The “It’s a small, small world” program spanned the globe for cinematic good stuff.
“Africa Parting” (read my review) by Brian LoSchiavo and Robyn Yannoukos seemed to leave the audience confused with its stop-motion portrayal of a country torn apart. Usual behavior at the fest is for the crowd to clap after each film, but this one left most silent. I don’t think they hated it, it just bewildered them. I admit to not knowing South African history as well I should, but I didn’t find the expression of pain and strife hard to follow.
“The Man” (“L’Uomo”) is a tale of a young boy with far too many responsibilities for his age, who is able to handle them with a maturity beyond his years. The film style is a little amateur, but a nice attempt nonetheless (and I’m packing my bags for Troppea, Italy).
“Deface” is John Arlotto’s very powerful short about the effect of a dictatorship regime on its working people. Though Sooyoung (portrayed wonderfully by Joseph Steven Yang) follows in step with everyone else to ensure a meager life for his family, all that changes when they become ill from malnutrition and horrendous conditions. Surrounded by propaganda posters, he fights the system by defacing the property (e.g.: “We have nothing to envy” to “We have everything to envy”).
I asked Arlotto what sort of research he performed to cross the cultural barrier, and he explained that his wife is half-Korean and that his earliest film influences were from Asian cinema. He also interviewed any Korean that would sit down with him and scoured the internet. He also examined smuggled videos that appeared on CNN’s “Behind the State.”
Surprisingly enough, the film was shot in downtown LA and Oxnard, Calif. Arlotto explained that it required meticulous storyboards to work around the LA skyline. When asked about his use of desaturated colors, he said he was influenced by German artist Anson Keifer who used many grays and silvers. The director joked, “I started as a fine artist, but used filmmaking as a safety net.”
In Shyam Balsé’s “Monsoon,” an Americanized son returns to India at his father’s request, despite painful memories that forced him to leave. It raises questions of conflict between generational views of love and life, modern versus traditional thought and learning to let the past go. It beautifully captures the wonder and cultural individuality of the country.
Amazingly, Balsé shot the film in eight days (as did Arlotto). Though a daylight story limited their work hours, he was able to utilize Bollywood’s rain machines and sacred cows. The star cow was accompanied by seven wranglers, and was apparently quite talented as an old hand to movies. The problem was that as a sacred symbol, whenever it was on set it created a crowd.
“Before and After Kissing Maria” (“Antes Y DespuesDe Besar A Maria”) was an odd little tragicomedy. Beginning playfully enough with a boy practicing for his desired first kiss with his cousin, it ends on a very sour note.
“It Snows in Marrakech” (“Il Neige à Marrakech”) is Hicham Alhayat’s sweet tale of a son going out of his way to convince his old father that he is taking his dream to Switzerland, not Oukaimedén, near Marrakesh. It’s a comedy of errors as the son covers up telltale signs that they are nowhere near Splügen.