The passion for film usually starts at a young age. You watch a movie like THE NEVER ENDING STORY and it changes your concept of imagination.  The Asiana International Short Film Festival took me  back to the reason why I love film. With over 2,000 short films in this year’s festival, which took place Nov 2 – 7^th, I was overwhelmed with the quality, creativity and dedication on screen.  Directors provided an enrichment of art through digital film, great acting, and cinematography that made for a superb weekend.

I enjoyed the films that brought a level of humor with their powerful message;  PENTECOST is the story of an altar boy who wishes to play soccer instead of doing spiritual duties, and proves to the church that his love for the sport conquers all when he kicks the thurible at the archbishop.  BEAR features a clever dramatization of a man who wants to surprise his girlfriend with a birthday picnic by dressing up in a very realistic bear costume, only to be shot by a hunter because the costume was so life-like. MOM CAME OVER THE SEA tells the touching story of how one young boy and an elderly woman become friends because of their longing for family.  He misses his mother, she misses her son, and they’re each other’s angel.

Then there were the films that brought a unique touch to our look on life; DYING WITHOUT A SOUND shows us the five stages of death from the perspective of one woman’s memories and the loss of her loved ones. INSTANT SLAPPING is a humorously unique film that had no spoken dialogue, for communication was done over the internet.  The audience received a pleasant look into how silent overacting can be made effective if done correctly. THE FACTORY is a human rights film about the pressures of living in prison and what family will do for their loved ones. The chilling truth that even a criminal has love for someone and that in prison the smallest freedoms are of great value. THE WOMAN WITH THE GREY BUNDLE is an artistic delivery of how much love and strength a woman can have for her imprisoned husband.   The actress Maria Botto was divine.

 Lastly, the following films show how our life’s decisions make us who we are: GOING is the runaway story of a family trying to escape their country.  A moving performance from a son to his father of why he can’t leave because his team needs the soccer ball in his possession. NOT DARK YET is a substance abuse film of a man coming home after rehab.  He finds that things are unchanged except for the need to have his abusive father’s love. A terrifically ambiguous ending as it’s left to the audience whether the son kills his father. SYBILLE shows the title character, a young executive who keeps failing at her job, using the comfort of a stranger to revive her sense of purpose, but is it truly reviving or is she lying to herself? MIYUKI’S WIND BELL  is a Tokyo based telling of one girl’s journey to find a sense of home with her estranged grandmother, two brothers, and a World War II bomb.  A powerful ending as she runs to save her two little brothers who are playing on the weapon.

I watched a lot of films this weekend and these stood out.  Unlike a feature the strength of a short film is the characters and the think-outside-the box mentality of the directors.  Short film directors don’t get great computer graphics or excellent lighting.  What they do get is the ability to tell a story within 5 to 15 minutes that brings reality to the forefront and discards our need for the suspension of disbelief.

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