The Shorts of Cinéfest Sudbury 2021

Lately I've been drawn to short films. The ability to deliver a gut punch in just a few minutes fascinates me. During TIFF, I only saw one unfortunately, but fortunately, I loved it. (It was Albert Shin's Together (2021) for anyone interested).

I made a more concerted effort to catch some shorts during Cinéfest, and given the tight turn around following TIFF, shorts were a great way to watch some more films in a restricted time frame. I wanted to give the shorts a spotlight as I really enjoyed some of them, so here they are: all the shorts I saw at Cinéfest!

Directed by Michelle Kranot and Uri Kranot, this Canadian short is inspired by the 1922 Carl Sandburg poem of the same name that wonders what a hangman does at home, what kind of conversations are had with his family. It's entirely animated and shows the happenings of different apartments/rooms in a building — there's a pregnant woman going through some books, an older gentleman unwinding to his records, a father and daughter horsing around, and a young boy enjoying himself. No dialogue is spoken between the characters, only the narration of the poem is heard.

The Hangman At Home is beautiful and haunting. The animation itself looked like moving finger paintings, the texture from the paint strokes moves on the screen in a way that I can't properly describe. It's mesmerizing.

It's hard to say why I like this short so much. I tend to lean towards the dark and morose, so I found the poem's subject matter really interesting. I also love cool animation. But I can't pinpoint a singular message or element that spoke to me, it just moved me as a whole.

Another Canadian short, directed by Natalia Duguay, this French-language short follows the morbid-theme from The Hangman At Home  and follows a woman whose husband has passed away. Set in the middle of  a Quebec winter, she is able to keep his body preserved in their home days after he has passed due to the immense cold. Le froid  sounds darker and sadder than it really is. It's a snapshot of the initial hit of grief and denial over a loved one's passing, to an extreme of course. We've all lost someone, and this film taps into the idea of, "wouldn't you want to keep them around for just a little bit longer?"

Another animated short, this time from the Republic of Korea, directed by Nahyun Beak and Dahyun Beak. Stereotype looks at a red village and a blue village separated by spears and an invisible colour line. The two groups have an inherent disliking and resentment towards one another — the after effects of war. Given the national origin of this film, it's clear where the inspiration for Stereotype comes from.

The film makes a poignant statement: long after the governments have declared war come and gone, the consequences stay with those living in the war zones. Generations of hatred and divide will perpetuate for no good reason.

A series of quick animated clips about Itchy, a camel with an itchy hump. A Canadian production from directors Anders Beer and PH Dallaire, these shorts are cute and fun. While walking through the desert, Itchy comes across rakes, tennis balls, and basketballs, all of which Itchy uses to try to relieve the itchy hump.

I enjoy shorts like these, they're clearly meant to be a showcase for the filmmakers. The animation is excellent and the humour and story idea are 2 minute bits of joy.

Directed by Richard B. Pierre, An Uninvited Guest is a Canadian short that tackles police brutality and racial profiling. A young Black man is at dinner with his (assumed) girlfriend and her family. They're a White, upper class household, with the mom and dad dressed impeccably pressed. Outside the front window, another Black man is being viciously beat by a police officer. The parents continue to ignore what is happening outside, the girlfriend is uneasy, her eyes uncomfortably darting back and forth between her mom and dad, and the dinner guest, after initially trying to ignore it, becomes progressively affected. Finally, he stands up to go and help, at which time he attracts the attention of the police officer. The cop comes inside and arrests him.

The message Pierre is making in An Uninvited Guest is obvious, but no less important. With a run time of only 3 minutes, Pierre fits in a lot of details. Without any exposition required, everything we need to know is right in front of us. For instance, the difference in the dress shirts of the dinner guest and the girlfriend's dad show a class difference that can be assumed but is bolded. It might seem overkill, but to my eyes, it shows the type of filmmaker and storyteller Pierre is — and I'd like to see more.

Directed by Matthew Avery Berg, Marked is my lone American short film and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it's the most violent. Marked is set in a tattoo parlour with a middle-aged man (Eric Roberts) getting inked up. The two engage in some light conversation, which turns into something more sinister. The tattoo artist is ex-Russian mafia and initially believes the man to be the same. It becomes clear that the man has a vendetta and is seeking vengeance right there and then.

Marked could be the opening scenes of a mob thriller (I'd watch it) and while it's intriguing, it lacks the poignancy in the other shorts. Rather than being a complete piece of work, Marked works as a teaser of something more to come.

The 2021 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival runs online from September 18 to 26.