Summer Shorts
at the dA Center For the
Arts, Sat., Aug. 22
By: Stacy Davies
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The dA kicks off its newly acquired film festival wing,
SmogdAnce Film Society, with a crop of impressive and mostly
high production value shorts selected from the Arizona State
University Film Festival—and their tastes are discerning.
Highlights on the roster include the comedyEstelle Getty:
Power Realtor, a skewering of stereotypes of both wholly
unqualified prospective homeowners and the cheery white
lady realtor who’ll sell them any old crap to close
the deal (she bubbles over with chipper catch phrases that
have no doubt been plucked from the mouths of actual realtors
like: “Your signature is your credit!” and “You
don’t need a job – you need a home first!”).
Courageous marks go to writer/director VK Shah for poking
fun at a national tragedy while we’re still drowning
in it. David Chai’s animated Life on a Limb, in which
a lumberjack and a leafy tree meet for confrontation and
reconciliation at a grief counseling center, is smart and
sweet and would no doubt start a riot if shown in the Pacific
Northwest. Also be on the lookout for the quirky And Everything
was Alright, about a much-maligned life-sized teddy bear
who seeks adventure outside our Earthly deserts; and the
troublingThe Pain with Being Thirsty, a montage of footage
showing Japanese internment camps being built and then populated,
voiced over with words from a letter by Babar Ahmad, a British
Muslim who’s been held in captivity without trial
in the U.K. since 2004. There is a host of other thought-provoking
and entertaining films, as well, so pack up your deck chair
and don’t forget your tip change for the Ice Cream
Lady who’ll be dropping by at intermission. (Stacy
Davies)
The SmogdAnce Film Society Presents Summer Shorts at the
dA Center for the Arts, 252 S. Main St., Pomona; www.dacenter.org.
Sat, Aug. 22, 7PM. $5 suggested donation. |
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