MOVIE NEWS: Sprockets Film Festival

Anyone who’s ever written a short story knows they can be just as tough to create as any long story. It turns out the same goes for short films (or “shorts”).

This weekend I caught a series of Canadian shorts at the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children, and I was totally blown away — not
only by the quality of the films, but by the huge teams it took to make them. Three of the film’s directors were even in attendance and answered questions after the screening.

Here are some notes on each of those three shorts:

1. Alpha Beta Complex
PLOT: This hugely imaginative movie answers the question, “What would happen if a group of reserved Times New Roman letters lived in an apartment building below a raucous bunch of graffiti letters?” Seriously.
THOUGHTS: The director of this movie said it’s about a lot of words that start with “co”: co-habitation, communication, community, etc. Sounds heavy for a movie starring letters, doesn’t it? But it’s true! This movie had a lot to say in a short time. It was interesting to see how the different groups of letters interacted with each other — especially when it became clear the groups didn’t get along.

2. Ormie
PLOT: As the director of the film said at the screening, this film can be summed in three words: “Pig want cookie.” Upon spotting a jar of cookies on top of a very tall fridge, Ormie the pig tries — again and again — to get to them.
THOUGHTS: If you like the scenes with Scrat (the sabre-toothed squirrel) from the Ice Age movies, you will love Ormie the pig. He’s cute, smart, and relentless. Audience response at my screening was unanimously positive, and everyone wanted to know if there’d be more Ormie movies in the future. The director definitely didn’t rule out a sequel.

3. The Auction
PLOT: Set in Canada in the 1970s, The Auction is about Meehee, the eight-year-old daughter of recently immigrated parents. Meehee hopes that buying a certain doll her parents can’t afford will help her fit in. But can she raise the money in time for the auction?
THOUGHTS: This movie did a good job of taking a small story and using it to say a lot of things. It also had a lot of genuine feeling and heart. The director said it was largely about her own childhood experiences, and how she dreamed about growing up and buying her parents all sorts of things — even at an early age.

Cool, huh? Who knew short films could pack so much punch?

For those not in the know, Sprockets is an annual film festival that brings together children’s films from all over the world. Though these movies might not be coming to a theatre near you any time soon, the directors said they will all soon be available on the internet. When I see them pop up, I’ll let you know!

The festival continues for another few days and concludes on Friday. For more information, check out the Sprockets website.

Talk to you soon.

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com