Review
FAVA 20/02
Saturday, September 13
EM Media
As the distinctions between film and video become blurred, creating both divisions in media arts as well as unusual convergences, members of Edmonton’s Film and Video Arts Society (FAVA) enjoy the best of both worlds.
The main result is that Edmonton has a happening independent media arts scene, with a number of artists consistently turning out quality shorts. Several of these will be screened as part of FAVA 20/02, an initiative that involved 20 past and present members of the collective each making a short film or video based on a personal vision.
With such a broad theme, it’s no surprise that the program consists of wildly divergent works, including an animation, a music video and a dramatic monologue, along with more conventional short films. Unfortunately, the touring reel, which will be screened in Calgary, includes only 10 of the 20 films that were originally produced for the program. Additionally, several of the best films in FAVA 20/02 were recently screened at EM Media as part of the Metro Cinema’s Prairie Tales package, and one wonders why it was necessary to book both packages.
Nevertheless, if you missed Prairie Tales, it’s worth checking out FAVA 20/02 for Rolling, Kelly Service’s over-the-top paean to self-reflexive cinema. The camera is hardly objective in this tongue-in-cheek comedy that begins like a formulaic noir thriller before a major reversal that leads to a fittingly deadpan conclusion.
Also worthy of note is Dave Morgan’s Black Angus, a technically accomplished music video for the song of the same name by accordionist and singer Wendy McNeill. It’s usually a backhanded compliment to say that the lighting is great, but in this case, it’s the simple truth. McNeill’s music and lyrics aren’t too bad, either.
Less successful are Wes Borg’s How to Buy a Computer, an animated film featuring comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie; Lindsay McIntyre’s Taking Flight, a serious remembrance of childhood trauma that unfortunately verges on portentousness; and Dave Luxton’s Mente Alterada, which aims to blur the line between fantasy and reality but comes off as more silly than surreal.
In many cases, it’s hard to say just how these films fit under the umbrella of "personal vision," and in general there is a general sense of lightheartedness.
Still, one piece stands out for its depth of character and for its well-considered technical approach – Mieko Ouchi’s Assembly, which wasn’t part of the Prairie Tales package, is a brilliant monologue about the nature of film editing that plays out in a single take (i.e., without any edits). While occasionally reminiscent of the librarian character on Hilarious House of Frightenstein, actor Robert Corness commands our attention as an old man who worked as the censor in a movie theatre. This film really does make us question the line between fact and fiction, and its ominous monologue makes good use of Ouchi’s background as a playwright and actor.
Assembly alone makes FAVA 20/02 worth seeing, but one wishes there was less overlap with Prairie Tales, and that more of Edmonton’s burgeoning scene was represented. |
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