Weekend Review Part 1

Film festivals are mainly about films and shorts, but they are also about the art of film making or, sometimes, they showcase thought-provoking discussions about media. Such was the case on Saturday morning at 11:30 A.M. THE NEW MEDIA: A WEB2.0 PANEL was a rare and fascinating presentation by industry experts and filmmakers about the latest in technology and how it affects marketing. I went in thinking that we were going to talk about YouTube. It was about YouTube--but it was a lot more... The next 10 years of media technology were also part of the discussion. I could go heavily into Marketing and New Media content, but that falls outside the scope of film festival coverage. If you are interested, check out my blog about such matters: New Media and Marketing.

NANKING (directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman) was staged like a play reading. But it also contained a lot of archival footage about one of the worst aspects of WWII--the Japanese invasion of China's capital at that time. For those who might not be aware, Nanking was subjected to a now common form of warfare--aerial attacks. The bombarded city was then attacked by ground troops who murdered and raped the population at will. Astonishingly, a small band of Westerners got together in order to establish a Safety Zone. They stood up to the Japanese government and asked Japan to respect their decisions. They are credited with having saved over 200,000 lives! Woody Harrelson, Mariel Hemingway, and Jurgen Prochnow were three of the readers. We don't learn from history. Our capacity for cruelty is stunning...

How do you get as far as you can from the horrors of war? That's right, you watch ANIMATION: THE ILLUSION OF LIFE. This collection of shorts had everything--but mostly humor. BADASS MOFOS (directed by James Jaculina) is a funky and groovy animation with a beat. In a psychedelic mode, the 60s and 70s came to life with the attitude of today. Lacking in clear story line. But what fun... COLE NEEDS WOMEN (directed by David Chai) is an animation about a man who isn't content with wanting one woman--he wants them all! The consequences are funny in this fantasy. It is not what you areexpecting.

THE BASTARD (directed by Dave Quion) is a technically powerful animation. CYCLONE ARMOR GUARDIAN (directed by Gary Liew) is also strong in terms of technical skills--the story line seems to be an afterthought. Both short films show potential.