My goodness gracious me, we’re a talented nation.
The 48Hours Grand Final nominees are soon to be announced, with many of the non-finalists available to view right now in the 48Hours Screening Room. The city finalist screenings have blown people’s minds with the abundance of quality on display, leaving a huge amount of other great films just slightly out of reach. So here is a collection of nine 48Hours short that, for one reason or another, did not make a place in their respective city final – but earned a cosy place in my all-encompassing heart.
Yes, I dug through a number of hard-to-watch entries to compile this list, but it was so worth it, and I’d suggest you do the same. Or, at the very least, find some time to watch a couple of these shorts below. These filmmakers deserve the recognition.
Framerace
By I Love Loops | Auckland | Race Against the Clock
Framerace from ILOVELOOPS on Vimeo.
The team into for I Love Loops – introducing all seven animators with a demo loop of their own unique styles – aptly prepares you for the animated madness to follow, with each member recreating a dream sequence of beating the 48Hours clock. Yeah, it’s meta, but it never draws attention to that fact. Instead, they found a suitable plot to host the smorgasbord of cartoonishness that is unlike anything I’ve seen in 48Hours. A well-deserved nominee for Best Animated in Auckland.
4 Minutes
By HVHS Magnum | Wellington | Race Against the Clock
A clever play on the theme Race Against the Clock, this lovingly realised short sees a sexually-tense adolescent attempting to beat time in a game of endurance rather than speed. The lack of high-end filming equipment is very evident, but 4 Minutes is so heart-tuggingly sweet that it rises above such technical… *ahem*… shortcomings.
Another Day, Another Dance
By No Budget Ninjas | Christchurch | Musical or Dance
For a team that shows its disdain for the Musical or Dance genre in its team intro, No Budget Ninjas pulled it off with a seemingly high amount of ease, and I kind of hate them for that.
Nevertheless, Another Day, Another Dance is a great mockumentary that owes a lot of its laughs to its fantastic lead actor Adam Percival and his portrayal of a man with Dance Tourette’s Syndrome. And I’ve got to admit: that ending sapped some air out of my lungs…
Pillar to Post
By Touching Cloth Productions | Taranaki | Race Against the Clock
Yeah, I cheated; Pillar to Post was actually a Taranaki City finalist. But love breaks any boundaries, and I bloody love this short.
The singular idea (bad pun alert) strings you along, tethering your curiosity with some superb sound work that bring its empty sets to life – a baby’s cry completes a vacant cot; adolescent lip-smacking fills an empty car; New Year celebrations roar through a dead party. Perhaps you’ll see the ending coming like I did, but the journey there is fantastically realised.
I’ll even forgive them misspelling ‘too’ in their team intro.
Rubix3
By Electric Shoelace | Dunedin | Mystery or Puzzle
Rubix3 from Jaimee Poipoi on Vimeo.
I’m sure many teams who received the Puzzle genre would have thought about implementing a rubix cube somehow, and I’m glad Electric Shoelace ran with their idea of some very confused burglars who get their mitts on a magical version of the toy. You don’t know how each turn of the cube will affect their situation next (just like how you don’t know if you’re getting any closer to completing the cube itself), but they are always interesting and inventive scenarios. A brief and bright delight.
Ballsed Up
By UNE | Auckland | Shock Ending
Simplicity often precedes elegance, and that’s exactly what this minute-long, one-shot short is, proving to be more memorable than many of the entries that unfortunately drone on to being forgettable. The shock ending may lack in actual shock value, but this is a tightly-focused snapshot of a relationship at its turning point, organically throwing together the assigned elements and taking away the award for Best Use of the Line in Auckland.
Wanderers
By SnowForge | Hamilton | Film within a Film
With no budget and only two days, this short wins my admiration for its earnest attempt at creating a dystopia near-future with – and actually achieving some success with it. The dialog and performances aren’t going to win anyone over, but the plot is well executed and the simple tricks SnowForge uses (locations, costumes*, a car with the hood up in the background) to effectively build their world has that tactile ad-hoc charm this competition use to rely on.
*They were actually (most deservingly) nominated for Best Costume Design in Hamilton.
The Shirt
By Everything Sticks | Christchurch | Shock Ending
The Shirt – Rialto Channel 48HOURS 2014 from Everything Sticks on Vimeo.
A nasty noir? A sci-fi short? A femme fatal film? The Shirt is many things – namely a tale of a misogynistic prick looking for the titular piece of clothing as well as a nominee for Best Animated in Christchurch – but two things it isn’t is dull and lacking in character. Stu Gilpin (who also directed, edited and co-wrote the short) narrates his character to perfection, spouting off expletives and metaphysical musings with ease, and maintaining a smoky-n-stern demeaned from beginning to shock ending(s).
The Lost Slayer
By Be Prepared To Go Ballistic | Wellington | Shock Ending
The Lost Slayer – Be Prepared To Go Ballistic from Malcolm Hunt on Vimeo.
This is my Incredibly Strange pick for 2014. I’d describe it to you if I could. But I can’t. No one can. It’s a physical impossibility. Just make sure you watch it with a jaw-catching basket by your feet.
