So I’m writing this in between finding unbent tent pegs and making sarnies, which can only mean that we’re about to say bye to the summer with a massive 3-day music festival in the heart of Reading (or just outside of Leeds if you’re one of those northern types). But while this will mean the inevitable switch from t-shirts to jumpers soon, it also means that Directors Notes has sat down in our little think tank with OFVM and onedotzero to collate some of the best shorts out there to play each night in the cinema tent at both Reading and Leeds.

Needless to say if you’re in attendance make sure you find a comfy spot nice and early – preferably dragging some friends along – and sit back to enjoy the show. I’ll be hanging around the Reading site all weekend looking nervous, tired or drunk depending on the time of day, but will have limited contact with my email so if you fancy meeting up to chat film and music over a beer drop me a line. And of course let us know what you thought of the films once normal living commences again next week.

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Obviously a screening without films is just a silent black rectangle so I’d like to thank all the directors who said yes.

Jon Yeo
Beauty is the Promise of Happiness – To kill God intellectually, and to think philosophically beyond religion, is arguably the path to raised consciousness. To confront these structures is a potentially liberating path, towards a more fulfilling relationship with the natural universe. Beauty is the Promise of Happiness is a visual, metaphorical exploration of this psychological journey.

David S. Blanco
Braintax: Fade to Grey
– Music promo.

Brent Green
Carlin – This is the house where I grew up. My Aunt Carlin moved in there with us when she was 35. She had diabetes and she just wanted to die.

Andy Huang
Doll Face – Doll Face follows a machine’s struggle to construct its own identity. The machine with a doll face mimics images presented on a television screen and ultimately self-destructs from its inability to adopt a satisfactory visage.

Dan Gitsham

Film Eight – One man’s incredible ability to make every wrong decision you could possibly imagine and then some! A black and blue comedy where anything goes!

Jonathan Hodgson

Forest Murmurs – A 12 minute animated exploration of Epping Forest’s sinister past sparks off a journey into the dark side of the artist’s mind.

Ian W. Gouldstone
Guy 101 – A man hears a story about a hitchhiker from the other side of the Internet.

Simon Hill [Halfuncle]
iChav – A reworking of the iconic iPod adverts.

Alessandro Pacciani
Jinniku No Umarekawari – A super-condensed expression of high-tech J-Horror with a prologue that offers a disembodied meditation on reality as an entity in and of itself… Inspired by a nightmare involving a breathing washbasin and slithering meat. The film challenges expectations and perceptions by violently splicing together the worlds of live flesh and CG effects against a score of explosive white noise.

Jonas & François
Justice: D.A.N.C.E. – Music promo

Lee Kern
Lee Meets the Psychics – Join Lee as he meets a psychic and narrowly escapes being predicted with cancer. An eight minute film bringing us into the world of Madame Mercedes – who meets dead people, sees birds with human heads and once had a ‘psychic affair’ with Derek Akkora – the presenter of UK Living’s Most Haunted series. It is a world where everything is possible – as long as you don’t bother yourself with mundane things like proof and evidence.

Tokyoplastic
Little Fella – The little fella is a mutant cyber-dog who creates his own soundtrack to life by scratching and snuffling out a unique beat.

Eric Lerner
Mr CityMen – A collection of short stories depicting the lives of different characters all living in the city.

Adam Smith
North of Ping Pong: What Goes Up Must Come Down – A comedic opus set in late night London, this Cockney rap narrative revolves around a variety of bizarre yet familiar characters, who are the successive passengers of a world-weary taxi driver.

Takeshi Nagata & Kazue Monno
Pikapika – An abstract animation film made with the flashlights.

Mike Chan
Ping Pong – A ping pong match takes place between two televisions.

Kurtis Hough
Stumble Then Rise on Some Awkward Morning – An organic, dreamlike journey spiraling from life to death.

Scott Ludden
The Big Day – You are cordially invited to watch the wedding of Jimmy Michael Boken and Mandy Eve Quinn. It’s not your typical wedding. A cardboard preacher will be ministering the service.

Motomichi Nakamura
The Knife: We share Our Mothers’ Health – Music promo

Nick Childs
The Shovel – When weekender Paul Mullin discovers his neighbour digging a hole in the middle of the night, he writes it off as simply a bizarre encounter. Until the neighbour and his cheating wife disappear. Worried he’s stumbled upon more than he’s bargained for, he calls on the local sheriff to help unearth the truth and finds out that, in a small town, some secrets are better left buried.

Lana Schwarcz
The Upper Hand – When the ordinary no longer sustains its audience, the ultimate performer will do almost anything to get them back on side. Mistress Marvel’s Burlesque Club and MC Randy invite puppets to mingle with live humans to see Lulu Fountain (pron. FounTAINE) vs Capability Brown in a competitive strip-off that is sure to blow things all out of proportion. The giddy heights of theatrical fame will no doubt be achieved by one of these sexy ladies, but which one?

Benjamin Stephan & Lutz Vogel
Trusted Computing – A motion graphic documentary about Trusted Computing.

Chris Shepherd & David Shrigley
Who I Am and What I Want – This film is about who I am and what I want. it’s not about who you are and what you want.

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