Shorts 1

Description

Take a trip around the world, into the future and back to the past, with this distinct selection of narrative and documentary shorts. Whether it be a bowling championship, the inside of a bus or Iran during the 1979 revolution, these filmmakers ground their work in a specific sense of place to tell their sometimes funny, sometimes sad but always compelling human stories.

Art
A 19-year-old girl auditions for a sexy film role while the director tries to convince her mother of the artistic rationale behind the provocative part. A wry look at the machinations of filmmakers from the director of Hooked (SFIFF 2009). (Adrian Sitaru, Romania 2014, 19 min)

The Bad Boy of Bowling
There’s much more to the life and career of bowling great Pete Weber than his undeniably funny outburst (“Who do you think you are? I am!”) at the 2012 PBA Open as this engaging portrait shows. (Bryan Storkel, USA 2014, 20 min)

The Chicken
In 1993 Croatia, young Selma’s birthday gift carries unexpected and harrowing consequences. (Una Gunjak, Germany/Croatia 2014, 15 min)

Hotel 22
Hop onboard a unique Bay Area bus route that becomes an unofficial shelter for the homeless. (Elizabeth Lo, USA 2014, 8 min)
This is a Cinema by the Bay film.

Plamen
Attempting to call attention to governmental depredations in Bulgaria, 37-year-old construction worker and artist Plamen Goranov takes desperate action. (Dress Code, Bulgaria/USA 2014, 21 min)

Sormeh
During the 1979 Iranian revolution, a woman getting ready for a marriage ceremony has to make a quick decision when confronted by a rebel hiding in her building. (Azadeh Ghochagh, Iran 2014, 10 min)

Time Quest
A man named Benjamin travels back in time with a very particular goal in mind. (John Dilley, USA 2014, 7 min)
This is a Cinema by the Bay film.

—Rod Armstrong