Reading & Leeds 2011

It’s the start of the August Bank Holiday, the long weekend that annually plays host to the Reading and Leeds music festivals, which can only mean that the lucky folks heading to those two locations over the next few days are going to have the opportunity to sample the delights of the Directors Notes & OFVM Cinema Tent Shorts.

As usual it was pretty easy for El Vez and I to pick our favourites from the last year, unfortunately cutting that list down to a realistic length for three nights of screenings was much more of a challenge. As always there’s a healthy mix of styles and genres and I’d like to thank all the filmmakers for their generosity. I plan to buy each and everyone of them a beer this weekend whether they make it or not – I’m happy to drink in your honour guys!

Speaking of which, team DN will be at Reading all weekend so drop us a tweet – @WeAreDN, @MarBelle or @kung_fuelvis – if you’d like to say hello or let us know what you think of the selection – you can click on the posters for timings.

For those of you not packing wellies at the moment, turn up your speakers and watch the trailer for the screening; you can also catch all of the shorts by following the links below.

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Butterflies – Sandro Miller
Butterflies’ is a visual experiment behind the psychopathology of our subject, portrayed by John Malkovich.

Chainsaw Maid 2 – Lee Hardcastle
A sexy French maid fights the living dead.

Chatter – Leo Resnes
Liz launches Chatter and opens a window to a world, where the rules have changed forever.

cows & cows & cows – Cyriak
Surreal bovine choreography.

Cutters – Ahmet Serif Yildirim
Cutters design, cutters materialize. They’re the creators of their own unique worlds. And while making their own, they destroy the worlds of others. By cutting off pieces from them.

DOM: Melbourne – Florian Malak
Music promo for DOM’s Melbourne.

DOM: Rewind – Florian Malak
From LUX girl to…

The Giants Episode 1: Army – Celine&Yann
A Giant wants to be friendly with a little girl.

The Giants Episode 2: Sun – Celine&Yann
The story of The Giant Sun and his lost ray beam.

The Giants Episode 3: Cloud – Celine&Yann
A lonely cloud goes to the beach….

Hello, I Like You – Mixtape Club
What better way to express our happiness than to distill the essence of our craft, to serve up a creamy shot of artistic espresso?

Kerry – Maria Cortese
Kerry has built herself a reputation and is regarded as one of the ‘popular’ girls at school. Sleeping with any boy who makes advances, drinking and smoking are common activities to Kerry all because she has no one at home to care for her, causing her to yearn attention from anyone, no matter how bad it is.

Lovefield – Mathieu Ratthe
Lovefield combines elements of HORROR, SUSPENSE and DRAMA to create a story that takes the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotions.

Mixtape – Luke Snellin
Ben spends his time listening to his Dad’s old 70’s vinyl and making mixtapes on an old double deck tape recorder. He makes a tape to try and woo the girl next door, Lily, the girl of his dreams.

One Minute Puberty – Alexander Gellner
Puberty, the fun and exciting times you had with pimples, uncontrolled new powers, and a thousand things you tried out for the first time.

Path of Blood – Eric Power
When a lone samurai sets his course towards the path of blood, unknown dangers and terror awaits. Will his great swordsmanship be enough to survive the treacherous demon lord and his minions?

Play – Ahmet Serif Yildirim
Who really makes the music?

Röyksopp: The Drug – that go
Röyksopp The Drug music promo.

Soft – Simon Ellis
When a father and son are independently terrorised by the same gang of youths, Dad is forced to deal with fears that he hasn’t had to face since leaving school, rediscovering his fear of confrontation at the worst possible time.

Steel Life – Mateusz Zdziebko & Patryk Kizny
“Steel. Calm, cold, solid, rigid and unchanged. Life. Fast, emotional, harmful and responsive. Have you ever wondered what would the world look like if all objects around got alive? Discover the world of steel and hardware, driven by music and inspired by humanity.

Table 7 – Marko Slavnic
A couple on the brink of a breakup has an intimate conversation in a restaurant, unaware that their every word is being closely monitored. However, not all is as it seems.

Ten for Grandpa – Doug Karr
David Karr: husband, father, White House press reporter, film producer, powerful millionaire, defense contractor, corporate CEO… Soviet agent? A fast-paced look at the life of a most influential ancestor.  Ten for Grandpa’s narrator tries to decipher if Grandpa was a manipulative antihero or simply a victim of a McCarthy witchhunt.

Terminal Bar: Porters, Bouncers, and Bartenders – Stefan Nadelman
Stefan Nadelman returns to his father’s time at the Terminal Bar to tell the stories of the Porters, Bouncers, and Bartenders.

The Black Dog’s Progress – Stephen Irwin
A series of flipbooks tell the sad story of the Black Dog.

The BS of D: Toughest Skin – Niles Heckman
Official music video for The BS of D’s Toughest Skin

The Cyclotrope – Tim Wheatley
Around the hub and rim are dancing loops, tiny cycling figures and breaking waves made of paper and wire and plastic and all seemingly possessed by magic. This is the Cyclotrope.

Train of Thought – Leo Bridle & Ben Thomas
In a world made entirely out of paper, the wistful drawings in a man′s sketchbook are brought to life by the rhythm of a train journey….

Tune for Two – Gunnar Järvstad
An execution takes an unexpected turn…

Wowie – Craig Webster & Florina Titz
Wowie, a delusional postman, spies on his love interest, Carina, while she does an aerobics routine. Later at a party he delivers an awkward performance involving spandex and hip-thrusts to impress her.

Y2GAY – Dan Ilic & James Pender
We all remember how bad Y2K was. Well reinforce your doors and stock up your bunker, because it’s happening all over again. The gays are getting married, and Mick is convinced that everything will change for the worse. There’s always something to be scared of and this year it’s Y2GAY.

Your Lucky Day – Dan Brown
A megaball drawing sends a convenience store spiraling out of control.