Saturday, June 23, 4:00 p.m. Roxie
- Would You Look at Her (short film) (Види Ја Ти Неа) (Vidi Ya Ti Nea), dir. Goran Stolevski (Горан Столевски), 2017 Macedonia, 19 minutes, in Macedonian with English subtitles, WEST COAST PREMIERE 👏
- Devi / Goddess (देवी) (দেবী), dir. Karishma Dube, 2017 India, 13 minutes, in English, Bengali, and Hindi with English subtitles, BAY AREA PREMIERE 👏
- Tooth and Nail, dir. Sara Shaw, 2017 USA, 20 minutes 👏
- Concern for Welfare, dir. Fadia Abboud, 2018 Australia, 12 minutes, in English and Levantine Arabic with subtitles, NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE ❓
- The Inherent Traits of Connor James, dir. Ally Pankiw, 2017 Canada, 14 minutes, U.S. PREMIERE 👏
Would You Look at Her (short film) (Види Ја Ти Неа) (Vidi Ya Ti Nea)
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| Would You Look at Her Види Ја Ти Неа |
Anyeta (Анета) (Sara Klimovska/Сара Климовска), a high school tomboy, is harassed by her male classmates on the school bus, and in a scuffle her phone is destroyed. But there is a traditional yearly religious ritual whose material-world prizes are the answer to her prayers, if only she can persuade the priest and the local boys to let her compete. Anyeta is the embodiment of defiant disregard for misogynistic patriarchal traditions, standing up for herself while counting the days until she can go off to university. The bullying is a bit difficult to watch in a couple of scenes, especially since it’s quite clearly an everyday ordeal, but Anyeta is a force to be reckoned with and so she perseveres, lifting what could have been a bleak tale of forlorn resignation into a place of indomitable hope. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • WEST COAST PREMIERE
Devi / Goddess (देवी) (দেবী)
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| Devi / Goddess (देवी) (দেবী) |
Devi, Devi Crockett, king of the wild … No, wrong context entirely, but that does give a pretty good guide to the pronunciation of the name. The main characters are Tara, a young woman; Lata, Tara’s mother; and Devi (meaning goddess), Tara’s childhood nursemaid, still employed with the family. Tara gets into a fight, clearly not for the first time, in which men are shouting things like, “Suck on this, you dyke cunt!”
Tara argues to her mother that it’s not her fault and takes solace in Devi’s embrace, but she remains on a collision course with her mother, who is concerned with keeping up appearances. The issue of social class interweaves with homophobia in a uniquely Indian fashion, but, while non-Indian audiences doubtless miss a few of the detailed nuances, the general themes are universal. Well done, highly recommended.
Tara argues to her mother that it’s not her fault and takes solace in Devi’s embrace, but she remains on a collision course with her mother, who is concerned with keeping up appearances. The issue of social class interweaves with homophobia in a uniquely Indian fashion, but, while non-Indian audiences doubtless miss a few of the detailed nuances, the general themes are universal. Well done, highly recommended.
(Note to hearing impaired audiences: substantial portions of the dialogue are in English, without subtitles.)
• IMDb • Facebook: @Devi.Goddess.ShortFilm • BAY AREA PREMIERE
Tooth and Nail
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| Tooth and Nail |
Kate is out for a day at the mall with her terminally ill brother Matt. As they are getting pedicures, she asks him if she can use his stored sperm from the sperm bank to, at some future point, impregnate her partner, so that she can have a child who is biologically related to both of his or her mommies. He agrees, but with a condition: she has to come out at the family dinner that night. It’s Nanna’s birthday, and she also has decided to try Matt’s medical marijuana to see if it will help with her arthritis. Add to that some tension because the family straddles the political schism that is our so-called President, and the coming out scene is a bit unpredictable. Deftly written with fine performances, highly recommended.
• IMDb • official website & trailer •
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| Concern for Welfare |
(this short film was not available for advance review)
• IMDb • Frameline program • SBS.com.au on demand (pay site) • NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE
The Inherent Traits of Connor James • U.S. PREMIERE
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| The Inherent Traits of Connor James |
Lea and Court Matheson, a happily married lesbian couple with a toddler in tow, return to Lea’s hometown for the funeral of her best friend Connor. The dynamics between the Mathesons and Connor’s family quickly get complicated at the wake. Well written, with skillfully formed characters, beautifully filmed. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • Facebook: @InherentTraitsOfConnorJames •
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