Everything But

3 mins - animation - Journey of a filter tip

Zoom into a cigarette butt on a road. Zoom in further. What is within? Where did it all come from? This film tells it all. A line stretches through the logistics to the manufacturing and the raw materials. The effort and personnel needed to create this small item is immense. The animation is quirky and attractive, like a superior child's drawing in coloured pencil. One thing transforms into another at great speed and the result is never dull. It's worth watching more than once - an amazing journey

Credits: Director and Animator - Colin Dewar.

The Appointment

18 mins - drama - Dark and totalitarian

'Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.' In this Kafkaesque story are three mysterious bowler-hatted inspectors (Robert Donegan, Guy Henderson, Richard Kirby). They pursue writer Joseph Fischer (Andy Gathergood) in a black-and-white world of hidden menace. The inspectors at times resemble comical civil servants who can't quite be believed.

Joseph Fischer is told he has an appointment with Dr Rubric (Patrick Gordon). He wants to avoid it but is compelled to attend. His dreams of street-walkers and the inspectors further adds to his confusion. When he finally meets Dr Rubric and is given a psychotropic drug, he enters another world. Colourful images drift in, overlapping and distorting along with the soundtrack. He wakes apparently cured, yet still completely unaware of the ghastly existence he has entered. The darkness and bleakness of the black-and-white footage convey well Joseph Fischer's desperation. The cutting is spot on. All the acting is at times a little shaky. When the colour and distortion arrives, it surprises - and the film takes off.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Katrine Bach - Medical Assistant. Caroline Colomei - Madeleine. Robert Donegan - Inspector No Ears. Andy Gathergood - Joseph Fischer. Patrick Gordon - Dr Rubric. Guy Henderson - Inspector No Mouth. Richard Kirby - Inspector No Eyes.

Company Credits: Writer / Director - Aaron Greenwood. Company - Cats & Dogs Films.

Not In My Back Yard

4 mins - Surreal - Strange

In a 1950s (1930s) living room, a multiplicity of characters enter and leave. They interact with each other and the set without apparent purpose. After a few minutes this non-stop, story-less, action stops. The camera zooms out to reveal the set is in a field. Odd.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Norah Al-Ani. Eve Astley. Jacqui Browning. Kaye Greenwood. Sue Ifould. Jaiwana Monaghan. Si Mullen. Veronica Thornton. (Xtra Nimbies).

Company Credits: Concept - Cathy Dunbar, Kay Goodridge (www.kaygoodridgephotographics.com). Director - Cathy Dunbar. Cinematographer - Kay Goodridge. Thanks to - Simon Mullen. Set inspired by - Society of Xtras (www.thesocietyofxtras.com).

Esther's Funeral

17 mins - Drama - Family grief and relationships

A small musical-box carousel plays 'You are my sunshine'. Someone has died; it is not obvious who. As preparations are made for the funeral, there are flash-backs and flash-forwards. Happier times are juxtaposed with the funeral ceremony. It gradually emerges who Esther is, whose funeral it is, and her relationship with her father and mother. 'Tears in Heaven' does not get sung, with very good reason.

Esther's Funeral is a strangely beguiling film which only slowly reveals itself. It shows the complex and disturbing feelings that emerge when a family grieves. What comes to light is critical for the family concerned. The acting is totally convincing. It is not an easy film to watch.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): uncredited.

Company Credits: Director - Sarah Gibson-Yates. Other credits - uncredited.

Bali Beyond The Bomb

42 mins - Documentary - Cleansing evil

A year after the Bali bomb the media have left. The local inhabitants, the relations of those who died, community leaders and the emergency services relate their experiences. As personal possessions are returned to loved ones there is no hatred, only forgiveness. A long white cloth is carried through the streets and into the sea to wash away sin. There is talk of 'spiritual negligence' allowing the bombing to take place. Bars, drugs and prostitution tipped the balance towards evil.

There also was a 'second bomb' - unemployment - as the tourists stopped coming. Cleansing and blessing ceremonies produce the largest religious event ever seen on the island. The intention is to restore balance and looks towards a positive outcome of the horror of terrorism.

This is a sympathetic film that lets those involved tell their stories in their own time. The straightforward commentary has depth and understanding. The beauty of the island is stunningly presented even among the destruction. The gentleness and forgiveness of the people is powerfully portrayed.

Cast Credits: uncredited (documentary).

Company Credits: Writer, Director, Editor, Producer - Will Paice. Camera Operators - Arif Budiman, I Nyoman Murtika. Composer - Miguel Mera. Narrator - Diane Aston-James. Dubbing Mixer - Ben Young. Post Production Sound - The Offline Editing Company. Company - Bonsai Films. Website - www.bonsaifilms.com.

Overall Credits: Company - Cambridge Filmmakers Network. Website - www.cambridgefilmmakers.co.uk.

END

(c) Peter Andrews 2008

reviewed Friday 8 August 08 / C soco, Edinburgh

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com