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SOO FILM FESTIVAL
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Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
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Sept 12-15, 2019
Shorts program, 113 min, Not rated
This program presents a mixed group of short films, from animations and music videos to narratives and a short documentary.
Director: D. Gilliam
Narrative Short, USA, 2018, 12 min, Color
Hip-hop head Kenya finds difficulties balancing her love life with her career.
Great Lakes connection: The actors live in Pennsylvania. The film was also shot in Pennsylvania.
Director: Luke Viljoen
Animation, South Africa, 2018, 4 min, Color
One night a female bird heads to a bar determined to find love. Outwardly she seems to be incredibly outgoing and popular, but underneath lies a dark layer of insecurity. A muscled seagull and a majestic peacock both catch her eye, and she thinks that one of them might be The One. Upon interacting with them, though, she realizes that there is more than good looks and charm and she is driven to confront her own insecurities.
Directors: Tyler Holme, Ben Fout
Narrative Short, USA, 2018, 2 min, Color
A story about a dog, his human, and that jerk next door.
Great Lakes connection: The writer/co-director grew up in Redford, Michigan.
Director: Marion Wilson
Animation, South Africa, 2018, 4 min, Color
On the night before Christmas, Hobbs tells his daughter Lili a story about how he got presents for her and all of the township kids.
Director: John C. Jones
Narrative Short, USA, 2018, 6 min, Color
They came to pay their respects.
Director: Modesta Žemgulytė
Narrative Short, Lithuania, 2018, 5 min, Color
Which objects do we value most? Why do we get so attached to ordinary inanimate things? And why it is sometimes so hard to let go of them? This is a short film about losing and letting go of things that matter most to us.
Director: Zach Strum
Music Video, USA, 2018, 3 min, Color
A music video of the song “Lacie” by the duo Sex Planet. An exploration of identity through an androgynous male.
Director: Diego Porral Soldevilla
Animation, Spain, 2018, 1 min, Black & White, Student Project (Gobelins, L'École de L'Image, Paris, France)
This is a short film about monsters that walk.
No links
Director: Alvaro Martin
Narrative Short, Italy, 2018, 4 min, Black & White, Student Project (University Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain)
We create metaphors to mention facts that we don’t want to talk about.
Director: Elena Horgan
Music Video, Ireland, 2019, 4 min, Color
A music video for the song “Shogani” by Kobina featuring vocals by Obskur Mond. Shot all in 35 mm stills, it tells the story of a relationship that grows between two women.
No links
Directors: Luke Grandmont, Dallas Varcoe
Narrative Short, Canada, 2018, 5 min, Color
An old duck hunter reflects on the past while finding his place in the future.
Great Lakes connection: This short was filmed in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in the fall of 2017. Filmmakers Luke Grandmont and Dallas Varcoe are both Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario natives, and the writer and lead, Norris Pyette, has called Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario home for over 60 years.
Director: Jonathan Elliott
Narrative Short, Canada, 2019, 4 min, Color
This film is a visual poem told entirely in Kanien'keha (the Mohawk language) that examines the impacts of underage drinking in Indigenous communities and the struggle to overcome grief and past traumas through culture and traditional practices.
Great Lakes connection: The film was shot at the Six Nations Reserve and in Toronto. Both locations are in the Great Lakes region and are in traditional Indigenous territory, a topic that is explored in the film.
Director: Jonathan Elliott
Narrative Short, Canada, 2019, 17 min, Color
Shortly after being placed with a new foster family, Tom and Claire, two young Indigenous siblings, are forced to confront the realities of their situation as a dark secret threatens to tear them apart forever. This is a film about the inability of Indigenous youth to maintain a connection to their culture and identity while in the foster care system and the effects this institution can have on the children forced into it.
Great Lakes connection: The film was shot at the Six Nations Reserve and in Toronto. Both locations are in the Great Lakes region and are in traditional Indigenous territory, a topic that is explored in the film.
Director: Nacho Recio
Music Video, Spain, 2016, 1 min, Black & White and Color
This music video, recorded with a mobile phone, is presented as an audiovisual experimentation in the context of a Berlin still overshadowed by a dense and uncertain past.
Director: Rolfin Nyhus
Narrative Short, United Kingdom, 2019, 6 min, Color
Salt beef? Two feckless men attempt to complete a tabloid crossword in an old-school greasy spoon café in northeast London.
Director: Michael Zamanis
Narrative Short, Canada, 2018, 7 min, Color
In spite of their wildly differing opinions on the sport, a Toronto man and his visiting English drinking buddy enjoy a spirited male bonding session over a televised game of soccer at a bar.
Great Lakes connection: From the director: “The film was shot at York University in Toronto, Ontario (which of course is right on Lake Ontario). All cast and crew members live and work in the greater Toronto region. Thank you for this opportunity! I've made what I believe to be a wonderful little short film and I'm still looking for my first ever festival screening! Cheers!”
Director: Bradley Michael
Narrative Short, USA, 2019, 28 min, Color
A stranded time traveler struggles to regain the courage to move forward in her journey without causing collateral damage.
Great Lakes connection: From the director: “All film personnel and cast are from the Mitten State. The director spends a lot of time in the Upper Peninsula and Great Lakes Regions. The director of photography on this project is a resident of Traverse City and frequently creates work inspired by the Great Lakes.”
Friday, Sept. 13, 3:00pm
Soo Theatre
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