The Short Film Challenge
From New Day filmmaker, Alice Elliot:
This summer I’m teaching an introductory documentary course at New York University. Because the students have just six weeks to complete 3 projects, I’m challenging myself to only show short docs. My hope is that they will see how powerful and artful short films can be.
Some New Day Films I’ll show are No Dumb Questions-Melissa Regan’s funny touching film, my own Academy Award nominated short, Collector of Bedford Street, and my Henry Hampton Award winning short doc Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy.
Jesse Epstein’s three films about body image, Wet Dreams and False Images, The Guarantee, 34×25x36 now collected on one DVD and sold as Body Typed, are always a big hit with the students, so I will definitely be showing those, too.
Other good sources include the POV website where City of Cranes and Ars Magna are both playing on line. (http://www.pbs.org/pov/video/search then chose the TYPE - short films).
Great short new day titles are Chuck Braverman’s Revolving Door, and Curtain Call, Deborah Chasnoff’s 7 films including her Academy Award winning Deadly Deception.
What other New Day Films can help with the Summer Short Film Challenge?
Hi Alice! I really recommend checking out Keith Wilson’s short, WHEN THE LIGHT’S RED:
http://www.newday.com/films/WHENTHELIGHTSRED.html
I watched it at the AM and it is a really good example of a powerful, hilarious, important short film (11 minutes). Here’s the synopsis:
Who will you decide to help? You’re stopped at an intersection, and that guy with a sign asks for money. What do you do? Do you give him some spare change? Do you stare straight ahead pretending he’s not there? With humor and compassion, WHEN THE LIGHT’S RED chronicles the filmmaker’s own experience with intersection panhandling. Narrated with his own conflicted and stark inner dialogue, the filmmaker seeks guidance from other drivers, a homeless services provider and panhandlers themselves. WHEN THE LIGHT’S RED is ideal for engaging students in discussion about a complex topic, homelessness. With a running time of 11 minutes, it fits perfectly into a class period, leaving plenty of time for writing or discussion.
Hi Alice,
Dan Lohaus - the wise and thoughtful individual he is - is on to something here about my film. I also think it is short, powerful, humorous, artful and original. At 11 minutes, it leaves plenty of time for classroom discussion. It’s also a pretty good example of making a complex and sticky issue approachable.
Keith
http://www.wall-eye.com
http://www.newday.com/films/WHENTHELIGHTSRED.html
One more Alice:
I love AFLOAT, a short documentary by Erin Hudson. I show it to my doc students every semester. Elegant and simple and do-able:
http://www.independentexposure.com/filmmaker/1771/Erin_Hudson.html