert) the mild mannered senior citizen turns out to be a hit man with
explosives in his bundle buggy.
Expectations upended were the order of the festival.
This was evident in other ways too. The dark, primal tale told in the
Hungarian film Ol was an instance where
you found yourself laughing and then questioning whether that was the
appropriate response. The feeling
only deepens with the climax of the film.
It was like children's rhymes where the pox is cheerfully sung about or
the Grimm's fairy tales. Flankers also had the same universal feel where you are at
one instant admiring the sea and being filled with dread in the next
heartbeat. Stories of feuding men
and beasts are timeless and rarely end well.
Coping with tragedy and uncertainty was a contrasting
sub-theme of several of the shorts.
Humour that verged on the deliciously absurd popped up in at least two
of the francophone films, while music, dance and dogs were featured in films
from a variety of locations. The
point is that these films found their way to happy endings rather than more raw
conclusions.
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| Whether on panels or informally in corridors, talking to the filmmakers is a highlight for me at the Nickel. (left to right) Archaeologist turned filmmaker Latonia Hartery (Sadie), Liam Small (Serenity Plow), and Andrew Tremblett (Catherine Adelaide) during a filmmakers panel hosted by Michael Hickey. |
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