Best of Scottish Screen (2002/2003)

For the third year in a row, britspotting continues its cooperation with Scottish Screen: once again presenting short film highlights from north of the border. This year’s programme has the recurring theme of childhood, and the need to stand up for oneself. In ‘The Choir’, Leslie, the new boy at school, tries very hard to fit in and strives to be accepted by the ‘tough guys’. But does he choose the right side? Young Stephen in ‘All Over Brazil’, on the other hand, has to defend his obsession of glam rock over football against his father, a sports fanatic. In the gothic tale of ‘Sredni Vashtar’, the orphaned Conradin is sent to live with his strict aunt in the Highlands. His growing hatred helps him create a powerful weapon.

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Short Circuit Films – Digital Shorts:
Short Stories/New Talent (2003/2004)

Short Stories/New Talent, presented by UK Distributor Short Circuit Films, is a low budget short-film programme which follows three simple rules: the film must be under ten minutes, shot digitally and cost no more than £10,000. The aim of the Low Budget Digital Shorts Scheme is to create support for emerging talent and enthusiasm for new creative thinking across a wide range of genres. The programme’s opening-film ‘Job Street’ describes a hard day in the life of three illegal immigrants, whereas in the funny story of ‘Shotgun Dave Rides East’ two unlikely friends decide to canoe all the way from Doncaster to the Black Sea. Both ‘Stripes’ and ‘Accident’ deal with discrimination and personal responsibility. The last three films all revolve around the universal truths of love, attraction, loneliness and loss.

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Various:
Left or Right for Love? (2002/2003)

Love is probably the most difficult phenomenon of life! This short film programme deals with its fundamental questions and tries to answer them. ‘Shooting Blanks’ tells us the true story behind the act of falling in love. But being in love is often accompanied by doubts and the loss of one’s emotional balance, as shown in ‘Indecision’. And in the worst case it all can be reduced to one single question: ‘How to Tell When a Relationship is Over’? At its best, however, love can even be stronger than death, it can be ‘Heaven’.

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Irish Focus:
Pitch ‘n’ Putt with Beckett ‘n’ Joyce (2001-2003)

The films in this programme are just a couple of examples from the highly creative scene that is contemporary Irish short film making. They introduce us to protagonists from all walks of life – and beyond: bitchy ballet dancers and hopeless romantics, a guilt-ridden young boy and a bored old bachelor, forces of nature and historical personalities. In ‘Pitch ‘n’ Putt with Beckett ‘n’ Joyce’ we get to witness the two literary icons while awaiting their partner W.B. Yeats for a little sporting match. In ‘Virtues of a Sinner’, on the other hand, we have the rare chance to learn how human souls are divided between Heaven and Hell after death. Death is the one thing the man in ‘Petrol Country Blues’ is craving for. But can he afford to die?

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Animation: Tulips at Dawn (2000-2003)

The film ‘Tulips at Dawn’ comments on the relationship between the drawn image
and our imagination, and gives this year's animated short film reel its title. Covering a wide range of themes and animation techniques, this programme presents a selection from the best and most recent British and Irish animated short films. It ranges from the political musical ‘Promise Land’ to the bizarre tale ‘Nose’ which is based on a story by Gogol and animates Russian orthodox icons. It takes us from the cold north where a snowman, an evil eskimo, Santa Claus and a polar bear run a hilarious race in ‘Northern Capers’, to Paris where ‘The Dog Who Was a Cat Inside’ is looking for its soul mate, and to Japan, where a girl eventually finds her desperately desired peace in the melancholic story of ‘Fish Never Sleep’.

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