And if I was giving the prizes: Little Big Shots 2011 Jury screening (Part 2)

Following the previous entry on the child-made films, I will discuss how I would have voted for the adult-made films.

My 1^st prize: The Lost Thing

My 2^nd prize: Superhuman

My 3^rd prize: Franswa Sharl

The Lost Thing

Having won the Best Animated Short Film at the 2011 Oscars I’ll add my voice to the general acclaim for The Lost Thing. I first saw it at the Melbourne International Film Festival last year where it also won an award. Shaun Tan, who was one of the co-directors, and whose book the film is based on, has gone onto an even higher honour, being the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner, the world’s richest children and young adult literature prize. As for the film, I doubt I can add much more. I’ve been a big fan of Shaun Tan’s work for many years, and this film goes very close to doing justice to his astounding drawings. The story speaks of alienation, and how we tend to ignore the unusual in our lives, even if it’s right in front of us. Yet, the penultimate scene gives hope that lost things can find their place in the world. 

Youtube video of entire film with Russian subtitles. It is also available on DVD, with plenty of special features.

Superhuman is a gem. It deals with tragedy with humour, but is neither flippant nor heavy-handed in doing so. Drawing upon a child’s view of the world with precision, it cleverly depicts their outsized imaginations of what their parents are capable, and what happens when their illusions are corrected by reality.

Superhuman

Franswa Sharl was hilarious even after having seen it several times. I also first saw this at the Melbourne International Film Festival. It won the 1^st prize for the adult made film at Little Big Shots, which it can add it to its prestigious awards collection, which includes a Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Callan McAuliffe carries off the cheeky role with ease, and provides a wry voiceover and the supporting actors play their limited roles to perfection.

Youtube clips here and here.

Minnie Loves Junior

It was hard not to put this film in my top three because Minnie Loves Junior was the most endearing film in the competition, and the film I enjoyed the most. It won a special mention in the Generation Kplus section at the Berlin International Film Festival. This film first came to my attention when I saw it listed as part of the Giffoni Experience 2010 in the Generator + 10 short film section. This is such a tender and touching film, yet it has its lighter moments. Languidly paced, it never feels like the story is in a hurry to be told, and with a beautiful ocean backdrop, why not? Yet it still builds to a substantial climax. This a simple story of young love: Minnie is in love with Junior, but Junior pays no notice because he loves the sea. So how can Minnie get Junior’s attention? It’s certainly not with words! Only eight words are uttered – a most commendable economy of dialogue. See this article on the background of the filmmakers.

Mandarin Peel

Mandarins have never looked so juicy and sticky as in Anna McGrath’s Mandarin Peel. With no dialogue, it is a poetic vignette of the friendship of two girls, set against the dry Australian landscape. The contrast between the girls, the landscape and the mandarin is remarkable. I first saw one of Anna McGrath’s films, Small Change, at last year’s Little Big Shots, which focuses, in not quite as concentrated a manner, on the small yet special moments in life.

Youtube clip of Small Change and short interview with Anna.

And if I was giving the prizes: Little Big Shots 2011 Jury screening (Part 1)

The prize winning films at Little Big Shots are decided entirely by a jury of 10 children. The jury is selected from the film reviewing competition held during and after the previous year’s competition. This year, kids under 15 can review any film at Little Big Shots 2011, and those writing the best ones will win a spot on next year’s jury. Not only do they get to decide the Little Big Shots 2012 winner, they also get a pass to all the films.  The competition for the 2012 jury closes on 4 July, so see here for details.

Nothing More, Nothing Less

On Sunday 1 May, I had the great privilege of watching all the films in contention for prizes at Little Big Shots 2011. The screening took place at Studio 1 at ACMI. I was present in a supervisory capacity, along with festival director, Chloe Boulton. I didn’t have any voting rights, but it was interesting not only watching the films, but also watching the children watching the films. While the films were screening, it is quite easy to notice how well the children are engaged with the films. Children have fewer inhibitions about appearing engaged or bored.

There are two categories of prizes. One for Australian adult-made films, and one for Australian child-made films. The voting process is reasonably simple – each juror is given a sheet with all the shortlisted films and gives each film marks out of 10. The scores are then tallied. This year, 10 child-made films were shortlisted and 13 adult-made films. The 10 child-made films also get their own standalone film package at the Little Big Shots festival, which for me, is a perennial highlight.

Director Reuben Morgan with
a Searching for Nessie actor

In my previous post, I’ve already listed the jury prize winners. I will give my own views on which films I would have given the prizes to, and begin with the child-made films.

My 1^st Prize: Searching for Nessie

My 2^nd Prize: A Duck out of Water

My 3^rd Prize: Shark Pool

Searching for Nessie undoubtedly showed the highest level of artistry of all the child-made films. Parental involvement, Chloe Boulton had been assured, was minimal. The music was atmospheric, the sets were beautifully designed and the fog was a fine touch. I did have some slight reservations over the morality of the film – essentially the Scottish teddy bears were running a Loch Ness monster scam, but apart from that it was a clear winner. An article from The Courier-Mail is here.

A Duck out of Water filmmakers

A Duck out of Water was a claymation film made by Grade 5 and 6 students at Yarraville West Primary School. They have a great film program, in which all Grade 5 and 6 students get involved. In Little Big Shots 2010, the students made Anna’s Doll, a claymation film about the 2009 Black Saturday Victorian bushfires, which deservedly won first prize. Coincidentally, I work with the mother of one of the children who was involved in this year’s film. I found this out when I was promoting Little Big Shots at my workplace by handing out brochures, and so she was able to tell me what an innovative film program the school has. This year’s effort, A Duck out of Water was a very humorous affair, and the claymation showed some painstaking effort. The swimming race, and its aftermath was a quite a hoot.

Animation sequence from Shark Pool

Shark Pool was a live-action documentary made by students from Lithgow High School. It was a engaging and well-made with some decent shark footage and informative interviews.

Of the other films, How Not to Get a Girl was a close contender for my top three. This was a humorous and well-executed simple idea. The main issue I had was the location – it was shot near a main road, and the passing traffic meant that some of the sound lacked clarity.

Lucas Haynes, director of Nothing More, Nothing Less

I think Nothing More, Nothing Less, although not nearly as accomplished as Searching for Nessie, was the most original of all the child-made films. The first time I saw it, I have to admit I was nonplussed. I grasped the film much better when I saw it a second time at the festival itself. The fault was definitely with me, and not director Lucas Haynes. The premise is moving: a 12 year old boy with dyslexia contemplates whether taking a magic pill to cure him. However, he needs to decide whether to do so will kill his creative abilities in the process. While some of the script is a little simplistic, there are some extraordinary visual sequences, which show a true cinematic mentality. I was particularly struck by the final scene where Lucas makes his fateful decision. This film easily has the greatest emotional impact of the child-made films. There a couple of good news articles on Lucas in a The Age and also a local paper. In these articles, Lucas, who is dyslexic, says that he is determined to make his career in film, and in his case there are no other options. Along with Reuben Morgan, these two are definitely filmmakers to watch.