On Sunday, April 24 at the Norm Theatre, the twenty-sixth annual Persistence of Vision Film Festival (POV26) came to its close, ending an impressive weekend filled with great talent and promise.
These were not the shaky, over-boiled productions that one might expect when they hear "student-made" before a film festival. Featuring 20 short works ranging from six minutes to 15, each work offered its own distinct style and subject with a surprising level of professionalism and polish. Equipped with top-notch cameras and obvious skill, each work was, in its own right, a success, showing off brilliant filming, solid screenplays, intense acting and assured direction.
The night began with Collages, which was written and directed by Zoe Arthur. It effectively told the emotionally complex story of a daughter trying to connect with her mother after her father walks out on them. Instead of resorting to heavy exposition or simplistic explanations, most of the daughter's emotional journey was instead implied, making for a more mature experience. The only impediment to the film was its audio, which was a little tinny. Otherwise the work was emotional and well realized.
Gimme Some Sugar told the slightly surreal story of a girl, trying to pay for university, who starts spending her nights with rich "sugar daddies." The work was beautifully filmed and touched upon some complex issues at times, however, in the end it resorted to a random bus-stop encounter and a lot of on-the-nose dialogue to explain what would have been better left implied. That being said, it is likely that these issues stem from writer/director Kaayla Whachell's constrained runtime, which was much too tight to delve deeply into its subject.
Bangers was a comparatively shorter work than some of the others, focusing more on a single scene than a larger narrative. Cinematographer Brittany Lum-Cho handled her shots remarkably well, however the style sets up the film to be darker drama, and the dialogue which follows is much more comedic, making the experience a little jarring. In addition, there is a massive exposition dump early on which delivered the backstory in a far too obvious way.
Big Mouth Billy Bass was hilarious and by far one of the stranger works to show at the festival. Its focus was on a prize-winning fisherman who takes his mania to fetishistic levels of obsession, and whose record is bested by a sixteen year-old boy. The audience then watches his psychological meltdown in a hyper-surreal way. The music choices, lack of dialogue, and great filming made this a strange, sometimes horrifying work of comedy with a sharp sense of humour.
All Things Wanting was an intense, deeply cerebral film about a movie director coping with his creative block and steadily going insane. It is intense and often strange, with reality taking a back seat to surrealism, as well as a bizarre fixation on masturbation. Cinematographer Farhad Ghaderi deserves particular praise for his amazing work which had shots and lighting that were truly breathtaking. The film was, as a whole, engrossing and left the audience somewhat breathless afterwards.
Vanessa sported tight, funny dialogue and hit a frantic climax which provided fantastic payoff. Its style will not be unfamiliar to anyone who has seen a Tarantino film, and though it carried its influence quite openly, it did it so well that it felt more like a tribute than a ripoff. Its success is also down to its actors, who committed wholeheartedly to their scenes and pulled off some moments of intense chaos.
The Last Stop grappled with some big themes as it focused on a university graduate who is trying to decide which path in life to take. There is a nice balance here between humour and introspective drama, which mostly works well, though one or two moments came across as too comical. The makeup effects also deserve credit for looking remarkably convincing in aging its characters. In the end, the film's message remained somewhat ambiguous, and the conclusions it seemed to be making did not necessarily work considering what came before, however it was still thought-provoking and emotionally resonate.
Roadside Dead Guys has a title which pretty much says everything that need be said about the plot. It is a pretty simple premise which is executed in a darkly comic way that was strange, a little sad and quite memorable. The decision to film in black and white was an especially good call, which very effectively set the tone of the piece. In its own, understated way, this was one of the standout works of the festival.
Of all films that night, Inferno was the one to elicit the most cries of shock and disgust from the audience. The first three quarters operate as a fairly standard strip club story about the nervous new dancer and the innocent young boy who are trying to fit in. Then the last act comes and, without spoiling anything, twists into far darker places than anyone expected. It was shocking, entertaining in an odd way and quite effective. Credit also must go to the cinematographer and editor, Turner Stewart who seemed to be channeling Birdman to great effect.
The Guy Kind of Sucks told the passionate, gleeful romance between an outdoorsy guy and his action camera. It was comedic, very well-edited and generally great, with a few tender moments to make it particularly affecting. In a show with a lot of darkness and morbid humour, this piece was refreshingly innocent and fun.
I’m Ready was a dystopic film about a man preparing to be liquefied in a sensory deprivation tank. The story was sparse but interesting, with one shot in particular that was nothing short of brilliant. There are shots that make the audience wait a tad too long for them to end, and the payoff is not entirely satisfying, but the work is still intriguing enough to make up for this.
Bitchcraft began with a slightly Christmas-themed satanic ritual and the accidental summoning of Santa as opposed to Satan by a group of soccer moms. This gag presents an initial amount of comedy, however the novelty dissipated fairly quickly and the story does not progress much further beyond it. The filming is not remarkable and the lack of blocking leaves the actors standing around awkwardly as they deliver their banter. Though entertaining, these flaws somewhat handicap the result, and the payoff does not quite meet the expectation.
Cement stood out as a fully-realized artistic vision. It was a strange, depressed fever-dream about an architect who has become bored with the bland repetitiveness of his designs. It was bleak and beautiful, with a final, poignant shot that tied the work together perfectly, thanks to Florina Beglinger’s fantastic cinematography. Credit must also go to the architects who designed the UBC buildings used for filming. Without their total lack of humanity or aesthetic beauty, this film would have not been nearly as effective.
Runts was an anarchic, morally ambiguous story about youth acting badly. It was largely black and white, except for those scenes which the main character films on an old cassette camcorder. Stylistically it is strong, with nice visuals and some good writing. The problem it encounters comes towards the end, when the main character makes a drastic decision in the climax. The way it is filmed and edited is disorienting and unclear, which means that its ultimate significance becomes a little undermined.
Missing was a mind-bending story about kidnapping and deception. It begins with a scene and a premise then repeatedly pulls the rug out from under the audience till they are not entirely certain what is reality or truth. It is a well filmed, well acted, well written piece that stood out for how competently it realized its vision.
Pretty Veins used abstract narration and strong visuals to tell the story of a mother and daughter in rural BC. It was dark, and the writing by Stefanie Bartlett thoroughly impressed, with one monologue in particular giving the plot a kind of mythic quality heavily reminiscent of Terrence Malick. The introspective nature and grittiness of the plot made it affecting and very profound.
Aperture Hour was the second film to delve into the topic of life after graduating, with an approach similarly humorous and bittersweet. This film centred around three friends playing one last game of beer pong and reminiscing. The humour was strong and it was difficult not to be affected by the nostalgia that anchored the work. That being said, the ending took a turn for a more serious meditation on its themes which was a little too saccharin to fit in with what came before. One or two of the audience members had to restrain laughter at scenes which were most certainly not aiming to be funny, which diminished the effect a little, though the film was still very enjoyable.
The Inspection marked the third film about friends moving on, as it followed on two roommates rushing to move out of their house before the new tenants arrive. The work handled physical comedy really well and sported one or two moments of true hilarity.
Victory Falls was a work whose plot will be pretty universally known. The narrative of tough coach and battle-worn athlete is one that is often explored in cinema. This work did not really break any new ground with its topic, and the bombastic speeches that the coach gave through a large cigar elicited more laughs than were probably intended. The filming, however, was superb, with a vibe very reminiscent of Foxcatcher, and a final shot which was strikingly beautiful.
Bon Bon Fire was a manically strange work about a schoolgirl going on a candy-filled killing spree seemingly because the spirit of her dead mother wills her to. The style is right out of an anime show and the execution was slick, with very professional animated segments. The film was voted the audience favourite and received no end of laughter during its screening, however the strangeness and violence came across as a little excessive and will most certainly alienate some people.
POV 26 was an impressive showcase of student talent and a thoroughly enjoyable experience throughout. Not only did it represent great ability, artistic vision and the strong support of the university and province, but it also demonstrated a progressive environment in which equal opportunity was championed. It was noted early on that over half of the available roles in the festival were taken by women. In addition to the best actor and actress awards presented at the end, an award was given for great achievement in film by a woman, which went to Zoey Arthur. It marked an important milestone for the festival, as well as the film industry in general.
The night was a resounding success, filled with optimism for the future of its filmmakers and, judging by the finished products, the optimism is most certainly well-earned.