"Handshake" is a simple film. Two people meet at a bus stop. They shake hands. Essentially, that's it, for seven minutes. It's a marvelous, sticky, symbolic dance that could only be staged in a cartoon. It's a whole relationship in a handshake, and it's refreshing when a film doesn't have to assault us to demonstrate its creative edge. (Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Nevada Theatre; all other programs at the Magic Theatre)
Except for the fact that
"Curious Acts of Modern Lovers" is completely unlike "Handshake," they are the same movie. Any description of "Curious Acts" would only detract from its seven minutes of brilliantly tempered absurdity. To violate writer/director Jason Graham only slightly, just know that he toys with sensitivity and compresses relationships into a hilarious knot. (Saturday at 7:35 p.m.)
The title-forming scene of
"Get the Dime" sets an intense tone. Maybe that's the point, because "get the dime" is just an exercise actors are put through in an acting class. Soon enough, the film drags the audience through a compelling scare. When an actor - phenomenal at getting the dime - does some edgy research in a seamy night club, he discovers that a person can't necessarily turn the scene on and off at will. (Friday at 7:35 p.m.)
Even for those who will think
"Pillow Girl" runs its kaleidoscope too long, this is an ingenious short film. All it does is morph from cover to cover to cover of pulp books and magazines from decades ago - a meticulous parade of romance novel covers, to detective fiction covers, to men-at-war covers. As a parade of narrow themes, it titillates and disturbs and somehow does not feel like a time gone by or an attitude we've outgrown. (Friday at 7:35 p.m.)
In "
I Killed Zoe Day," two buddies wake up after a drunken night. They've got some serious figuring out to do. This compact film concept would be a tough bet for a feature length film, but it's a cool challenge for the creators and the viewers of a short film. Fuzzy memories reconstruct the previous night with flashbacks. The intentional confusion and clever conclusion manipulates us well. (Sunday at 7:35 p.m.)
Actually, "I Killed Zoe Day" is a good example of a short that might grab one person but not grab another. Or vice versa amongst the rich variety in 30 films at the fifth Nevada City Film Festival. There's plenty to entice moviegoers who ride the too-rare opportunity to see short- form cinema.
Smart Card
Have you been in a car with one of those GPS map systems? Have you used an automated check out station at a supermarket? "Smart Card," set in the not-too-distant future, begins with the calm of super-automated convenience. However, the lead character's Smart Card is stolen. Mounting frenzy returns to the kind of disturbing calm that only a mega-corporation could possibly construct. This sharp film hands you an ending that jolts you with enough absurdity to keep you from worrying about such eventualities. Nah, real life couldn't be headed there, could it? (Screened Oct. 7, 7:35 p.m.)
Modus Vivendi
"Modus Vivendi" means "a way of life." Viewing this short film, it probably helps to lay meaning aside. This is a peaked human whirl of scenarios. This arty exercise is 90 percent sensuous visual fancy and 10 percent calming transcendence. This is the kind of compact, bold expression that would probably get lost or fail or never get tried in feature-length film. (Screened Oct. 8, 7:35 p.m.)
Fluffy
What do you do to fill your day? In "Fluffy," a young woman doesn't seem to do anything much except live by a quirky personal concept of giving a little something and getting a little something, knowing that her humble, quirky touch adds something to the series of trades that sketch her day. That's what the movie "Fluffy" is: a quirky, personal short film that gives a little something and seems to know that a humble, quirky touch adds something to the possibilities of movie-going and life. (Screened Oct. 9, 7:35 p.m.)