In the Rough

USA, 2004, 5 Minutes

It isn’t a really good day in the life of caveman Brog. His wife Oola has just thrown out most of his stuff. Apparently she wants a tidy cave.

But Brog isn’t ready to part from his belongings yet. He is especially attached to his mysterious stone which he uses for hunting. This day he isn’t very lucky however. With an empty stomach and soaked by rain, he returns home. Close to his cave, he hears Oola screaming. The cave is under attack by a vicious bear. Brog doesn’t hesitate a moment.

My Mother Dreams the Satan’s Disciples In New York

USA, 1998, 34 Minutes

Before he wrote the screenplay for Sideways, Rex Pickett wrote this little jewel and won the 2000 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. “My Mother Dreams...” is the story of a widowed housewife who travels to the scary big city to visit her daughter for the first time. Once there, she becomes obsessed with the Hell’s Angel-ish bikers’ club across the street from her daughter’s apartment.

Atama-yama (Mt. Head)

Japan, 2002, 10 Minutes, Subtitled

A miserly man eats the pits of some cherries he can’t stand throwing out. When a tree starts growing from the top of his head, his troubles begin.

He cuts it off; it grows back. After a while, he gives up and lets it grow, but the crowds that gather on top of his head to enjoy the tree eventually drive him to uproot the tree. The crater left behind leads to more trouble.

The Funeral

Canada, 2008, 9 Minutes

A dark comedy about a young woman in her early thirties becomes aware of her own mortality and reacts by meticulously planning her own funeral. Possibly due to a lack of other big days in her life so far, such as a wedding, this becomes her moment to shine.

Intermission

Der Er En Yndig Mand (This Charming Man)

Denmark, 2002, 30 Minutes, Subtitled

Lars Hansen is in a job training program. He finds a potential job at a print shop, but his paperwork gets mixed up with an El Hassan. He is scheduled for a Danish class, since he’s apparently an immigrant, but is unable to get the mixup fixed.

When he learns that the new (and attractive) teacher, Ida, will have the class canceled and lose her job if El Hassan doesn’t show up, he dyes his hair and puts on a false moustache to pose as El Hassan. He tries wooing her as Lars, but when she learns El Hassan might lose a job at the print shop to Lars, she won’t have anything more to do with him. So instead, he befriends her as El Hassan.

Peter and the Wolf

UK 2006, 33 Minutes

An animated retelling set to Prokofiev’s suite. Peter is a slight lad, solitary, locked out of the woods by his protective grandfather, his only friend a duck.

In town, he’s bullied. When a wolf menaces the duck — as well as grandfather’s fat cat and an ill-flying bird that Peter has befriended — Peter bravely tries to tree the wolf.

Our Time is Up

USA, 2004, 15 Minutes

Dr. Stern, a clinical psychologist, leads a well ordered life, self-contained, neat, precise, and scheduled. We watch his appointments with eight patients, as he asks questions, listens, and advises them that all will improve in due time. 

Then, he gets a call from an oncologist who gives him very bad news. Suddenly, "in due time" becomes "right now": Stern’s therapy methods change, and so do the fortunes of his patients.