With such a variety of films to see over the course of the festival, one of many fun collections to see is the collection of international shorts. The second collection in this spotlight is the Love, Pain, and the Whole Damn Thing collection. This collection features a program of short films about love, from romantic to tragic, its intoxication and heartbreak, its consequences and, oh yes, its responsibilities.
The Shorts Program: Love, Pain and the Whole Damn Thing screens October 1st and 5th at International Village.
Adolescence (Argentina | DIR: Javier Blanco)
After years of familiarity, could one small act and phrase rekindle a love’s lost romance?
Behold (Greece | DIR: Mark Sargent, Maya Tsambrou)
A vegetable merchant with a bullhorn. Two women on a bench. The intersection of life’s frustrations and melancholic comedy.
Coffee To Go (Spain | DIR: Patricia Font)
Alicia unsuspectingly walks into a café, orders a coffee to go and sees things go sideways when she unexpectedly encounters an old flame. Terrific performances by both leads beautifully capture this awkward and still-painful situation.
Last Base (Spain | DIR: Patricia Font)
Two base-jumpers discover how far they are willing to go to honour the memory of a close friend. Shot on location in the mountains of Norway, this amazing student film took Fitzcarraldo-like efforts to pull off.
Little Bear (Ireland | DIR: Daire Glynn, Ger Duffy)
How far will imagination go to hold on to love deeply rooted?
Mine ( Australia & USA | DIR: Trilby Glover)
Sebastian’s reflections on the transcendent love he feels for his wife and soul-mate, Clara, encompass infatuation through obsession to possessiveness.
Scrabble (Switzerland | DIR: Cristian Sulser)
As an older couple in a dull, routine relationship play a game of scrabble, the words they spell out seem to imply hidden desires.
Setting the Straight (Australia | DIR: Kaleb McKenna)
Having been nurtured and accepted as a gay man by his parents, Joshua finds the courage to confess that he’s actually not…
Stutterer (UK/Ireland | DIR: Benjamin Cleary)
For a lonely man, an online relationship has helped him mask his cruel speech impediment. A roller-coaster ride of joy, doubt and romance in the digital age.
Treading Water (USA | DIR: Liz Cardenas Franke)
Following the untimely passing of her mother, a middle-aged woman struggles to cope with caring for her elderly father in their family home. A beautiful testimonial to the challenges faced by compassionate caregivers, and the strain this can put on family relations.
Don’t miss this collection of international shorts as well the all the other great shorts programs at the festival:
- In the Dark Reaches of the Soul
- Great Performances
- What Defines Reality?
The Shorts Program: Love, Pain and the Whole Damn Thing screens October 1st and 5th at International Village.
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