After watching this programme I gave a lot of thought as to why I would watch a short film.  Last year I thought I may even prefer to watch short films over regular length ones.  I'm not completely certain that I do, but it's worth it for one hidden gem.  I continually find myself surprised at the variety of short films that are featured in this festival.  Although giving the viewer much less time with the characters—it is the film’s responsibility to unfold the story with enough detail.  On the other hand it is the viewer’s duty to make clarity of the film, with the vignettes provided. 

Interview with the Earth directed by Nicolas Pereda is a spot on example of a fragemented picture.  When I was watching this I couldn’t help but draw similarities between how the images were presented in this film and how Dennis Hopper presented his in The Last Movie.  In both films I was left a bit confused as to what was real and what was fabricated.  In the Q & A session director revealed that only some bits were real and others were staged—this boosted my interest in the film.  The most compelling images were those of the small Mexican boy who was describing his friend recently deceased.  Following the interview the children take the audience to the location of where their friend died.  Accompanied by the simple music of a wooden flute it made the scene more tense than it needed to be.

Sixty Seconds of Regret directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly is a picture of an elderly man in routine and a flash to an image of a younger man and a pregnant lady sitting in a car.  Gass-Donnelly’s film is only sixty seconds long; however it serves as a vivid memory.  This film resonated hard because I myself often have these recollections, where you wish you could simply just erase something from your memory (like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).  The images were not accompanied with any dialogue, leaving viewers with an opportunity for greater contemplation.  This film relishes in its simplicity.

Smoke is seventeen minutes long—the second longest short of the programme.  It felt much longer because it unfolds like a full-feature film.  Unlike Sixty Seconds, Smoke has several characters, settings and an comprehensive plot.  Three characters distinct opinions on one man’s life are clearly shown.  I think the clarity of this short film gives away too much about the characters.  The film is very beautifully put together but instead of the feeling of wanting to know more, I simply feel content with what I know. 

The Armoire directed by Jamie Travis plays on a variety of emotions.  The opening scene is of a boy playing hide and seek with no one hiding.  The boy has sympathetically won the crowd over.  The Armoire is a teaser for emotions because by the end of the film one struggles in their feelings towards the boy.  This movie conveys a very organised transition in time change, flipping from the past and future.  It has the finished touches that Interview with the Earth didn’t even consider—providing for a more accessible film.

Danse Macabre directed by Pedro Pires is a film that plays with the unknown.  Pires described his short as the last breaths of life triggering spontaneous convulsions.  “Danse macabre” translates to dance of death in English.  It is a late medieval allegory that claims that all people are united through a dance of death.  That allegory shares ideas that I had immediately after seeing the film.  The haunting environment that the film takes place in contributes to the unease of the entire film.  The beautiful woman that is portrayed as the dead person moves naturally and effortlessly.  To the sounds of Maria Callas, the woman in the film gracefully dances without life.  Danse Macabre is both haunting and beautiful stretching how dance and death are both conventionally portrayed. 

http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/programme4