I’ve finally and completely attended the Albany FilmFest – the only film festival I can walk to (although I went by bike). It was one evening and two matinees of short films. Most of the films were made in the Bay Area. Some of the pictures felt like home movies. At other times it was brilliant.
Sunday’s collection of shorts was called Connection, because it was about how people make connections. The shortest film in the selection ran less than two minutes. The longest (and the best), ran more than 43 minutes. I’m not going to review all the seven films; just the ones I liked.
Swimming the Rock: This film may inspire you to get in better shape. Joshua Kerns fell while running, and then set out to swim from Alcatraz to solid ground.
Outlook: Finn Sparlowe’s flick starts as a parody of film noir. Then, it goes very weird. I don’t know how old Sparlowe is, but I’m pretty sure he’s not yet in college.
Bunny Films: This is probably the shortest film I’ve ever seen, made by a very auteur (Quinn Robson). In less than two minutes and four moves of cut-out paper, it’s adorable.
River of Life: The last and longest film of the day was absolutely the best. Grace Anna Walcott is an exceptional woman. Using drama therapy, she helps people in the queer community to work out their problems that straights don’t have to bother about. (“Are you old enough to remember when you could be arrested for being gay?”) A powerful film about a powerful person.
At the end of the show, which was also the end of the festival, the filmmakers came up for Q&A. You’d be surprised to see how young some of the filmmakers are. Yes, the young child at the right, hugging a parent, is a filmmaker.
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