For the Birds

USA, 2000, 3 minutes

A group of small birds perched together on a telephone wire. When a much larger and awkward-looking bird arrives, the smaller birds reject him with taunts and insults. Still, he persists in trying to win their friendship, until at last the smaller birds decide to shove him from their perch. Only too late do they discover that there may be a problem with this plan... Winner of best animated short film at the 2002 Academy Awards.

Bit Players

USA, 2000, 17 minutes

A bittersweet comedy, um, short, targeting Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as seen from the perspectives of a pair of Oompa Loompas.

7:35 De La Manana (7:35 in the Morning)

Spain, 2003, 8 minutes, Subtitled

One morning a woman notices something strange at the café where she has breakfast every morning: all other customers and waiters are in total silence. They all look down. Nobody touches their breakfast. All of a sudden, a song can be heard.

The World of Interiors

UK, 2001, 6 minutes

A man who lives alone in a flat gets a phone call and tells the caller that he’s “just about to go out.” He grabs an umbrella, gets outside, sees bight sun and heads back inside to change out of his sweater. He discovers holes in his trouser pockets, looks to mend them, spills some paint when he opens the storage closet, decides to paint the walls with the spilled paint and repositions his furniture. Will he ever step outside of his world of interiors?

4 1/4

USA, 2010, 12 minutes, Subtitled

On the night of a party, Massimo, a photographer has a vision of a beautiful woman in the pool. From that point on, Massimo is haunted by hallucinations revolving around women. Filmmaker André Johnson pokes a little fun at Fellini’s 8 1/2.

Intermission

Short Term 12

USA, 2009, 22 minutes

Winner of the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival Narrative Grand Jury Prize and the Sundance Film Festival’s 2009 Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking, this emotionally brutal short explores the lives of both workers and teens in a detention center. Brad William Henke is Denim, the supervisor for a residential facility housing 15 kids who are all affected by child abuse and neglect in unimaginable ways. Inside the gates of Short Term 12, fights and blow-ups happen daily and Denim knows how to respond. But as his personal life collides with work, he begins to realize that he is no better off than the kids he’s trying to help.

The film places viewers within the walls of a real facility and lets them feel what it’s like to live and work in a place where hope is often difficult to find. An all-star ensemble cast radiates in this gritty and honest look at how human beings, no matter the age, inevitably impact each other.

Lägg M för Mord (Tile M for Murder)

Sweden, 2007, 8 minutes, Subtitled

It’s a hot day, and Dave hates his wife. He should be out doing exercise, spending money, meeting people. Instead, he’s playing word games with her. At this point, Dave is a prisoner of marriage until the day he dies. He’s losing hope and losing his marbles. But, as the game continues, a series of ironic events lead him to realize that what seems like just a stupid, old board game might be the key to his escape.

I Hate Musicals

USA, 2007, 20 minutes

Brad hates musicals. He really hates musicals. But his fiancé, Melissa, lives for them. His contempt for musicals threatens to tear them apart, until one night Melissa makes a wish, and Brad is horrified to discover that whenever he opens his mouth, he bursts into song!