There’s a thing about having a true love of indie film that seems to attract a certain sort of personality. I don’t mean highly literate, intellectual types discussing early German expressionist cinema, but rather the digger. Just like their music counterparts who gladly sacrifice hours in dusty second hand music shops rooting out obscure breaks, film diggers are always searching the hidden treasure troves of festivals, late night TV and web galleries hoping to find something worthy of the effort. They may not know exactly what they’re after; perhaps an animation, a music video or an experimental dance thriller, but they can recognise quality even before the credits roll.

Finding something’s only the first part of a larger victory. Sharing what you’ve found with as many people as possible is what really gets the digger off! And when the people you share with agree it was worth their time too, then your reward is a nice warm glow of taste confirmation.

Our friend Geron Swann over at OFVM got in touch to give us the opportunity to max out on digger satisfaction by asking us to find some shorts for the Carling Weekend Reading & Leeds Festivals taking place this bank holiday weekend.

We were overwhelmed with the response to our call for films and just a little jealous of how great many of them were. We’d like to thank the following filmmakers for allowing their films to play at the festivals, as well as Donna Sibley over at onedotzero who dug hard with us.

If you’re one of the lucky people who have tickets for Reading or Leeds this year, be sure to click on the posters above for screening times and let us know what you thought when you’re back and mud free.

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Alex de Campi
Raindrops Keep Falling on the Dead – When the angels and devils fight over your destiny there’s little you can do whether you’re a man or a T-Rex.

Brendon Foster-Algoo
Anamnesis – Two boxers fight each other and their memories of abusive childhoods.

Chris Waitt
Dupe – Adam’s scheme to use a cloning machine to free him of domestic chores doesn’t quite go according to plan when his clones turn out to be just as lazy as he is.

Dave Anderson
Urban Animal – Pigeons and squirrels may not be the only animals prowling London streets; fusing animation and live-action footage, Urban Animals reveals the varied wildlife we never notice.

Jacob Swan Hyam
Toy Radar Documentary – The aspirations of band Toy Radar caught on film.

James Appleton
The Sound of Silence – The world can be a noisy, distracting place when you’re a writer at work, unless of course you have just the right track to make it all fade away.

Johnny Burns
Remote – What do you get when you mix the perfect woman with the perfect TV experience? Everything you ever wanted….
Sometimes – The sorry tale of a monster’s rise to fame and fall from grace, in a modern fable of sex, drugs and bunny rabbits.

Knife Party
What Barry Says – Barry provides some hard facts about the dominating role the US has on the global stage and the Neo Conservative powers steering its direction.

Lasse Gjertsen
Hyperactive – Coughs, sighs and shrieks are transformed into a human beat box extravaganza, great enough to rival any Rolf Harris performance.

Lee Kern
My Back Garden – A childhood unearthed by a dog’s archaeologist tendencies reveals those left behind enemy lines.

Marc Robinson
Moles – Searching for friendship, a lonely mole discovers his only companion is in fact himself.

Mark Jenkin
The Lost Footage of the Fabulous ‘Shorty’ Backways Brothers – The Fabulous ‘Shorty’ Backways Brothers stun audiences with their entertaining, extravagant routine.
The Mixed Emotions of a Middle Distance Runner – Running is a chance to break through the boundaries of physical and mental endurance, if you can be arsed.

Reuben Sutherland
Hitchcock: The Phoenix Foundation – The Petrol Crime Bureau put the new Electric Petrol Car through its synchronised paces. A warning to the gas guzzling 4x4s that their days are numbered.

Flat-e
Ionisation – Handmade machines perform an animated dance in a pure white space to the experimental sounds of Edgard Varese’s Ionisation.

Run Wrake
Rabbit – A jewel producing idol hooked on jam is found in a rabbit’s stomach by a boy and a girl, but greed forces things to turn rotten in this retro/modern morality tale.

Stephen Irwin
Dialog – The creator of the miniature town of Clusterville has become concerned about the odd behaviour of its miniature humans and mechanical men and decides to put an end to the experiment.

Stephen St. Leger and James Mather
Prey Alone – A high octane, ball busting, roaring, screaming chase movie set somewhere in near future generic USA.

Susie Glynn
Frame of Mind – A voyeuristic, experimental view of a woman’s solo lift dance.

Trunk
Stealth Lunch – Hi-tech foxes track their oblivious prey until it’s the final showdown.
The Whistler – A compelling explanation for just why cats hate birds so much.

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