Good news for those who missed this year's
Film Brothers Festival of Shorts at
Theatre N (which was held in tandem with Fringe Wilmington for the past few years) -- the popular film festival has one more run at the
Delaware Art Museum on October 5. In the past, The Festival of Shorts has screened films that have gone on to do big things, most notably Delaware native Luke Matheny's
God of Love, which won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film in 2011.
This year, there are eight films from all over the world, including
Cracker Jack Rises by Delaware's Indie Frame Films, an entry in last year's Fringe Wilmington Film Festival (aka the "Super Noodles" festival -- the challenge being to include certain noodle-related footage in the film somehow). I would have liked to have seen a Delaware film with fewer limits, but
Cracker Jack Rises is a funny and entertaining film.
The standout films for me were
30% Women in Politics in Sierra Leone, a UK film by Anna Cady and Em Cooper that blends oil painted animation with live-action footage and interviews of three women running for Parliament in post-conflict Sierra Leone. The title derives from a bill that would require the government to have a 30% quota of women representation. Even if you prefer lighter fare in film festivals, this film will engage you from beginning to end.
Another favorite does qualify as "lighter fare": a romantic, comic film called
Cataplexy by Los Angeles filmmaker John Salcido. It's the story of a guy who orders a call girl, only to find that the woman they've sent is an old high school friend. Embarrassed, he explains that he has an unusual disorder, and they spend the evening catching up instead of following through on the "date." You'll probably see the punchline coming, but it's a very well done little film.
The full list of films are after the jump: