FEATURE FIEND: NYIIFVF SHORT PROGRAM

Flix Fiend was invited to attend the 2010 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for its short film program, which featured a diverse grouping of flicks ranging from sci-fi to revenge to art-house. The filmmakers spanned from brand-spanking new to vets, but for the most part, it was hard to gage who was who without a guide. A few of the movies weren't all together professional or just not to my liking, but the ones I did like went from good to very good. I'll talk about those and one that, apparently, the crowd was waiting for.

First off, as an appetizer, I liked Denial. It was the first movie on the slate that had a professional quality to it. The story revolved around an unstable man who suspects his girlfriend is cheating on him with his best friend, and his confrontation with his friend during a chess match in a park. I think the music really drove this one, and a solid performance by the lead as the desperate and overdrawn boyfriend helped make for a good little flick.

The real meat and potatoes of the program, though, were The Turing Love Affair and Takeo. Both of these left me wanting for bigger treatments of the material, even though both did their jobs superbly at their current running times. They were just so good, I wasn't ready for them to end. That's good film making!

The Turing Love Affair is a sci-fi/romance/mystery about a beautiful cyborg stewardess who is accused of killing a famous composer aboard a space station. That's ambitious onto itself, but like a master pastry chef, writer/director Natasha Kermani added so many layers to that cake that the end result turned into a sweet treat that really stuck with me. Beyond Kermani's obvious talent, you can tell that everyone involved in the film was passionate about this project. The set and wardrobe design, music, cinematography, and acting were all excellent leading to a product that was polished and satisfying. It's rare to see a short where you're wowed by all of these factors. The space station is also very well designed, and the shots of it are equally impressive and worthy of being in a major summer blockbuster. However, it's the acting, character design, and overall relationships that Kermani establishes that are the glue that holds all of it together. The humans here are incredibly flawed, and it's their juxtaposition to this setting and, in particular, to the cyborg Charlotte CA110 that make for an interesting and engrossing story. I was impressed enough that this movie received my vote for best in the program.

Just behind it was Takeo, though, a revenge movie with a couple of twists that I rather not ruin for you. It starts with a man who arrives at a remote home in search for help after his car supposedly breaks down. Of course, this stranger is much more than that, and the family is in trouble. I really don't want to say more than that. What I can say is that this is one well-made film with an intensity that was both uncomfortable and real. The acting was superb which only heightened the intensity. Very stirring film making here.

Finally we have Crumble. I'll be honest, I know nothing about the folks behind the last film of the set, but it seemed that most in the audience did, and the folks from the festival played it as a big deal. That both had me interested and raised red flags. The latter proved to be true for me as "the draw" of the set really wasn't for me. I could say more, but I won't.

As for the whole experience, first, as an impartial guest of The Turing Love Affair, I thank these folks for making me feel welcome and one of the crew. They were very gracious hosts with whom I had some great conversations afterwards. The theatre did a bad job, though, of putting up the event. The screening was very late, and the lobby was insanely hot, the last thing you want on one of the warmest days of the year! At one point, the FDNY showed up and I joked "...no wonder it's so hot, the f'n place is burning down!" As for the Festival itself, there were good and bad points. They created a nice atmosphere with a photo area and reporting, but most of the focus seemed to be on the larger films like Crumble...I guess that can be expected.

A fun night, though, with some interesting shorts and even better folks. Look for a couple of follow up interviews and pics from last night coming soon!