http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/
There are a number FLM-relevant entries. Unfortunately many, especially the shorts, probably won't be available online or on DVD for a long time, maybe never. Later I'll enter REQs for a couple, but here are some promising-looking ones to be on the lookout for even if you are among the 99% who can't make it to this festival.
"Shock Tactics" short program:
- There Are Monsters
Canada 2008. Dir Jay Dahl. 10min.
There's a strange little girl standing in the front garden…
- Tomboy
France 2007. Dir Claudine Natkin. 15min.
Chloe is a 10-year-old who plays football, never cries and doesn't like other girls. But when Marie, a sweet blond girl, joins in, Chloe and her boy friends decide to invent a new game.
52 Percent is already released at FLM.52 Percent
Poland 2007. Dir Rafal Skalski . 20min.
52% is the ideal proportion of one's leg length to height and one of the most important admission criteria set by the Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg. 11-year-old Alla has two months to reach these dream proportions to be admitted to the school.
Ella and the Astronaut
USA 2008. Dir Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, Robert Machoian . 7min.
A young girl, a toy astronaut and a lot of imagination.
"A Strange Day" short program
I have posted a link to this in my personal topic in General.I Love Sarah Jane
Australia 2008. Dir Spencer Susser. 14min.
Neither bullies nor zombies are going to stop Jimbo from finding a way into Sarah Jane's world.
- A group of children have been 'orphaned' for a week. Their parents have gone off on a trip leaving them under the not-so-watchful gaze of nanny-cum-housekeeper Esther, with the eldest member of the group, María, nominally in charge. Enclosed within a gated compound that supposedly protects the community from the dangers of the outside world, the motley group of children made up of siblings, cousins and friends seek to entertain themselves by both using the legitimate leisure activities placed at their disposal and by illegally prying into the homes of their neighbours. Then Esther's brother, Fernando, comes to stay and the children have to deal with the outside world and what it represents in more ways than one.
Celina Murga's second feature, following the acclaimed Ana and the Others (seen at the 2003 London Film Festival) is a beautifully observed take on the 'home alone' scenario. The routines, rituals and rivalries of the children are astutely observed by Murga's detached camera. Distinguished by a superb ensemble cast led by siblings Eleonora and Magdalena Capobianco, A Week Alone is a terrific study of the intricacies of a community probing and pushing the rules of the game.
Several others in this program look promising, but there's not enough description. I'll have to look at them later.K
UK 2008. Dir Piers Thompson. 20min.
15-year-old Kaylee lives in a caravan park with her father. Ostracised by the community around her, she finds daily solace with the wild horses in the local marshland, and a friendship with an enigmatic stranger.
- This has been released at FLM.
