A program of the Vashon Film Institute, the Vashon Island Film Festival (“VIFF”) is held on picturesque Vashon Island, WA, every second week of August, celebrating independent film through curated screenings of notable and award-winning films from the preceding festival season.
The Vashon Film Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering and supporting independent filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest.
These films played in competition at the Vashon Film Festival from 8-11 Aug. My access was provided through press screeners. You can find full details of the 2024 festival at https://vashonislandfilmfestival.com/.
Crows (dir Andrew Saunderson, wr Amira Dughri and Andrew Saunderson), USA 2024
Our main character (Bryar Freed-Golden) lives alone. She misses her son, Jacob, but every attempt to call him reaches his voicemail.
While she’s so lonely, she starts being plagued by a group of crows who congregate in her garden.
Oversized crows carrying out some sort of ritual. Crows who fill the void left by the death of her husband and the fact her family live so far away.
Filmed in black and white, it is both unsettling and comical, with both tones complimenting each other.
***.5
Dissolution (dir Anthony Saxe, wr Anthony Saxe ) USA/Australia 2023
Starring Saxe’s actual parents Linda DiVirgilio and Eddie Saxe as themselves, this hybrid documentary/narrative short is an achingly honest exploration of how love can deteriorate and lives alongside it.
Deeply moving and utilising archive video footage alongside dramatised scenes, this is a film which lingers long in the memory, picking out the moments in life where it is important to remember and connect.
****
Ripe! (dir Tusk [Kerry Furrh & Olivia Mitchell], wr Tusk) Spain 2024
A coming-of-age romance told through a refreshingly authentic LGBTQ+ female perspective. Sophie (Raina Landolfi) and Gloria (Rita Roca) embark on a tentative romance which is sporty, stylish, sensitive and sapphic.
Filled with naturalistic touches and quirky ideas, Tusk bring a proud realism to this tale of a broken arm and quiet confidences, presented in a non-linear style and with a backdrop of easy listening numbers.
****
The Masterpiece (dir Àlex Lora Cercos, wr Alfonso Amador & Lluís Quílez) Spain 2024
A game of cat and mouse as wealthy couple Daniel Grao and Melina Matthews invite a couple of immigrants (Babou Cham and Adam Norou) , back to their home to collect some items of junk they no longer want.
With a threatening and static score and claustrophobic filming, we begin to feel uneasy but don’t really know why, as more and more items are pushed on to the pair following the initial offer of a dryer.
What;s really going on isn’t obvious on either side, but the resolution is an interesting one.
***.5
The Year of Staring at Noses (dir Karen Knox & Matt Eastman, wr Karen Knox & Matt Eastman) USA 2024
Karen Knox (aka ‘Samantha’), after being bumped from an audition because they “couldn’t get on board with the nose” saw an opportunity to have a nose job and chronicle the journey in this drama-documentary.
Although it touches her real life experience, Knox mines the subject for comedy as well as pointed comment on how we are strongly encouraged to change our natural appearance for what is seen to be acceptable, even for one of those ‘finding love’ reality shows.
I loved the shifting aspect ratios in this inventive short – but it is also as shallow in places as the reality shows it is lampooning, and it is really difficult to separate fact from fiction as ‘Samantha’ takes increasingly deranged routes to seek the rush of celebrity validation.
***
Trapped (dir Sam Cutler-Kreutz & David Cutler-Kreutz, wr Sam Cutler-Kreutz & David Cutler-Kreutz) USA 2024
Rich kids with nothing better to do than start a ‘senior pranlk’ in a school hall, and yet the whole microcosm of the haves and have nots is writ large in one 15-minute short in true thriller style. “Those kids, their parents are huge donors.” How the shit hits the fan, so quickly, and how these people are set up to tread on the poorer people from birth.
Does this make you rage? It should, and it does. Great performance from Javier Molina as the janitor who just wants to keep his child safe.
****