Michael Tully presents "The Best Short Films of the 21st Century" @ Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series - FREE! February 18, 2008
376 9th St
Brooklyn, New York 11215
Brooklyn, New York 11215
FIRST & THIRD MONDAY of Every Month @ 7pm FREE !
Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series
Barbes - 376 9th St (at Sixth Ave)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
subway: F to Seventh Ave
www.brooklynindependent.com
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18 @ 7pm
* Guest Curated by Michael Tully *
All Shorts Program
Michael Tully Presents
The Best Short Films of the 21st Century
I'LL SCRATCH YOURS
Directed by Danette Jackson
5 min
I figured I should open the evening with The Best Short Film of the 20th Century. I'll Scratch Yours was made by a forty-something female ex-postal worker who attended the North Carolina School of the Arts as an undergraduate in the late 1990s (or at least that's how it was explained to me). As for the film itself, it's like nothing you've ever seen before. Take a black porno. Now remove the porno. Now remove the black. That's I'll Scratch Yours. This film changed my life forever.
BY MODERN MEASURE
Directed by Matthew Lessner
6 min - 2006 - USA - French w/ English Subtitles - B&W
My favorite short film of 2007, Matthew Lessner's By Modern Measure is a masterfully executed gem, which uses beautifully grainy black-and-white film and French New Wave techniques to comment on just how difficult it is to make an honest romantic connection in our commercialized and corny modern world. But there's a sincerity and gravity to the work that makes it more just mere satire and elevates it to greatness. This, my friends, is what short films should be.
WEEKEND
Directed by Henrik Andersson
32 min - 2006 - Sweden - Swedish w/ English Subtitles - Color
There has never been a more apt occasion to use the word b-i-z-a-r-r-e than when describing Henrik Andersson’s hilarious and oddly terrifying Weekend, which concerns a seemingly innocent weekend in a cabin for two Swedish couples that is turned upside down by… well, I’m not sure what exactly. To say anything more would be to ruin the surprise. Imagine if 1970s-era Wes Craven directed a Mentos commercial and that doesn’t even begin to capture the insanity that is Weekend.
A CATALOG OF ANTICIPATIONS
Directed by David Lowery
12 min - 2007 - USA - English - Color
From one of the sharpest writing minds in the independent film world comes a strikingly gorgeous triptych that takes my breath away every time I watch it. In three segments, David Lowery blends fantasy, reality, and the avant-garde to create something that surpasses labels and categories and strikes a deeper, more universal human chord. Separately, these works are striking. Together, they're downright transcendent.
WE'RE GOING TO THE ZOO
Directed by Josh Safdie
15 min - 2006 - USA - English - Color
With the help of some friends (Samuel Lisenco, Brett Jutkiewicz, Dan Samiljan), writer/director Josh Safdie has begun to establish an incredibly distinct cinematic voice. We're Going to the Zoo is a minor miracle, a short film that is whimsical, comical, poignant, and unexpectedly moving. It's a rare treat to see something that so perfectly reflects an artist's approach to life, and this striking short does just that. I worry about the poor, unfortunate soul who isn't completely swept away by We're Going to the Zoo. I'm sure you will be.
FOXY AND THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD
Directed by David Zellner
9 min - 2005 - USA - English - Color
Epic stupidity. Slapstick profundity. The Zellner Brothers are not easily classifiable, and while I'm a fan of everything they do, this short remains my favorite. For one, I simply can't conceive of two human beings sitting down and coming up with an idea like this, and then executing it to such perfection. Foxy and the Weight of the World has no cinematic precedent. Or if it does, I haven't seen it yet.
THE INTERVENTION
Directed by Jay Duplass
15 min - 2005 - USA - English - Color
It's hard for me not to refer to The Intervention as My Favorite Short Film Ever, and for these purposes, I will stick with that grand, lofty statement. When I first saw this film a few years ago, I had simultaneous pangs of exhilaration and jealousy, for I felt like someone had literally reached into my brain and pulled off something I had always wanted to do. As with my favorite filmmaking, The Intervention feels realer than real life, presenting a situation that is awkward, uncomfortable, hilarious and dramatic at the exact same time. How do these guys do it?
FIRST & THIRD MONDAY of Every Month @ 7pm FREE !
Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series
Barbes - 376 9th St (at Sixth Ave)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
subway: F to Seventh Ave
Official Website: http://brooklynindependent.com
Added by pbnoj productions on February 15, 2008