BxFW Digital: October

In October, BxFW pairs a specially curated selection of standout animated shorts from our 21 Islands International Short Film Festival with interviews with two of our featued film directors: Radheya Jegatheva, based in Perth, Australia, and Carol Freeman, based in Dublin, Ireland.

• THE BIRD & THE WHALE. Director: Carol Freeman. 2018. Ireland. 7 min. – A story about a young whale struggling to find his voice. After straying too far from his family to explore a shipwreck, he discovers it’s sole survivor, a caged songbird. Together they struggle to survive lost at sea. The Bird & the Whale was created using a near obsolete form of animation – paint-on-glass. It was created in Dublin by a small majority female team. In June 2018, Carol was awarded a Silver Screen award at the Young Director Awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
• MORE THAN TWO. Director: Yen-Sheng Wu. 2020. Taiwan. 9 min. – Robin and Ashley are two aliens on a secret mission to record and experience human life and culture. They get shocked by the gender stereotype norms in human society, and decide to return to their planet to find true freedom.
• BAOZHA! Director: Jasper Liu. 2016. Singapore. 7 min. – A young guardian angel must overcome her gaming distractions to protect her mortal, a hapless old grandmother, from untimely death.
• TONE DEATH. Director: Sinéad Stoddart. 2017. United Kingdom. 4 min. – Christopher Price is a brilliant pianist who has many fans, until he loses control of his left hand… who prefers to be known as Vincent Lee. Vincent wants fame and glory for himself and will do whatever is necessary to steal the limelight, even if it means separating himself from the dead weight.
• THE PAIGNTON PUDDING RIOT. Director: Tom Edmondson. 2016. United Kingdom. 4 mins. — Paignton has just completed an extension of its railway line and organizes a giant feast. The event’s grand centerpiece is a specially baked one-and-a-half-ton pudding! Masses turn up to celebrate. After consuming vast amounts of local cider, jubilation soon gives way to desperation and chaos.
• BROKEN. Director: Jennifer Kidd. 2019. Ireland. 5 min. — Stop-motion animation film about a young couple’s battle to remain connected through mental illness. Set in 1980s Dublin, we see Catherine and Brendan’s relationship fall apart as they grow distant from each other.
• LIFE OF DEATH. Directors: Jason Kiantoro and Bryan Arfiandy. 2018. Indonesia. 5.5 min. — Death, while struggling to balance his work and family life, talks about his existence, his job, and his opinions on human beings in poignant mockumentary style.
• CORONUS. Director: Arvin Medghalchi. 2020. Turkey. 5.5 min. — During a virus outbreak and lockdown, a man is struggling to survive the situation while he is being chased by the virus itself.
• GOOD FLOWER. Director: Yen-Sheng Wu. 2020. Taiwan. 4 min. — A short film combining stop motion animation and live action. It is a reinterpretation of sexual violence and power, a reminder that such behavior has always existed and of the people facing it.
• BLÜTE. Director: Raito Low. 2020. Taiwan. 4.5 min. — A girl feels a tinge of love in her teenage heart for the first time. Plants symbolize femininity. Seeds represent birth and rebirth. Break traditional Eastern ideas of love, and let the seeds grow.
• FAMILY TREE. Director: Emmet O’Brien. 2020. Ireland. 9.5 min. — Seymour, a lonely sycamore tree becomes excited when a new family moves in to the house on the grounds where he lives.

Multi-lingual program presented with English subtitles.

9:30 PM | Bronx Film Wednesdays Digital on BronxNet TV — Curated by Melisa Ramos. Hosted by BronxNet’s Sonyi Lopez.

WAYS TO WATCH:

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