The “True Romance” package delivered another sold out show and full schedule, and the speaker humorously reminded the audience that voting ballots “make or break the careers of these filmmakers.” Hey, you never know.
Kara Bauer’s “Soap” tells its tale of a history of a romance from the POV of the titular bar. Bauer said she wanted to express “a small idea in a small space, as we often lack perspective when it comes to life, waiting for something huge to happen.”
Continuing with inanimate objects, Susan Hebert directs shoes to love in “Sole Mates.” The director claims to have been inspired by a shoe in her closet, and went on to animate its story in stop-motion.
“Egg Love” is Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math’s sharply cut, forcefully black and white presentation of German love over a skillet (“Where is my egg?!”).
“Tres” is three tales in one, directed by three filmmakers. Based on one of the director’s (Paula Christensen) grandfather’s (Carlos Hugo Christensen) poetry, Paula linked the stories by their 50s time period, allowing a few of the actors to overlap. “It is the powerful moments in our lives that transform us,” she said.
Tori Garrett’s “The Barrows” slyly asks what if Bonnie and Clyde weren’t murdered horribly, but rather lived out their lives in jail? Though only referred to as Bonnie and Mr. Barrow, the implication is clear as the two prepare for a once-a-year date.
I previewed Andrew Katumba’s “Chambre 24,” and found it even more delicious the second time around. A clever tale of mix-ups in a beautiful French setting (though the director is apparently from the German part of Switzerland), a follow-up viewing is necessary to appreciate so many details lost in the initial screening.
A bit of fluff is the subject and treatment of Max Sells and Mal Woolford’s “Fluffy.” The film’s actor admitted the story of a ubiquitous piece of lint from an ex’s sweater is based on actual events (minus the ex and involving a hangover).
Chris Vincze’s “Evol” is a smart little film that plays with film in reverse, as two strangers notice each other attempting to move forward in a backwards world. A meet cute that etuc steem.
The final film found love amongst the stalls in the sweetly told and simply line-drawn animation, Konstantin Bronzit’s “Lavatory-Lovestory.”