THE BLACK HOLE (WINNER, BEST FILMINUTE 2009)
Phil Sansom & Olly Williams
UK
• I like this because it brought out the claustrophobiod in me. Its memorable, simple and well shot. It was unexpected. I like the twist at the end of the story. My palms were sweating and I felt nauseated. Poor chap, I hope somebody got him out of there safely... – Jury
• imaginative and unexpected, it made me both laugh and gasp, which is wonderful in any film - quite remarkable of one that unfolds in a minute. – Jury
• A smart visual joke, wonderfully filmed and neatly told – Jury
• Brilliant piece of work that wittily shows the effect of greed.
• A bored office employee finds a photocopied piece of paper with the power to transcend space and time. Soon he moves from stealing candy bars to pilfering bricks of cash from the company safe. Structured around this high concept, Black Hole is a well-executed short — a true testament to how well any story can be told in a minute. – Eye Weekly
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LIFE
(WINNER, PEOPLE’S CHOICE 2009)
James Cooper
Canada
• Nicely staged, good acting and the funny “what the f**k line from the guru had me laughing out loud - Jury
• Well done. Beautiful images with a funny punch...
• Great work from both the film crew and the writer, Arjun Basu!
• Hilarious
• Serious production values. I could watch this film again and again and again. F$(%&king awesome!
| SUN-DAY (Top Rated Film, 4.8 Stars
)
Pantaleone A. Megna
ITALY
• The film’s strong narrative and art direction along with its engaging camera work and soundtrack enhance a darkly intense and engaging acting performance that resonates long after the final image.
• magic
• molto significativo e di messaggio sociale per i giovani grande
• Magnificent
• Powerful and memorable. Nice work. |
THE GOATS (JURY COMMENDATION)
Razvan Parlog
ROMANIA
• A very round and very efficiently told story. The film makers were able to
create an atmosphere and give the viewers a sense of place and characters
all within 60 seconds. And it's funny. I'd love to see more of what's
happening in this Street. – Jury
• This was a universal tale of protecting one's possessions from a Romanian neighborhood, told with great economy and wit. – Jury
• Lol. As much as it’s horrible it is also hilarious. At the end I’m thinking he will do the same and steal the goat, or maybe ??? a fun little very romanian – funny and a bit disturbing. i also like a lot the still kamera. |
???/HELL (JURY COMMENDATION)
David OReilly
IRELAND / GERMANY
• An awesome, visually stunning, technically impressive nightmare – Jury
• In this chilling, enigmatic, animated short set in outer space, two celestial beings slink to the lower depths of hell. The images created by filmmaker David O’Reilly are equally terrifying: kitten skulls splitting in two, excavated SS planes and the flying head of Walt Disney. With a tempestuous orchestral score, O’Reilly has created a memorable vision of the other side. – Eye Weekly
• Fantastic--that kitty head exploding diamonds, intriguing. I want some of those drugs…
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ELVIRA (JURY COMMENDATION)
José Villefañe
ARGENTINA
• Wonderful rich, textured narrative, bursting with emotional resonance. There are so many stories I want to to know more about, and yet it doesn't feel like a trailer or a snippet but something that works in the present form while suggesting the possibility of a much longer form. – Jury
• the film builds a solid, moving whole through the sensitive combination of fragments: of films, of lives, of implicit historical allusions, of a story being told about someone telling a story. – Jury
• Terriblemente realista el corto, esas caras de milicos.... la voz de la mujer...
Suerte en el concurso.
Saludos de un Argentino en Toronto. |
5”10 (JURY COMMENDATION)
Matthew Taylor
CANADA
• Great Reveal, good emotion, tight and short but packs a punch - Jury
• Intelligently selected clues unfold, beautifully timed – Jury
• Fantastic tension, well done! |
HOW DO YOU DO(JURY COMMENDATION)
Gabriel Achim
ROMANIA
• The story was involving and unpredictable and it was beautifully crafted, well written, casting and acting was spot on. I felt I was in the presence of a storyteller rather than simply a cinematographer, but it looked great too. Even the titles at the end were handled with wit.The piece reminded me slightly of the film “Amelie”. It evokes a world of offbeat charm and humor. – Jury
• - In all the visual magic of the finalists, nothing struck me as much as the repeated reds and greens of this one, which gave the whole piece a feeling of poetry with repeated rhymes or refrains. And it's also smart, funny and poignant – Jury
• The film is funny, insightful and witty. Well shot and very tightly edited. Nice stuff. |
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AS ANGELS UNDER THE SNOW
Luana Visciglia
Italy
• Strange and sad...interesting stylistically and a moving story. – Jury
• Fantastic and powerful mix of styles. Very moving and bound to resonate with (unfortunately) many people.
• Despite its dark tone and eerie feel, the film is ultimately about the triumph of the human spirit. Thank you for this film |
BLOAT
Laurent Barthelemy & Shizuka Kusayanagi
USA
• pure joy, pure exuberance, with a very winning sexiness to it. – Jury
• Five Stars!!!
• Love the dedication of the filmmakers! I’m guessing they’re a bunch of fun to hang out with.
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BRAINS
Michael Benni Pierce and Shaun Boyle
USA
• Omg ... lol!
• HILARIOUS. I loved it.
• Hungry zombies turn into the Jerky Boys as they prank call an unsuspecting hipster, screaming “BRAIIINNS” into the payphone receiver. Bored with the antics, two men stand armed with baseball bats for when they eventually tire of their one-note punchline. Great performances allow Michael Piece and Shaun Boyle’s short to acheive the same slacker hilarity as Shaun Of The Dead. – Eye Weekly |
Distracted
Peter Horvath
CANADA
• nice shots. good short film peter !
• The complex (and absolutely poetic) art direction of this film is worthy of discussion in its own right. But here's a story that was powerful on SO many levels. In the space of 60 seconds, we find out so much about this woman's past, present, and her hopes for the future. I watched it 4 times in a row the first time and each time I saw something more.
• LOVE,love love |
DROP DEAD
Elena Wen
USA
• There were a number of beautifully produced animations in the selection of the last 25, I selected this one because of the smart way the story unfolded. - Jury
• amazing! not a fantasticly useful comment I know but there you go....
• Absolutely great! Very special and lovely. Thanks!
|
FLAGGED
Alex Budovsky
USA
• Music, rhythm and black and white graphics are enough to create a beautiful and ironic film. – Jury
• Nice and clean, funny and dynamic... well done...
• vERy funny, and I love the end with the comment! Hope the aliens are not getting mad with you, though... |
GELU vs. ALEX
Bogdan Dumitrescu
Romania
• Dragut film, e foarte modern, foarte dragut!
• Suspense. Intrigue. Romance. Humour. What else could you ask for?
• Among the many great submissions from Romanian filmmakers this year, you'll find this little gem that looks at how young boys relate to one another. With empty water bottles acting as floatation devices, two young preteens discuss which ones will best help them get across a river to get to the boathouse. As the boys jump in the river, one inevitably fails in his attempt. Canadian Immigrant |
HEATWAVE
Mirel Bran
Romania
• Superb story and brilliant use of the minute. A universal tale of the city meeting the country and the kind of shenanigans that can ensue when extreme weather is factored in. The tension created through powerful acting performances is fantastic. The use of the village drunk and as the eyes on it all is a wonderful device and a real coup for a one-minute film – Jury
• greeeeeeat ! 5 stars !
• Superb.
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I LIKE BIRD
Britt Raes
Belgium
• Mijn favoriet!
• An engaging piece featuring a unique animation style supported by some powerful and entrancing sound design work. As the film progresses we gradually realize that deeper themes are at work, forcing us to think hard about some of life’s bigger questions. – Jury
• I definitely like Bird!!! Incredible work. Thank you. |
KRONKELS
Emma Vanhille
Belgium
• Poignant, delicately illustrated and fragmented in its narration, Kronkels is a hauntingly beautiful expression of human tragedy, misery, connection and loss. Leaving interpretation up to the viewer, this Belgian offering makes you pause for a moment and wonder what our connections to modern technology and ourselves is all about. Canadian Immigrant
• this is so psycho...and sad..
• very poetic
• zeer mooi en ontroerend =]
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ME & JIM
Mark Nava
Serbia / USA
• this could easily have been too self-consciously clever, and yet it wasn't. There's both a sweetness and a playfulness to the pastiche/homage, which hits exactly the right note. And the narrator is entirely endearing in both his confidence and his uncertainty.- Jury
• In this Stranger Than Paradise-styled short, a would-be filmmaker tries to convince his friends that his genius would reveal itself in a meeting with director Jim Jarmusch. When the two do meet in a dream sequence (featuring Jarmusch himself), it turns out he’s just another idiot. Mark Nava’s film is coolly original, the makings of a talent like Jim himself. – Eye Weekly Online
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OPEN SOCIETY
Vilo Csino
Slovak Republic
• This intense, strange and morbid submission pulls you straight into a medical examination room where a team of doctors stand around a body, trying to sort out what has happened to the patient. The rot, decay and unidentifiable disease taking over the patient ends in a gruesome twitch of finale. – Canadian Immigrant
• Brilliant pacing…Gothic horror masterpiece in a minute.
• A horror film but also a comment on the corruption and rot in many of the Eastern European governments today. |
ODD BOY OUT
Vincent Lambe
Ireland
• Perfect "one minute" twist to the bully narrative! Love it.
• Ha! That's quite funny! Love the way he sticks his head back in!
• Wow, great acting and great story. Very touching! |
RAPTURE
John Riley
UK / Romania
• The end-of-days scenario is enhanced by very unique sound design that
sparingly, and playfully, clues the audience in. How our two characters
came to be the last ones on earth, and where they go next is left up to
those who pause to think about the title of the film. Fantastic. - Jury
• Great editing, fantastic sound design, dynamic acting and a tight chilling story - beautiful
• Could be the basis for something much larger and very powerful
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SILENCES
George M. Thomas
India
• This film manages to say a lot without any actual dialogue, - the
interaction between the two characters speaks volumes. Wonderful acting. - Jury
• Sometimes the most wondrous things can transpire in a silent moment, which is what this Indian submission clearly and poignantly expresses. Love, a moment for reconciliation lost, and then found again, an affirmation of one's place in a relationship ... it's all captured between one young couple over the silent actions of preparing breakfast in the morning. Canadian Immigrant
• It made me cry and I don’t know why. Amazing film |
SPACE BETWEEN US
Christopher Wadsworth
Thailand / Canada
• Remarkable sense of synthesis. It could be a trailer for a longer story, but at the same time it is sufficient in itself. – Jury
• This film sucked me in and held me right to the creepy end. Bangkok will never feel the same…
• The soundtrack to this film and the pitch of the woman’s voice have haunted me for days. Fantastic work. |
WHAT’S VIRGIN MEAN
Michael Davies
UK
• In Michael Davies’ film, a mum tries to explain sex to her daughter, while roughly stirring a bowl of batter. Visual puns aside, her awkward descriptions (“Daddy takes his special thing and puts it in mummy’s special place”) and the film’s hurried pacing yield a punchline (too good to spoil) worth many rewarding chuckles. Kids do say the darndest things! – Eye Weekly
• Funniest film in the collection. Left me laughing long after the screen went to black
• Superb acting and a brilliant unforeseen punch line. More from this director please!
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