Just some additional thoughts I have about a few of the short films that were screened at this particular programme:
Land of Barbar
This reminded me of such films like The Color of Pomegranates with the vibrant colors and the matching of the subjects’ costumes against the environmental backdrops. It’s not bad, but pretty short and doesn’t build up to anything more than that.
Conditio Humana
Also another even shorter one than the previous film Land of Barbar. This one seems to have been projected on a 16mm print, which is nice especially in black and white. Seems to focus on the faces of these different subjects, but I’m not sure what we were supposed to get out of it.
Slightest Pretense
A portrait of depression and the visual auras that precede a migraine all in one. Features a droning soundtrack that matches well with the imagery that is at times underexposed in poorly-lit conditions, given the subject matter of this film. Maybe if I were in a certain head space for it I could see myself identifying more with this. It’s fine, but ultimately this did not leave that strong of an impression on me.
CONFERENCE
This was great. For the first minute I was confused by the repetition of the camerawork cycling through each person sitting by the campfire. As I eventually realized what it was doing however I became transfixed by the subtle changes in each person’s posture, gesture, eye movements and facial expressions as it went along. Very rhythmic and hypnotic, even with an audience member’s phone going off in the background which distracted me for a bit.
Morgenkreis
We follow a dad and his child, presumably new immigrants in Germany who were displaced from what is happening in Gaza. The film makes the Godardian move of interviewing the dad concerning life in Germany and questioning whether or not they feel they belong there in a manner that transcends beyond the confines of the film itself. Simultaneously something that could have been rehearsed for the movie while also recalling particular experiences that may actually ring true for the family in question. Also that long-take of the child and the dad at the playground, to the child’s struggle to adapt to a new classroom environment without the dad present, turning into a colorful dance by the end. All about the struggles of being an immigrant in a country after being displaced from one’s own home, having to adapt to the new dominant culture. It’s not a novel concept for a film, but it’s doing some interesting things for sure.
FELT
This to me was probably the best short film out of all the three Wavelengths short film programmes screened at TIFF. I was aware of Blake Williams’ work in 3D experimentation for a while and loved his curation when he was a guest programmer for the 3D films that were screened as part of the TIFF cinematheque series late last year. This latest film is next-level in terms of playing around with image depth and perspective. Some moments like when you have two landscapes folding into each other that feel indescribable and mind-bending. Like the world itself is warping and bending before your very eyes. It’s crazy stuff – there is nothing really like it right now.
I would like to hope that Blake Williams returns again at some point to show his work, but with the speech on Gaza during the introduction where he called for the firing of TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, I’m not sure if that will happen anytime soon. Politics aside however I think the work he does is quite brilliant.