Stephen Milek
Short films have the ability to tell a compelling story in a short amount of time. They can be funny, sad, serious, or scary. There are no limits on what a short film can be except short. I saw over 50 short films at the Milwaukee Film Festival and listed here are my Top 5 Short Fiction movies and my Top 5 Short Documentaries.
SHORT FICTION
1. Thunder Road – This movie won an award at Sundance and is a great quirky short. The story of a man giving a speech at his mom’s funeral. It’s shot as a single take and is hilarious.
2. Dog Walker – Dog Walker is another quirky macabre film. This one is about a dog walker who heads to a client’s home but finds the dog dead. And this is only the start of the day. It’s funny and a bizarre and loved every second of it.
3. Moom – Every year I take my kids to the Kids Shorts section of the festival and they enjoy it but rarely does a movie from that section make my top 5 list. But Moom managed to do it. Mostly because it’s not really a kids movie and probably shouldn’t have been in the Size Small Program. But it’s an emotional story about memories with very little dialogue. The movie had most of the adults crying and managed to win the Kids Jury Award which was selected by an actual jury made up of local kids.
4. Bird Hearts - Sometimes during conversations we reveal too much. And when four friends get together Maya tells a crazy story that makes her boyfriend feel inadequate. Another jury award winner.
5. Accidents, Blunders, and Calamities – A father possum tells the stories of animals that are killed by the most dangerous animals, Humans. The story is told using names in alphabetical order a fact I didn’t pick up on till part way through the movie and now I want to watch it a second time. The movie was a collaboration of film students in New Zealand who worked on creating all the animated animals. It’s a fun film and a more family friendly version of The ABC’s of Death.
2. Dog Walker – Dog Walker is another quirky macabre film. This one is about a dog walker who heads to a client’s home but finds the dog dead. And this is only the start of the day. It’s funny and a bizarre and loved every second of it.
3. Moom – Every year I take my kids to the Kids Shorts section of the festival and they enjoy it but rarely does a movie from that section make my top 5 list. But Moom managed to do it. Mostly because it’s not really a kids movie and probably shouldn’t have been in the Size Small Program. But it’s an emotional story about memories with very little dialogue. The movie had most of the adults crying and managed to win the Kids Jury Award which was selected by an actual jury made up of local kids.
4. Bird Hearts - Sometimes during conversations we reveal too much. And when four friends get together Maya tells a crazy story that makes her boyfriend feel inadequate. Another jury award winner.
5. Accidents, Blunders, and Calamities – A father possum tells the stories of animals that are killed by the most dangerous animals, Humans. The story is told using names in alphabetical order a fact I didn’t pick up on till part way through the movie and now I want to watch it a second time. The movie was a collaboration of film students in New Zealand who worked on creating all the animated animals. It’s a fun film and a more family friendly version of The ABC’s of Death.
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
1. Joe’s Violin - Winner of the Best Documentary Short Jury Award this emotional doc is about Joe a holocaust survivor who donates a violin that he bought in Germany in 1947 to a school instrument charity drive. The violin was donated to the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls where 13 year old Brianna Perez was selected to get it. The touching documentary goes into Joe’s story and Brianna’s story and is there for when they first meet. It shows the power of music to cross generations.
2. The Dean Scream – Ugh politics. This year I am so sick of politics. But this documentary was a fun look at the now infamous Howard Dean Scream from the 2004 campaign. With interviews with everyone involved including Dean himself it gives a glimpse into why it happened and right or wrong it came to define his campaign. It’s good to see that although people still associate Dean with the scream he has taken everything in stride and keeps a sense of humor about it.
3. These C*cksucker Tears – Well an obviously not safe for work title definitely catches ones interest. This documentary about Pat Haggerty the leader of the band Lavender Country. He was the first openly gay country singer from the 70’s. The album went into obscurity for a while but has kind of become a cult favorite now. The Haggerty is a fascinating guy who is enjoying his new found fame and still fighting Country Music establishment.
One of the things I love about Documentary Shorts are the bizarre stories you can see. These stories aren’t interesting enough to warrant a feature length documentary but in short doses they are perfect. The next two movies are exactly that. Quirky stories that spotlight unique individuals.
4. Dollhouse – Everyone knows that you can find almost anything online. Well what about very realistic babies. The documentary gives us a glimpse into the creepy world of handmade dolls that look very real. Kate Charles makes these works of art and is very proud and very open about her passion.
5. Pickle – I am not even sure what the point of this movie was but it’s a lot of fun. It’s an interview with a couple who recount the numerous animals they have rescued. Not only helping cats and dogs they go way beyond that. They had a fish that couldn’t swim and paraplegic possum. The stories about their animals are crazy but their passion to care for all animals is obvious. A great fun doc.
2. The Dean Scream – Ugh politics. This year I am so sick of politics. But this documentary was a fun look at the now infamous Howard Dean Scream from the 2004 campaign. With interviews with everyone involved including Dean himself it gives a glimpse into why it happened and right or wrong it came to define his campaign. It’s good to see that although people still associate Dean with the scream he has taken everything in stride and keeps a sense of humor about it.
3. These C*cksucker Tears – Well an obviously not safe for work title definitely catches ones interest. This documentary about Pat Haggerty the leader of the band Lavender Country. He was the first openly gay country singer from the 70’s. The album went into obscurity for a while but has kind of become a cult favorite now. The Haggerty is a fascinating guy who is enjoying his new found fame and still fighting Country Music establishment.
One of the things I love about Documentary Shorts are the bizarre stories you can see. These stories aren’t interesting enough to warrant a feature length documentary but in short doses they are perfect. The next two movies are exactly that. Quirky stories that spotlight unique individuals.
4. Dollhouse – Everyone knows that you can find almost anything online. Well what about very realistic babies. The documentary gives us a glimpse into the creepy world of handmade dolls that look very real. Kate Charles makes these works of art and is very proud and very open about her passion.
5. Pickle – I am not even sure what the point of this movie was but it’s a lot of fun. It’s an interview with a couple who recount the numerous animals they have rescued. Not only helping cats and dogs they go way beyond that. They had a fish that couldn’t swim and paraplegic possum. The stories about their animals are crazy but their passion to care for all animals is obvious. A great fun doc.
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