Reel Shorts 3
D: Various
“For a Swim With the Fish,” directed by Tara Autovino, stars the director’s daughter, Tali, who is charming as a girl who believes her deceased mother is a mermaid living in the Gulf of Mexico… Karl Raudsepp-Hearne’s “Monday Night” is a five-minute laugher in which a man loses his temper on the racquetball court. It’s uncomfortably funny to watch his partner try to coax money out of him for a business venture after the match… “Pop Foul,” directed by Moon Molson, is chillingly good: a searing look at a cycle of lies, betrayals, and violence within a family. The ending will stick with you… “Piece by Piece,” from Sachi Schuricht, is a fascinating look inside the minds of a rather diverse group: a devoted and perhaps obsessive bunch of “speedcubers.” This documentary examines the comeback of the Rubik’s Cube… Cameron Fay’s “Tom’s War on Terror” is a two-minute romp through an embarrassing moment in the life of Tom, a nervous guy who can’t handle all the tension of life lived under a “yellow alert”… “By Modern Measure,” Matthew Lessner’s offering, is presented as a French sociologist’s documentary about the lives of two Americans who meet outside a Taco Bell. A clever and playful swipe at the MySpace generation… Josh Safdie’s “We’re Going to the Zoo” is an appealing hitchhiker film in which a brother and sister on their way to the zoo somehow manage to accidentally pick up a hitchhiker, who, luckily for everyone, doesn’t turn out to be a psychopathic slasher or a pederast… “Make a Wish,” from Cherien Dabis, takes a look at the Israel-Palestine dispute from the perspective of a young girl caught in the middle of the ongoing conflict. Very moving and thought-provoking.
“Pop Foul” received the Reel Shorts Jury Award.
11am, Alamo South Lamar
This article appears in March 16 • 2007.