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Flickerfest 96
5th International Short Film Festival
Presented by Fearless Promotions
Sydney: Bondi Pavilion, Jan 12-20; Alice Springs: Araluen Arts Centre, Jan 26-28
Broome: Sun Pictures, Feb 8-11; Adelaide: East End Feb 15-18; Perth: Camelot Picture Garden, Mosman Park, Feb 23-26
Reviewed by Margaret Allan One of the more enjoyable aspects of summer are the various outdoor evening activities associated with the Sydney Fringe Festival, and this year's Flickerfest is living up to its reputation of screening high quality short films. Flickerfest 96, the 5th International Outdoor Short Film Festival, is a wonderful collection of shorts from talented film makers from around the world and Australia. There are four touring programs going to Alice Springs, Adelaide, Broome and Perth after the successful Sydney season. I went to the first of these programs which featured 10 short films and two award winning advertisements from Holland. Despite the stylish beauty of these ads with their cleverness and technical brilliance, it was difficult not to feel uncomfortable with the idea of commercialism as art intruding on one's cinematic space. Then again, maybe I'm just a film snob. The short films in this program were extremely good, with a wide range of countries represented. In the Time of Angels from Britain opened the festival and set the standard that continued for the evening. It is a wordless Gothic tale, beautifully filmed with lots of burning candles and flowing robes. Other highlights included Gbanga Tita (The Calabash of God) a narrative from Cameroon; Bitch, a quirky film from New Zealand looking at changing relationships; and Lucinda, 31, the longest film (15 minutes) of the evening, about an young professional who decides that at 31 it is high time for her to marry and have children. Animation highlights included Oppe et Nere (Upstairs and Downstairs), a wonderful film about the creatures that live under the floorboards; El Heroe, a poignant animated tale from Mexico and Leo and Fred — Birthday, a Hungarian children's film about a lion and his tamer. There was a cute film which enacted a French folk song. However as this wasn't subtitled and not being fluent in French, I had the distinct feeling that I was missing out on some thing significant. It was enjoyable nevertheless. In addition to these touring program, the Sydney season includes a number of other features including the International Student Film Festival Awards, Short Poppies, and two predominantly Australian programs of short films and video, Poets in the Dark and Late Nite Video. On the last night, Northern Exposé will highlight the best of the new short films from Sweden and Norway. If that isn't enough, the final part of the Sydney program is the First International Multi-Media and Gaming Exhibition featuring the latest CD-ROMs and computer games. Despite the fact that the additional program are not touring nationally, the main programs of the festival are well worth a look. Short films provide a medium for expressing ideas and vision often more easily than in a full-length film. Sometimes they tell a story, other times they provide more of a snapshot of life or social comment. The national Festival hotline is 190 224 2004.