RESFEST 10
Screener Series: Singapore

It may sound strange to say this but I don’t have the attention span for shorts. Due to the constraints of the form, namely brevity, an impact has to be made quickly in order to draw the audience in. If it doesn’t do so right off the bat, my mind starts wandering.Also, works that are too short barely have time to register before they end — and then my brain blames me for the wasted burst of concentration and further shortens my attention span in revenge.
And there’s the fact that you seldom watch one short in isolation, so you’re constantly switching gears, trying to process what’s on screen and deciding whether you like it or not: yes, no, argh it’s over.
So 16 works in 66 minutes — including music videos, an instructional video, a video brochure, short films, short short films and “motion design” — was a rather daunting prospect. What did it take to leave a lasting impression and to distinguish oneself from the pack? A work with a distinctive voice or point of view that was assured and sustained.
Before the official Adobe Audience Choice Awards are announced tomorrow, I’d like to give out my own slew of awards.

Most Ambitious But Flawed
Take Me Home a.k.a. I Saw Jesus
Gözde and Russel Zehnder
A short film with some lovely images and a sustained elegiac tone. I wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, though the fact that it was puzzling was not necessarily a bad thing. What I found annoying was the aggressive soft focus, which didn’t let up for a single moment.

Most Open To Interesting Speculation
Strap It On — Futon
Momorobo
A manga-inspired battle between Futon and a band of otherworldly beings. Couldn’t quite make out what they were supposed to be strapping on.

Most Reminiscent Of Edward Gorey’s Gashlycrumb Tinies
Lacklustre Lucy
Damian Lee, Rex Lee

Most Likely To Be Mistaken For A Calvin Klein Ad
Beasty Beuys
Ivanho Harlim

Most Fun With Words, Literally
Olives — The Observatory
Ffurious

Best Dissection Of A Fairy Tale
How To Be An Effective Little Red Riding Hood
Pullat Anand Narayan

Best Visual Pun
Lost My Head — The Oddfellows
Eric Khoo
Ah, back to a more innocent time when avian flu wasn’t the threat it is today and chickens were free to roam and be slaughtered.

Most At Home In A Dance Club
Solskinn
Jogn
HDB flats look pretty when viewed through a kaleidoscope.

Best Hair
Passage
Thomas Barker

Least Likely To Induce A Headache/Most Creepy
Killing Time — The Observatory
Royston Tan
A simple single image of a person with headphones on is effectively turned into an unsettling, disturbing one when the eyeballs are whited out.

Most Bling
Blow — Parking Lot Pimp
Felix Ng

Best Cheesy Graphics, Best Deadpan Delivery, Best Lyrics
Beat Police
Beth Hunter
What’s not to like from the cheesy video game-like graphics to the concept of beat police hunting down those who massacre songs at karaoke lounges? If only they existed!

(For sinema.sg)