On Friday August 15th I had the privilege of attending the opening night of the LA Shorts Fest. I was invited by our friend Marty Keegan that was hosting the event and also showcasing his very own short film VERBOTEN.
Before the event you could see celebrities mixing about with the crowd and the atmosphere was very casual and interactive. It felt more like a deck party than an actual event, which suits me just fine.
The event began with Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Lethal Weapon) discussing his approach to life and screenwriting for about an hour. After a quality education from Mr. Black – we were off to the races. I saw shorts from Josh Brolin (X), Kirsten Dunst (Welcome), Rita Wilson (The Trap) and Marty Keegan (VERBOTEN). I enjoyed all the shorts with the exception of The Trap. It seemed long even for 22 minutes – and that isn’t good for business.
The winners for the fest have been announced, and are as follows:
2008 LA SHORTS FEST AWARD WINNERS
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Window in the Skies – U2 – Director Gary Koepke
Agency Modernista!
BEST CREATIVE COMMERCIAL
Dylan Detour – Featuring Bob Dylan – Directors Gary Koepke & Lance Jensen
Agency Modernista!
Client Cadillac
BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR Sponsored by LUNA
The Pond – Director Sonja Phillips
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Travis Pastrana – Driven – Director Leandro HBL
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Rojo Red – Director Juan Manuel Betancourt Calero
BEST ANIMATION
The House of Small Cubes – Director Kunio Kato
BEST COMEDY
Ripple – Director Paul Gowers
BEST DRAMA
Chief – Director Brett Wagner
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Positive Prognosis (Germany) – Director Peter Ladkani
BEST OF FEST
Haber – Director Daniel Ragussis
I was sent a copy of Haber and am not surprised that it took top honors. It’s a tight story about the father of both modern agriculture and chemical warfare. Fritz Haber certainly has an interesting story and this short did a very good job of boiling down his transformation from agent of life to death in 30 odd minutes. It’ s this sort of tight storytelling that I long to see from feature films, and I commend those involved for working so masterfully with the time they were given.
I must also mention the outstanding costuming in the film bought to us by Jodi Cottongim. The period garb was among the best I have seen and has convinced me that the broad necktie is in great need of a resurgence.
