Fun in Girls Shorts (2017)

Fun in Girls Shorts 2017 (shorts program), total runtime 79 min.
Saturday, June 17, 1:15pm, Castro Theatre
Sunday, June 25, 11:00am, Castro Theatre
Saturday, June 24, 12:00 noon, Piedmont Theatre (East Bay screening!)

update: all shorts in this program reviewed below; links added

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More than God, dir. Kev Cahill, 2015 Ireland, 9 min. 👍 Bay Area Premiere

More than God

Father and daughter rush through evening Catholic prayers so that daughter can go out. Later, father and daughter wind up hiding under the same bed as the awkwardly interconnected relationships get more and more difficult. I lived briefly in Ireland in the early 1990’s, and this film evokes deeply the feeling of living in a devoutly Catholic country, but there were a couple of points where the film left me saying, “Wait, what??” Recommended.

• IMDb page • trailer (vimeo) •

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Plus One, dir. Peter Knegt, 2017 Canada, 8 min. 👌 World Premiere

Plus One

Two strangers, Calvin (director Peter Knegt, pictured left) and Trish (Adrienne Mak, right), meet at the singles table at a lesbian wedding (brides by the names of Sarah and Sara) and get to chatting after Calvin finds no one on Grindr to occupy his time. Trish is avoiding several ex-girlfriends, so they take solace in one another’s company. Not bad.

• IMDb page • Twitter: @PeterKnegt (director) •

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Carol Support Group, dir. Allison Tate, 2017 USA, 8 min. 😐 World Premiere

Carol Support Group

The movie Carol, based on the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, came out in 2015, starring Cate Blanchett (as Carol) and Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as two 1950’s housewives who find themselves in a love affair that defies social norms and their husbands’ wishes. Carol Support Group is a short film about a 12-step meeting for people fanatically obsessed with the film Carol. I’m assuming that CSG is full of movie quotes and witticisms; unfortunately, if you haven’t seen Carol, the inside jokes float right by you, leaving you dissatisfied. It’s cute, but Not recommended unless you’re already a fan of the movie Carol.

• IMDb page • official website • Twitter: @CarolAddicts • Facebook: CarolAddicts •

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The Escape Hatch, dir. David Willing, 2016 Australia, 10 min. 👍 Bay Area Premiere

The Escape Hatch

The woman you see in the photo here is playing the role of “escape hatch” for a friend who is on a Tinder first date. (If the date goes badly, the friend can feign an important call from our superhero to wriggle out.) Of course, there’s more to the story than that, as the bartender slowly teases out. Unfortunately, some of the action is a little clunky, especially the “oops!” moment that brings the plot to an inflection point, but it’s still a worthwhile film. Recommended.

• IMDb page • teaser trailer (vimeo) (YouTube) • Facebook: TheEscapeHatch.Movie •

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Brown Girls, Episode 4, dir. Sam Bailey, 2017 USA, 13 min. 👏

Brown Girls

The camera work, sound, and editing in Brown Girls are solidly first rate. I mention those first because, when I hear words like “web serial” I prepare myself for less-than-stellar production values, but Brown Girls would feel right at home on big-league network tv — and indeed HBO is developing it for television! The writing and acting are also top notch, of course, making for an enjoyable 13 minutes that leaves you wanting more. Happily, if you share that sentiment after seeing Episode 4, you can see episodes 1 through 7 as one of the “Episodics” programs in the festival (Sun 6/18 9:30p Elmwood, or Tue 6/20 7:00p Roxie) or watch them for free on Vimeo (link below). Highly recommended.

• IMDb: director Sam Bailey, writer Fatimah Asghar • official website • watch the whole series on vimeo (at least until HBO puts it behind their paywall!) • episode 4 on vimeo • Facebook • Twitter: @BGWebSeries • Instagram •

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Étage X, dir. Francy Fabritz, 2016 Germany, 14 min. 💖 US Premiere

Étage X

Two middle-aged women are riding in a department store elevator when it lurches to a halt. The interactions between the two get progressively more bizarre, more sexual, and more kinky. It’s all very silly, but cute and very well done. The women’s facial expressions are fabulous, as is the little plot twist at the very end. Definitely a Must See.

• IMDb page •

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Las Rubias (The Blondes), dir. Carlota Martínez Pereda, 2016 Spain, 17 min., in Spanish with English subtitles 💖 US Premiere

Las Rubias (The Blondes)

 This short is inspired by real events, but through the lens of a sensibility very much akin to Pedro Almodóvar. Marta and Pepa are two blondes who are a little short on cash, but come up with some unusual schemes to make money.  The only thing that can get in their way is … another blonde! The phrase “madcap romp” comes to mind to describe this surreal comedy. Very well done, very funny, definitely a Must See.

* IMDb page •  trailer (vimeo) •