Short film festival offers tall tales
A still from ‘You Play Too Much’
A film doesn’t need two hours to tell a good story. At the Manzanita Film Festival, some will get the job done in less time than it takes to watch a movie trailer.
The second annual festival returns this Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3, bringing 28 independent short films to the Pine Grove Community House.
Ranging from 45 seconds to 26 minutes, the films include live action, animation and documentaries, with an emphasis on filmmakers and stories from the Pacific Northwest.
The weekend begins Friday with “Friday Night Frights,” a collection of short films that lean toward the spooky, strange and funny.
Saturday brings three separate programs devoted to live-action, animated and documentary shorts. Filmmakers attending the festival will take part in short question-and-answer sessions following each screening.
Among the animated selections is “You Play Too Much” from Portland animator Rob Shaw and narrated by Fred Armisen of “Portlandia” and “Saturday Night Live.” The stop-motion film follows Lil’ Robbie, an elementary school student growing up in 1980s Philadelphia, as he navigates friendships, bullies and life as a nerdy outsider in a tough environment.
The live-action lineup includes “An Old Friend,” directed by Nuk Suwanchote and starring Tom Skerritt of “Alien” and “Top Gun.” The film follows an imaginary friend who believes his purpose is to bring happiness to his child — only to discover that the child is now a 90-year-old man nearing the end of his life.
Oregon history gets a considerably more explosive treatment in “Oh Whale,” a documentary from Portland director and cinematographer Winslow Crane-Murdoch.
The film revisits one of the state’s most enduringly bizarre stories: the 1970 attempt to dispose of a dead whale on the beach near Florence with dynamite. It focuses in part on television news reporter Paul Linnman, who arrived to cover what might otherwise have been a forgettable local story and instead witnessed an explosion that became famous far beyond Oregon.
Those films are just three selections from a lineup designed to move between comedy, personal stories, hand-drawn and stop-motion animation and nature documentaries.
“There’s something special about watching great films from the Pacific Northwest in a beautiful coastal town, and we’re thrilled to bring filmmakers and film lovers together in Manzanita,” said Festival Director Justin Graham.
The festival was created to celebrate filmmaking connected to the Pacific Northwest, with particular consideration given to work reflecting the culture, landscapes, communities and stories of the Oregon Coast. Along with showcasing established filmmakers, the event is intended to give emerging filmmakers an opportunity to put their work in front of an audience and connect with other creatives.
And unlike a trip to the multiplex, the filmmakers themselves might be sitting just a few rows away.
Tickets are $10 for each screening and include complimentary beverages and snacks.
“Friday Night Frights” begins at 7 pm on Friday, Oct. 2. Saturday’s Live Action Shorts begin at noon, Animated Shorts at 2 pm and Documentary Shorts at 4 pm, with the festival wrapping up at 5:30 pm. The Pine Grove Community House is located at 225 Laneda Avenue in Manzanita.
For more information or tickets, go to manzanitafilmfestival.com.