Short Films and Beer Commercials

I've been enjoying a four-week film series here in Decatur that kicked off last week with the first film from Krzysztof Kieślowski's The Decalogue. I was on the "expert" panel, but despite my lack of expertise when it comes to Polish cinema, it was enlightening to discuss the film afterwards. Everyone had different insights, and I left with a much deeper appreciation than after watching it by myself on DVD a few years back.

Last night was particularly good since two of the three filmmakers whose works were shown were actually there to discuss their shorts, Brandon McCormick and Jackson Walker. I particularly liked this McCormick film:

He's only 24, but he's been making films since he was 15. He'll start working on a feature film soon—a family adventure film that sounds very cool. Here's another one of his films I dug...



Walker's film dealt with the loss of a child, and the fact that he lost a child to SIDS soon after making the film gave it a real gut punch. I was mostly impressed that he left L.A. and, he thought, his acting career, to move back to Dublin, Ga., where he made this film. He's since found out that you can be an actor in Georgia, and he'll be in four movies in the next year.

Toddy Burton wasn't able to make it, but her film Aviatrix, about the fantasy life of a cancer patient, was one of the best I've seen in a while. It's not available online, but it is making the festival circuit. It's been refreshing to see something of a renaissance in short films in recent years.

I leave you with that most creative of all media, the TV beer commercial: