AIFF 2015: Shorts in Competition - From Iran, Belgium, Kenya, US, South Africa,

I started a little ahead this year, but grandchildren rightly claimed my attention this last week.  And passed on their germs.  So my goal at the festival is to see as many good films as I can while my health improves.  I will blog as much as I can and meet those other two goals.  Because of the four different programs these films play in, this got a bit complicated.  I hope I've made it easier for you to find the films you want.  And let me know if there are any typos.

Here are the Shorts in Competition.

Shorts = fictional films much shorter than features.
In Competition = films the screeners thought should be up for awards.

Since 'good' is often subjective - a couple of my favorite shorts weren't in competition last year - this doesn't necessarily mean these are the very best.  [UPDATED 8:53am:  I speculated wrong in the original about what the Jury Selection title actually meant.  So I've cut that out and I'm adding the info I got back from AIFF:  "These were the shorts and super shorts selected for competition." ]

AIFF 2015:  SHORTS IN COMPETITION
Film Title	Director	Country	Length
Nkosi Coiffure	Frederike Migom	Belgium	14 min
Scary Larry	Greg Ivan Smith	USA	13 min
The Bravest, The Boldest	Moon Molson	USA	17 min
The Call	Zamo Mkhwanazil	South Africa	10 min
The Story of a Rainy Night	Mehdi Fard Ghaderi	Iran	23 min
Zawadi	Richard Card	Kenya	12 min

The GOOD NEWS:  The will play several times in different programs.
The BAD NEWS:  Keeping track of when and where is tricky.

So, I've tried to make it a little easier for you to find when they play.  You still have to think a bit.

Program (right)   Film (below)	LOVE & PAIN Saturday Dec 5, 2015 2-4 pm - AK Exper Large	SHORTS JURY SELECTION Thursday. Dec 10 5:30-7:30PM BEAR TOOTH	SHORTS REAL LIFE Saturday Dec. 12 2-4 pm Snow Goose	GLOBAL VILLAGE Sunday, DEC. 13  1PM-2:45PM AK Exper Large
Nikosi Coiffure	√	√	√	√
Scary Larry	√
Bravest,Boldest	√	√	√
The Call		√	√	√
Story of Rainy Night		√		√l
Zawadi		√		√

Nkosi Coiffure
Frederike Migom

Belgium

14 Min

Showing all four programs in table above

"During a fight with her boyfriend on the street in Brussels’ Congolese neighbourhood, Eva escapes into a hair salon. The African women in the salon initially support her, seeing a woman in distress. But when they find out what the fight is about, opinions differ…"

Scary Larry

Greg Ivan Smith (attending  Dec. 5)

USA

13 min

From Middlesex.edu

Over Columbus Day weekend, Middlesex was thrilled to have Greg Ivan Smith back on campus shooting his original short film, "Scary Larry." The movie is set on a college campus in the early 1950's and follows the story of four coeds in the first year the college adds women to its ranks.   Greg wrote the movie to feature the talents of the ensemble of the Theatre 80 acting class.
Greg has been named by indiewire.com as one of “Ten Short Filmmakers You Should Know." Greg's short films have screened on five continents in over 35 film festivals.

This is NOT the slasher movie by the same name.

One Take Films suggests Greg is a pretty flexible film maker:

"I am currently seeking new representation, and would love to write and direct and edit your next zillion dollar movie, independent film, commercial campaign, television series, web series, music video, actor reel, or other exciting project..."

And that he directed the web series Darwin. 

The Bravest, The Boldest
Moon Molson
USA
17 Min
Showing three programs (not Global Village)

You can look at the trailer - two army officers knock on a Harlem door to make an unwelcome announcement.  This film has been to a lot of festivals in the last two years, including Sundance.



The Bravest, the Boldest - Original Trailer from Moon Molson on Vimeo.

The Call

Zamo Mkhwanazi  

South Africa 10 min.

Showing three times (not Love  & Pain, which seems most fitting)

A pregnant woman, a man, a decision.  

The Story of a Rainy Night 
Mehdi Fard Ghaderi 
Iran
23 min
Showing Jury Selection and Global Village

From an Iranian website:

"Story of a Rainy Night" was praised for using a different approach in presenting filling the gap between the reality of family relations in Iran and the West's demonizing media reports with sincere emotion and empathy.
Fard-Qaderi's 24-minute film is produced by Iran's Youth Cinema Association and narrates the story of an elderly man who is celebrating his birthday and takes a new look at the relationships among his grown children.
It has been screened and awarded in numerous international film festivals, including the Hollywood Festival of New Cinema and the 9th annual Colony Film Festival in Marietta, Ohio.
Mehdi Fard-Qaderi is one of Iran's promising filmmakers who has directed several successful short films so far. His films have been screened in numerous national and international festivals."

Zawadi
Richard Card
Kenya
12 min
Showing Jury Selection and Global Village

Having some trouble finding out about this movie without just copying from other film festivals.  Here's a bio of the director from his website:

"RICHARD LIVES IN LOS ANGELES BUT IS STILL A PROUD TEXAN. HIS STYLE AND TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN SHAPED BY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE BUT ALSO BY WORKING WITH AND STUDYING UNDER MANY INDUSTRY SHAPING DPS INCLUDING BILL POPE ASC (THE MATRIX TRILOGY), ROBERTO SCHAFER ASC (THE KITE RUNNER) AND DANA GONZALES (SOUTHLAND). A NOMAD AT HEART, RICHARD FINDS GREAT INSPIRATION IN OTHER CULTURES AND TRAVEL. IF HE IS NOT SHOOTING A MOVIE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY HE IS TRAVELING THERE WITH A STILL CAMERA TO DOCUMENT ITS INTRICACIES.

RICHARD BELIEVES NOTHING GREAT IS MADE WITHOUT PASSION, HE APPROACHES ALL OF HIS WORK WITH THIS MENTALITY.

IN 2008 RICHARD RECEIVED 2 DEGREES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS BOTH BACHELORS OF SCIENCE FOCUSING IN FILM PRODUCTION AND PHILOSOPHY."

There's also a Vimeo video there from the film, but I couldn't find a share link.  And it doesn't have subtitles, so I'm guessing it is not a trailer.  There's a kid collecting bottles.  You can see it here.  Looks to have promise.