HIFF44 had many shorts programs this season, so we’re not surprised that our loyal patrons may have missed a film or two due to scheduling conflicts. So with the help of our head of short programming, Melina Kiyomi Coumas, we’d like to recommend a handful of films that may have escaped your attention on the first go-round. All of them are driven by a sense of discovery and reawakening and worth seeking out post-festival.
First off, we recognize our Best Short Film Award winner, CHAMORU: A LOST LANGUAGE, from Brian Muna. The succinct but effective documentary was produced by Firelight Media as part of its Homegrown: A Part Of/Apart FromHomegrown: A Part Of/Apart From shorts program.
In his search for self-identity, Muna examines his American cultural upbringing and the importance of passing on his native language to his sons, namely the indigenous CHamoru language of Guam. He also speaks to language advocates and youth who are also trying to revitalize the language with island natives.
“The reality is that most of CHamoru speakers, our elders will be the last full speakers in most CHamoru families on Guam,” Muna said to the Pacific Daily News. “There’s a really important initiative by a few to keep the language alive for generations. If we do nothing now, we must understand that without language, a culture can die.”
As part of PBS’s Homegrown regional film initiative, Muna said he’s busy preparing for his film to be showcased at the DOC NYC Film Festival this month. We wish him the best and here is a link to the festival’s screening.
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HIFF44’s Special Mention for Best Short is TALK TO ME, which was screened as part of the Breaking Cycles shorts program.
An Amazon Prime Video Take One Award finalist from last year, Jimmy Ming Shum is the narrative’s producer, director and co-writer. The Hong Kong-born Shum uses his home base of Tokyo as the setting for a poignant story about an elderly survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing who feels isolated, hungry for human connection. A random cold call from a telemarketer reveals that the man is a survivor as well, this time from the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster. A sense of healing and a new budding friendship is within each other’s grasp.
Filmed during the pandemic lockdown, Merci Magazine says that Shum’s “use of light and shadow, soundscape and visuals, creates a compelling drama that is both timeless and timely.”
After being shown at HIFF44, TALK TO ME was then screened earlier this month at the TRT World Citizen Humanitarian Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey. It came in third place for the overall Best Film award.
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END OF SUMMER was shown as part of our Close Encounters shorts program.
Director Weiqi Cai said his inspiration for the film came from the recent death of his grandmother, “leaving all family members in intense sadness.” He said, “my grandmother’s passing also made me think about those summers at my grandmother’s house. It seemed to me that Grandma never left, and it was as if the people who had passed away would never really go. They continue to live in our lives in some particular form as we grow up. Whenever that summer comes back, we will see each other again.”
The grandmother’s funeral falls on that last day of the season that, according to Chinese tradition, is when the souls of the departed leave this world. Her grandson fears his beloved Grandma’s spirit will disappear. END OF SUMMER is beautiful and moving take on a ghost story.
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Finally, three films from HIFF’s heavy-hitting Coping For The Best shorts program.
Daria Kashcheeva’s ELECTRA is a unique stop-animated short that explores the protagonist’s relationship with her body, sexuality and childhood trauma. Every frame is utterfly captivating and you’ve never really seen a short film like this before.
While the short film is available as a video-on-demand on a European streaming platform (https://www.universcine.com/films/electra), you can preview it on YouTube as both a trailer and a BTS with the director’s commentary:
A particular favorite of ours is GOOSE QUEST. Originally from Singapore, filmmaker Clarisse Chua is currently a story artist at Skydance Animation Studios. In what at first glance is a parody of 8-bit gaming, a naive country duck travels to the big city in hopes of reviving her dead pet hamster. And what looks to be a foreboding side trip turns into a spiritually poignant final sequence.
You can see GOOSE QUEST here, courtesy of Viddsee:
Lastly, two estranged mothers reunite to try to make sense of a daughters’ tragic death due to a school shooting in PLAY DATE. Co-directors and lead actors Laura Campbell and Amberlee Colson are excellent in this top-notch production that includes behind-the-scenes help from award winners Kenneth Lonergan and J. Smith-Cameron, recognized from their work on MANCHESTER BY THE SEA and SUCCESSION, respectively.
“We have been floored by audience reactions to this film,” Campbell said. “People seek us out after screening to tell us their grief stories and let us know they feel seen. We really wanted to create a piece that wouldn’t distance people from this type of tragedy, and instead make them able to relate. If we can relate to one another’s pain, see and be seen by each other, we hope it will increase empathy for folks in this circumstance.”
Campbell said that PLAY DATE continues its festival run at the HollyShorts in London and the Anchorage International Film Festival, both next month in December. “After that, we will be actively seeking opportunities for wider distribution.
“We are also currently working with writer Gavin Broady to develop the story into a limited series which we hope to bring to life in the coming years,” said Campbell.
