AFF Review: Shorts Program 8 ,'The Future Now'
Science fiction is an often under-represented genre in local film festivals, but this year's Austin Film Festival (AFF) has been quite the exception, especially with AFF Shorts Program 8 "The Future Now." This program boasts not only high quality filmmaking, but also features some heavy-hitting new filmmakers and recognizable cast members. I was amazed by the evocative nature of each film, whether the emotional reaction brought forth was laughter, awe or tears.
By far I was most impressed with HENRi, directed by Eli Sasich, which was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2010 for which Sasich continues to provide updates to his backers. Set in the future, a derelict spaceship controlled by Hybrid Electronic/Neuron Responsive Intelligence -- HENRi for short -- and powered by a human brain, has begun to experience disjointed memories of its original owner. Find out more about this film that pays homage to sci-fi greats such as 2001: Space Odyssey and Isaac Asimov's "Laws of Robotics" after the jump, as well as both local and international short films featured in "The Future Now" program.
Influence of Asimov in the story of HENRi is apparent from references to the positronic brain to the presence of the female lead mission scientist named Dr. Calvin. Anyone familiar with Asimov's fictional history of robotics knows that as a chief robopsychologist, Dr. Susan Calvin is a recurring character in Asimov's writing. The brain, which acts as a biological interface with a computer to interact with the crew, reason, and problem-solve, cannot understand yet tries to remember the memories that break through as it becomes self-aware. With the crew now dead, HENRi uses the ship's Systems Assistance & Mechanic (SAM) droid to build himself a crude mechanical body from parts of the ship, so he can understand the images he sees and feel alive and free.
For a film that is almost wholly dependent on digital animation and special effects, HENRi is a truly human tale exploring what it means to be a conscious individual. The memory of a critical exchange between Dr. Calvin portrayed by veteran actress Margot Kidder and HENRi is heart-wrenching, and another pivotal scene with a cameo by Keir Dullea also exudes raw emotion. The cinematography and art direction of this short film are spectacular, and wholeheartedly supports a well-written tale of self-discovery.
On a lighter note, University of Central Arkansas student filmmaker Kim Risi portrays the story of an inmate sentenced to forced labor on the lunar surface in The Man in the Moon. Things get quite strange when the inmate discovers a secret entrance to another resident's home, resulting in a very unexpected turn of events that will leave you chuckling. The dark quirky humor is reminiscent of Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone television series.
Risi was named the Outstanding Digital Filmmaking Student by the University of Central Arkansas digital filmmaking faculty, and her short film also earned the "Faculty Choice" Award and five other awards at the UCA Film Festival, which was judged by local professional filmmakers.
Recent University of Texas RTF graduate and Austin Film Society's Senior Artist Services Apprentice Zach Endres wrote and directed The Teleported Man, in which prisoner Davey Wallace (Tim Waggoner) agrees to be a test subject for a teleportation experiment in return for an earlier release. Despite the potential threat to his life, Wallace seeks redemption by going through with tests in order to shorten his sentence and get closer to his son -- until the time travel reveals a well kept secret. Endres' feature script, Deep Well, was accepted into the second round of the 2012 AFF Script Competition for drama.
Parallel is a dramatic short film written and directed by Swiss filmmaker Andrew R. Jones. Lead character Tim Caviot (Carlos Leal) searches through parallel worlds for something he lost from his initial one. Much like Nacho Vigalondo's lead character in Timecrimes, Caviot's actions wind up doing more damage than good throughout most of the story. Jones has significant experience with visual effects as an animation supervisor in films including Godzilla, Titanic and Avatar. However, Jones relies on visual effects in Parallel merely as a catalyst in what is essentially a love story -- how far will one go to be with their soulmate, and what consequences is one willing to live with?
The longest and darkest of the short films in Shorts Program 8, Loom was directed by Luke Scott with his father Ridley Scott as executive producer. Loom stars Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar, Ted) as Tommi Galvan, a senior quality regulator who steals DNA for his personal experiments from his employer Vitro Food Technologies. The futuristic dystopian plot bears more than a passing resemblance to the genetic manipulation and cloning of the elder Scott's Blade Runner, and Loom character Escha portrayed by Jelly Howie bears more than a striking resemblance both in features and behavior to Blade Runner character Pris.
Phone Home, co-directed by Greg McLeod with his brother and writer Myles McLeod, may appear at first to have the simplicity of a knock-knock joke, but on closer examination viewers will discover multiple layers of humor. In this short film, an astronaut makes the first phone call from Mars to his wife, who is much less enthused than would be expected. This short animated film is less than three minutes but the humor lasts much longer. Be sure to watch the action going on in the background scenes for a memorable chuckle.
Although it's not common for short films to have heavy or wide distribution, I hope that many if not all of these films are made available on the internet for viewing after their festival runs. I highly encourage sci-fi fans to check out all of the selections in this AFF short film program.