Short, sweet, sad and more: Films at both ends of the Cape
It may be the dead of winter, but Cape Cod is offering up a short and sweet reprieve from the existentially gray gloom.
Two festivals of short films ― one animated, one not ― are scheduled for the beginning and end of this week at opposite ends of the Cape.
At the Woods Hole Film Festival, starting Jan. 14, expect some laughs.
“The program is very intentionally chosen to be a selection of narrative, documentary and comedy but given that it’s January, we wanted lighter fare,” says Judy Laster, director of the Woods Hole Film Festival.
Laster chose the shorts working with the festival’s associate director, John Gamache, from films that have been part of other Woods Hole Film Festivals over the years.
The 92-minute shorts program, at 7 p.m. at Redfield Auditorium, marks the post-COVID return of the festival’s winter/spring film series with twice-monthly in-person screenings from January through May. The screenings will be held in Woods Hole.
Next up, at 7 p.m. Jan. 21, is “Scrum,” a documentary by Thomas Morgan about Frank McKinney, the first and only Black college rugby coach in the United States.
The Woods Hole Film Festival’s main offering comes in the last week in July and first week in August when more than 150 independent films are screened. The off-season festival fare had been known as “Dinner and a Movie” with the festival partnering with local restaurants.
“The challenge we have right now is finding open restaurants,” Laster says. “But it will resume. The movie starts now and dinner is coming later.”
At the other end of the Cape, from Jan. 20-22, Wellfleet Preservation Hall is hosting its 22nd annual “Animation Show of Shows” following a two-year hiatus during the pandemic.
There are four screenings Friday through Sunday, offering nine recent animation films plus one restored classic.
In a press release, organizers describe the short works as dealing “with both the anxieties and hopes of a world faced with a seemingly endless series of existential crises. All are inventive, their tone ranges from the whimsical to the profound; their techniques, from stop-motion to hand-drawn to computer-aided.”
Of the animation films presented in Wellfleet over the years, 41 have been nominated for Academy Awards and 11 took home the Oscar, according to festival organizers.
This year’s selection of short animation films represent 10 countries and nine of the works were made by women.
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Times and ticket prices, as well as locations for each festival are listed below, along with organizers’ brief description of each of the shorts.
Woods Hole Film Festival
Screenings at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Redfield Auditorium, 45 Water St., begin at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $16 and $12 for festival members and are on sale in advance at www.woodsholefilmfestival.org and at the door.
"Best of the Fest: Woods Hole Film Festival Shorts from the Lighter Side" (92 minutes)
"Non-Negotiable," a comedy by Mike Doxford, UK, 2022, 9 mins.
A couple in a cafe await with trepidation their harshest critic and most important confidant... their 9-year-old daughter. Here she outlines the terms and conditions she requires for the arrival of her new sibling.
"Tiny Titanic," a documentary by Mike Scholtz, US, 2022, 9 mins.
A Minnesota family discovers some surprising connections to the Titanic disaster. They decide to honor the ship by building a miniature replica in their front yard.
"The Diamond," a comedy by Vedran Rupic, Sweden, 2021, 14 mins.
Stefan is lonely with a blinding ambition to make friends. One day he stumbles upon a diamond in the woods. Unable to reach it, the solution presents itself in the form of an even smaller man.
"8 ¾," a comedy by Shawn Matthew Cheatham, USA 2020 10 mins.
Armed with a formidable knowledge of Italian cinema, an irrepressible eight-year-old boy helps his grandfather recover from a catastrophic loss.
"Wei-Lai," a comedy by Robin Wang, USA 2022 14 mins
Tired of getting pushed and punished by his own parents, Wei-Lai, an 11-year-old Chinese American boy, decides to show up at his best friend’s family and offer himself up for adoption.
"Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver," a documentary by Lewie & Noah Kloster, USA, 2021 10 mins
In 1982, the completion of Jim Jarmusch's sophomore film, "Stranger Than Paradise," hinged on producer Sara Driver's willingness to smuggle one of the world's rarest and most controversial films across the Atlantic Ocean.
"The F-Word" a comedy by Alex and Paul Cannon, USA 2022, 7 mins.
A father explains to his young daughter what the f-word means.
"Favorite Daughter," a documentary by Dana Reilly, USA, 2022, 19 mins.
A filmmaker's grandmother and mother shelter in place together in a lower Manhattan apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic. A raw and charming, melancholy and funny portrait of two women with vastly different experiences coming together and supporting one another through the uncertainty of spending the next chapters of their lives “alone,” without a partner.
For more information, email info@woodsholefilmfestival.org or call 508-495-3456.
Wellfleet Preservation Hall animation
Located at 335 Main St., the Hall will offer four screenings: 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday Jan. 22. All shows are $15, $16 at the door. Tickets available in advance at www.wellfleetpreservationhall.org. Current COVID policies can also be found at the Hall website.
"Beyond Noh," Patrick Smith/Kaori Ishida (U.S./Japan)
"Empty Places ," Geoffroy de Crecy (France)
"Beseder" (Good and Better,) Gil Alkabetz (Germany)
"Zoizoglyphe," Jeanne Apergis (France)
"Rain" (Deszcz) Piotr Milczarek (Poland)
"Average Happiness," Maja Gehrig (Switzerland)
"Aurora," Jo Meuris (U.S.)
"Yes-People," Gísli Darri Halldórsson (Iceland)
"Ties," Dina Velikovskaya (Germany/Russia)
"The Man Who Planted Trees," Frédéric Back (Canada)
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Film festivals on Cape Cod keep life short and sweet
