Picking The Winners!
The fantastic response and quality to last years festival entries, was further set in stone, when the 2008 BAFTA nominations were recently announced. Not only had we managed to foresee 3 out of the 5 nominated shorts in the live action category, but also the winning animation.
The Live action Nominees we chose featured the winning:
Dog Altogether (16 mins)
Dog Altogether, directed by acclaimed actor Paddy Cosidine (The Bourne Ultimatum; My Summer of Love), is the story of Joseph, a man who is plagued by violence and inner rage, that is driving him to self destruction. As he falls deeper in his own turmoil, Joseph scours the landscape for a single grain of redemption, that might restore hope to his fractured bitter life.
Soft (14 mins)
Soft, directed by Simon Ellis. When a Father and son are independently terrorised by the same gang of youths, Dad is forced to deal with fears that he hasn't had to face since leaving school. It is a distubing tale of teenage violence, intimidation and the morality of revenge. Ellis is currently in post-production on his first feature.
Hesitation (16 min 25)
Hesiation, directed by Virginia Gilbert. Everything is in place: a resort drenched in sunshine, lazing holiday-makers and middle aged married couple, Paul (Gerard McSorely) and Rebecca (Suzanne Burden) reading by the poolside. When a spirited French boy tears his way through the picture-perfect scene, happily oblivious to the noise and dissruption his antics cause. Paul's anger grows irrationally and becomes focused on the boy, with potentially tragic consequences.
The winning animation:
The Pearce Sisters (8 mins)
The Pearce Sisters, directed by Luis Cook. An amusingly bleak tale of two weather lashed old spinsters, who live on a remote austere strip of coast. Taking shelter in a a beaten driftwood shack, they scrape out a miserable existence from the sea. When it offers up a hansome but half drowned man, they do their best to resuscitate him. When he fails to show the proper gratitude, things start to go awry.
