The organizers of the inaugural HollyShorts, Short Film Festival have announced the schedule of short films that will be showcased August 13 and 14 at The Space Theatre in Hollywood. The event, which will showcase 22 short films 30-minutes or less including, shorts from the U.S., UK, Poland, Canada and Thailand. The festival will kickoff with Y Nada Mas, a 19 minute short film from writer/director Justin Liberman, which debuted at the Tribeca film festival earlier this year and will close with Husk, a 27 minute short film from Brett Simmons, which was featured at Sundance. The opening night party for the event will take place at The Bungalow Club on Melrose.
“We are thrilled to present the brightest work from up and coming directors and writers,” said festival co-founder Dan Sol. “Art is coming back to Hollywood, and we are looking forward to making HollyShorts an annual gathering, where the filmmakers can have their masterpieces showcased in front of their industry peers.”
Below is the list of short films that will be screened at HollyShorts 2005:
BLUFF POINT
Directed by Kelly Rigg, written by Natashia McGough
USA (2 minutes and 22 seconds)
A reality show hoax goes wrong when the groom to be of an engaged couple enlists his unaware fiancée onto “Scare Factor,” to obtain $10,000-for their wedding.
BROKEN
Directed by Alex Ferrari and written by Jorge Flores Rodrigues and Alex Ferrari
USA (19 minutes)
A gun blast, a flash of light and a young woman awakens to the comfort of her own bed. Bonnie Clayton has it all, a great relationship, a challenging career, and the burden of a dream that grows more vivid and disturbing with each passing night. But when Bonnie is abducted by a sadistic stranger and his colorful entourage, she discovers that the key to her survival lies within the familiar realms of her recurring dream.
“DICK” (THE SHORT)
Directed and written by Rufus Dorsey
USA (13 minutes)
Daryl is a “big-time” player. But there’s just one problem—his fiancé. After years of cheating on her, his karma has finally caught up with him.
DOLLS WITH ISSUES
Directed and written by Frederick Taylor
USA (8 minutes)
In these turbulent times the voice of reason is plastic. Host Jerome X interviews the late great Sigmund Freud, reincarnated in his doll form. It’s the Activist vs. the Analyst in a witty spoof of issue oriented talk shows starring dolls.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
Directed and written by Natalie Shy
USA (11 minutes and 45 seconds)
A teenage girl copes with disturbing memories and the on-going trauma of her abusive father.
FINAL STATION
Directed and written by Tomasz Piech
POLAND (30 minutes)
A seemingly normal train ride through the Polish countryside takes on elements of the sixth sense surreal as Piotr, a painter, now an old man and protagonist of the film sees his life’s sweetest and saddest moments in a series of flashbacks.
HUSK (Official closing night film, not in competition)
Directed by Brett A. Simmons, and screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival’s Shorts program, Husk is a 27-minute short film. Four men, a stalled car, corn fields and scarecrows. Is that a house in the distance?
IMAGINE
Directed by Colin Orr and written by Chris Ayala
USA (13 minutes)
The story of a little boy with a big imagination.
THE KING OF K-TOWN
Directed by Aaron Caine and written by Aaron Caine and Michael Moeller
USA (19 minutes and 4 seconds)
Bikes rule…will he?
LEMON GRASS
Directed and written by Avinash K. Lalwani
INDIA (24 minutes)
A young man and his friends run into some unforeseen circumstances and end up engaging in a tightly nit party in a jail cell.
THE LONER
Directed and written by Patrick Kirk Gillock
THAILAND (5 minutes)
A comedy about a man who loves to be alone. What happens when the ultimate loner falls in love? The answer might surprise you.
LOVE MATH
Directed and written by Kent Carpenter Zambrana
USA (10 minutes)
Based on actual events, by way of couplings, coincidence and interconnections, a young man retraces the variables between his dream girl, an ex-girlfriend, a former football star, an amateur pornographer, two sisters, a recluse with a speech impediment, and his mortal enemy. But, if love factors into this equation, how does it all add up?
MAN, WHERE’S MY SHOE?
Directed by the young women at the Aviva Center and Directing Mentor Rachel Goldberg
USA (22 minutes)
Switzerland Harris takes a strange journey through the halls of her new high school after waking up from class to discover that one of her treasured shoes has treasured.
MERLOT
Directed and written by Matthew S. Morris
USA (12 minutes and 20 seconds)
Miriam’s Reality is shattered when she finds out her friends love story is not about her.
PLANET FAR AWAY
Directed and written by Paula Moreno
USA (18 minutes)
A 10 year old boy decides do look for his missing father with his pet turtle after he has a confrontation with his mother about his father’s where-abouts.
RUNWAY JOB
Directed and written by Alex Alba
USA (30 minutes)
This documentary tracks three individuals and their different goals in organizing and executing a New York City fashion show. As we follow the event planner, fashion designer and runway model, during the development stages of the fashion show the characters overcome various obstacles to set up and produce a monumental event.
A SHORT FILM ABOUT STILLNESS
Directed and written by Martin Clarke
UK (4 minutes and 30 seconds)
A moment of choice—to move on, or to stay still? To be held back or to break away? Also, a train journey.
THIRST
Directed and written by Joseph R. Hunt
USA (14 minutes)
Would you give a man dying of thirst a peanut butter cracker?
TRIBUS
Directed by Ledit RenArt
MONTREAL, CANADA (4 minutes and 53 seconds)
A riveting documentary collage with controversial footage.
VAMPIR
Directed by Conrad Haber and written by Aaron Johnson
USA (8 minutes and 35 seconds)
One man’s soul seeking the truth is forced to choose between what he was and what he has become-for what are we but victims to our own divine purpose.
A VOID
Directed and written by Justin Woiwode and Ray Skinner
USA (3 minutes and 33 seconds)
Breathtaking visuals and edgy animation propel a man through a nightmare.
Y NADA MAS (Official festival opening film, not in competition)
Directed and written by Justin Liberman, Y Nada Mas, which debuted at Tribeca earlier this year, is a cinematic tapestry of four vignettes depicting the Mexican-American man and his place within our society. Writer/Director Justin Liberman threads dialog and visceral imagery through four simultaneous stories of the Mexican culture. Centered on the human spirit, all four stories are perceived through a prismatic context utilizing simplicity as a metaphor for life’s most meaningful moments.
For more info, visit the Holly Shorts website.
