And what a batch it is. Totaling 119 short films, the 1 Reel Film Fest is a bit of a miraculous enterprise. If short films are routinely ignored (which they are, sadly), the 1 Reel fest is perhaps their biggest savior--or at least one of their major ones. You see, here's the thing: The 1 Reel fest is the biggest short-films festival in the world, always packing audiences during Bumbershoot--so much so that this year the fest has been moved to that 900-seat barn known as the Bagley Wright Theatre. Featuring short documentaries, animation, live-action comedies, dramas, and political slaps, the festival showcases both burgeoning and established (though not necessarily well-known, and perhaps critically unknown) talent.
What should you see this year? With 27 different packages, each containing five to 10 shorts, you will have to be left to your own devices. There are far too many flicks to see, which, in the end, is one of the festival's charms; with screenings running in hourlong shifts throughout the weekend, a certain randomness is definitely at play, and only a fool (or the severely deranged) would attempt to watch every single one. Which means the element of surprise--the joy (or agony) of discovery--takes on a key role.
Still and all, though, I can offer a little guidance, as there are a number of highlights that I wish to er, highlight. For example: The Ocularist, which is an amazing short documentary from Portland filmmaker Vance Malone. Essentially a traditional profile doc given a major goosing with heavy style, The Ocularist is both fascinating (who knew such painstaking artistry went into faux eyeballs?) and, at times, cringe-inducing (beware the putty-in-the-eye-socket shot--seriously).
Another selection: Hyper, which hails from New York and is about a "bike" messenger (see the flick and the quotes will make sense) whose chief ambition is to maximize his time as much as possible. Frenzied, funny, and assembled with considerable talent, it is a perfect example of the lean artistry to be found in short subjects.
What else? From the 104th Floor is a brief, eerie mourning of the 9/11 attacks, narrated by Rosie Perez and written, amazingly, by a 14-year-old girl; Live from Shiva's Dance Floor was directed by indie superstar Richard Linklater (whose best film is Before Sunrise, by the way) and stars Timothy "Speed" Levitch (who, hopefully, will be attending); and the Seattle International Film Festival makes a contribution with selections from its wildly popular Fly Filmmakers challenge, wherein a group of local filmmakers assemble five-minute films in just five days.
And finally, for those who think PBS is too slow (and who doesn't, really?), there's a special preview of The Blues, a series of documentaries presented by director Martin Scorsese that will be showing on our local (and troubled) KCTS this fall. Don't get too excited, though, for the entire Blues series appears to be 387 hours long (though this may be an exaggeration on my part), which means the 1 Reel fest can only offer a sliver. Still, what they can show is definitely worth a peek, especially since it will be months before you'll get to see any more.
The 1 Reel Film Festival runs throughout Bumbershoot weekend, with screenings from noon to 5 pm on Friday, noon to 7 pm on Saturday, noon to 10 pm on Sunday, and noon to 8 pm on Monday. The films mentioned above, if you're interested, show at the following times: The Ocularist and Hyper on Sunday, 6-7 pm; From the 104th Floor and Live from Shiva's Dance Floor on Saturday, 1-2 pm; SIFF's Fly Films on Friday at 4 pm; and The Blues on Saturday at 3 pm. My suggestion: See as many as you can.
