The 7th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival announced its lineup for Shorter Is Better, a short film showcase comprised of eight themed programs, featuring 58 of the “best short stories told by filmmakers from all over the world, from all walks of life.”
Milwaukee Film’s newest shorts programs, Sports Shorts. Shorts about Sports. and Stories We Tell, return for a second year, and will join programs: The Best Damn F*#@ing Midnight Program Ever. Sh*t., Date Night, Let’s Get Animated, Out of This World, Modern Families and Stranger Than Fiction.
2015 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL
SHORTER IS BETTER
Shorts: The Best Damn F*#@ing Midnight Program Ever. Sh*t.
Not for the faint of heart (or those who aren’t willing to equip themselves with adult diapers) comes this series of brain-f^#@ingly psychedelic, pants-sh*ttingly insane shorts — replete with bloody stumps, psycho ghosts, and plotlines that make Donnie Darko look like Bambi. Only those looking for a temporary respite from political correctness and polite society need apply.
ANAL JUKE -anal juice- (Ketsujiru Juke) (Japan / 2013 / Director: Sawako Kabuki)
The Black Bear (L’ours noir) (France, Belgium / 2015 / Directors: Méryl Fortunat-Rossi, Xavier Séron) (pictured above)
DRIVING (USA / 2014 / Director: Nate Theis)
Limbo Limbo Travel (France / 2014 / Directors: Zsuzsanna Kreif, Borbála Zétényi)
Polaroid (Norway / 2015 / Director: Lars Klevberg)
Primrose Lane (USA / 2014 / Director: Nick Phillips)
Kajutaijuq: The Spirit That Comes (Canada / 2015 / Director: Scott Brachmayer)
teeth (United Kingdom, Hungary, USA / 2015 / Directors: Tom Brown, Daniel Gray)
Zepo (Spain / 2014 / Director: Cesar Diaz Melendez)
Shorts: Date Night
You should be sure to swipe right on this fun, fluffy, and relatable collection of love in all of its messy glory. We celebrate heart-pounding puppy love, sobbing-in-the-shower breakups, and all the love emojis in between. Be it young love, old love, new love, or no love at all, these relatable bite-sized bits are sure to do a number on your heartstrings.
Digits (USA / 2015 / Director: Alexander Engel)
Forever Over (Germany / 2014 / Director: Erik Schmitt)
In the Clouds (En las Nubes) (Argentina / 2014 / Director: Marcelo Mitnik)
One-Minute Time Machine (USA, United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Devon Avery)
Say Nothing (No Digas Nada) (Spain / 2014 / Director: Silvia Abascal) (pictured above)
We’ll Find Something (USA / 2015 / Director: Casey Gooden)
Who’s Up? (Qui de Nous Deux?) (France / 2014 / Director: Benjamin Bouhana) (pictured in main image above)
Shorts: Let’s Get Animated
This diverse, unexpected, and beautiful grouping of animated offerings presents an ever-shifting series of stories where anything can and will happen. Ranging from silly and absurd to heartfelt and personal, each short is perfectly matched with its technique, form, and function in animated harmony. The wide variety is sure to provoke post-screening conversations in the lobby.
Automatic Fitness (Germany / 2015 / Directors: Alberto Couceiro, Alejandra Tomei) (pictured above)
Beach Flag (Vosta) (France / 2014 / Director: Sarah Saidani)
Edmond (United Kingdom / 2015 / Director: Nina Gantz)
The Five Minute Museum (Switzerland / 2015 / Director: Paul Bush)
Light Motif (France, United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Frédéric Bonpapa)
Queen Bum (Königin Po) (Switzerland / 2015 / Director: Maja Gehrig)
Storm Hits Jacket (Tempête sur anorak) (France / 2014 / Director: Paul E. Cabon)
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos (Russia / 2014 / Director: Konstantin Bronzit)
Shorts: Modern Families
All the love and drama one can expect from everyday life surrounded by family is on display here — a daughter becomes a woman, a son becomes a man in the absence of his incarcerated father, a husband seeks to reconnect with his wife after the birth of their child, and a mother relies on the kindness of strangers to be there for her family.
De Smet (Belgium, Netherlands / 2014 / Directors: Thomas Baerten, Wim Geudens) (pictured above)
The Emperor (Der Kaiser) (Netherlands / 2014 / Director: Eché Janga)
Gloria (Mexico / 2014 / Director: Luis Hernández de la Peña)
Grounded (Au sol) (France / 2014 / Director: Alexis Michalik)
Personal Development (Ireland / 2014 / Director: Tom Sullivan)
SexLife (United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Stefan Georgiou)
Shorts: Out of This World
Do you prefer your shorts a little askew? Perfect for those looking to have the rug pulled out from under them, these effects-filled tales of the fantastical are tailored to your sensibilities. Just remember to keep a close eye on your clone, don’t get overly attached to that imaginary friend, and watch out for the end of days, because it’s nearly here and it’s going to look amazing.
Actor Seeks Role (USA / 2015 / Director: Michael Tyburski)
Francis (USA / 2014 / Director: Richard Hickey)
The No Look Dunk (USA / 2014 / Director: Dan Samiljan) (pictured above)
So You’ve Grown Attached (USA / 2014 / Director: Kate Tsang)
Sundays (Mexico, Netherlands / 2015 / Director: Mischa Rozema)
Zelos (USA / 2015 / Director: Thoranna Sigurdardottir)
Zero M2 (France / 2015 / Director: Matthieu Landour)
Shorts: Sports Shorts. Shorts about Sports.
Whether you’re a lifelong sports fanatic or you think a goalie can dunk a touchdown, these stories are for you. They all deal with some manner of underdog, and the humanity of these subjects shines through and leaves you rooting for their success. These populist parables of perseverance, as people push the limits of what’s possible, will leave you grinning ear to ear (and doing the wave).
The Bad Boy of Bowling (USA / 2015 / Director: Bryan Storkel)
Boxeadora (USA, Cuba / 2014 / Director: Meg Smaker)
The Edge of Impossible (USA / 2014 / Director: Conor Toumarkine) (pictured above)
Every Day (USA / 2014 / Director: Gabe Spitzer)
Giovanni and the Water Ballet (Netherlands / 2014 / Director: Astrid Bussink)
Run Fast (USA, Kenya / 2014 / Director: Anna Musso)
Shorts: Stories We Tell
Everybody’s got a story to tell — personal, provocative, funny, sad, or heartfelt, this program’s got ’em all. Between a love affair with a dolphin, a fateful camping trip that would irrevocably change the lives of many, and a family photo years in the making, this smattering of tales both true and fictional is sure to leave you satisfied.
{THE AND} Marcela & Rock (USA / 2014 / Director: Topaz Adizes)
Copycat (United Kingdom / 2015 / Director: Charlie Lyne)
Dolphin Lover (USA / 2015 / Director: Kareem Tabsch)
In the Hollow (USA / 2015 / Director: Austin Bunn)
The Little Deputy (Canada / 2015 / Director: Trevor Anderson)
Mother’s Song (USA / 2015 / Director: Matty Brown)
My Beefs with Taco Bell (USA / 2015 / Director: Connor Kerrigan)
Two Dosas (United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Sarmad Masud)
Walls (Spain / 2014 / Director: Miguel López Beraza)
Shorts: Stranger Than Fiction
These extraordinary and unusual shorts beggar belief, but unbelievable as they may seem, they’re all true. Be it the story of an infamous murder house, a team risking life and limb to stop the spread of Ebola, or a boxing champion turned taxi driver, these documentaries prove true life can be as fascinating, sobering, and heartfelt as the finest of fictions.
Body Team 12 (USA / 2015 / Director: David Darg)
The Champion (USA / 2014 / Directors: Brett Garamella, Patrick McGowan)
The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul (Australia / 2014 / Director: Kitty Green)
The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano (USA / 2015 / Director: Joshua Seftel)
The House is Innocent (USA / 2015 / Director: Nicholas Coles)
Spearhunter (USA / 2015 / Directors: Adam Roffman, Luke Poling)