Tess Motherway tries on a selection of IFB Shorts, which played at the 11th Jameson Dublin International Film Festival (14-24 February 2013)
IFB Shorts
Wed, 20th February
Light House 1
18.10
125 mins
The IFB’s shorts programme this year was an interesting mix. There were the usual themes of family, relationships and death, but many took an almost wicked take on this, some even teetering on the bizarre. One thing, however, that was certain, was the technical quality – each short excelled in sound and vision, something that, for a variety of reasons, does not always go hand in hand with short films.
The animation offerings were particularly impressive like Fear of Flying, a delightful short animation by Conor Finnegan about a bird who decides to avoid winter migration because of his fear of flying and Learning to Fish by Teemu Auersalo, a humorous but poignant take on consumerism portrayed through the plight of the urban seagull. Perhaps the most noteworthy, however, was the opening short, Irish Folk Furniture by Tony Donoghue, a gorgeously (and painstakingly) made animated documentary about furniture-making and restoration in a small town in Tipperary. It is just such a beautifully simple subject and masterfully made short, well deserving of its Best Animation in last years Sundance Film Festival.
There were a also good handful of short dramas on the programme, most notably Un Peu Plus by Conor Ferguson, a bitter sweet journey of an elderly womans love of confectionary and Homemade by Luke McManus, a darkly comic love story that takes home made baking to new heights.
Documentary also made a healthy appearance in the form of Laura McGanns The End of the Counter, a lament about the end of the small Irish corner shop, and with it, the personal shopping experience and Home a lovely and cleverly constructed portrait of six individuals talking about their first homes.
The IFB shorts programmes are always well attended, wherever they go, and the line-up in JDIFF was no exception. People are interested, they respond to them, perhaps because they are a snap shot of what is funded in Ireland today. Whatever the reason, long may it continue.
Tess Motherway
