Blogging IFP: Short Shorts

A still from Michael Melski's "Growing Op" a film about a teenage boy stuck in suburban hell.

From 9:30 to 10:30 this morning, bits of new works from talent supported by the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund were presented at Chelsea Cinemas to members of the industry.

From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., excerpts and trailers of upcoming Canadian films were presented by Telefilm Canada in the Perspective Canada Showcase. Michelle Byrd, the executive director of IFP, introduced the series to an sparse crowd. The directors and/or producers of most of the films were present. Among the most memorable (though not necessarily the best) of the films were: The Baby Formula, by Alison Reid, a comedic faux-documentary about the first lesbian couple to give birth to each other’s babies; Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action, a documentary by Velcrow Ripper about spiritual activists; and Growing Up, a comedy by Michael Melski, about a high school-aged boy whose pot-growing, dogmatic parents insist on keeping him at home. Honey, I’m In Love, by Claude Meunier, a dramatic comedy about marital infidelity (in French), was accidentally presented without subtitles.

The NextGenNYC Short Film Showcases continued this afternoon from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., this time with a series of short documentaries by emerging filmmakers from the CUNY schools. Birth of the Sun, the longest of the bunch, by Thomas W. Campbell, pays tribute to the short but vibrant life of Grady Alexis, an artist in the East Village during the 1980’s. A Field Guide to New England Life, by Kalim Armstrong, is a quietly fascinating portrait of a young man who moves into a small house (previously owned by the family of Louisa May Alcott) in the Vermont woods with no electricity, simply in order to read, compose music, and be alone. Something Invisible, by Ryuichi Hiraishi, is a sobering exploration of the battle that took place at Okinawa, Japan, about four months before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Street Supreme, by Micah Bochart, provides a glimpse into the philosophy and activities of freegans (dumpster divers) in New York City. Once again, most of the filmmakers were present at the screening.

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