This week was a week of film. First taking in a couple of Hollywood blockbusters during the week, before attending the Nickel Independent Film Festival on Saturday!
The Nickel Film Festival is a week long festival in St. John's that has been a showcase for local independent film makers since 2001. Throughout the course of the week there are numerous screenings at the LSPU Hall, along with workshops and other events. We decided to take in a screening of some short films on Saturday evening.
LSPU Hall
We were treated to a really mixed selection of films both from local film makers and from further afield. The films ranged from 3 minutes, to 30, from psychological horror, to comedy musical, from English to...er...French. Here's a full list of the films we saw:
- Murder Most Fowl - Mike Fardy
- Makeover - Andrea Dunne
- Religatio - Jaime Giraldo
- Howard & Jean - Heather Young
- Amour Et Commando - Stephane Duprat
- Home Sweet Home - Frederic Lefebvre
- Le Risque Zero - Phillipe LaCoeuille
- Flankers - Justin Oakey
The program for the evening
It was really great to see the crazy, creative things that people are doing with film, and made for an interesting contrast to the big blockbusters we had seen earlier in the week (although we did enjoy those as well). One of our favourites of the evening was a French comedy-musical, set during the Second World War, called Amour et Commando. It was ridiculous, and at times it was impossible to hold in the laughter. Another stand out film was Flankers, made by a local film maker that drew upon his experiences growing up in Newfoundland. It was an intense, atmospheric 15 minute short featuring some really stunning shots of stormy Newfoundland and plenty of drama.
All in all it was a fun way to spend an evening, filled with variety, and some powerful films that packed a punch in the space of minutes. In the past, we have attended other film festivals such as the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (2013 and 2014), as well as a screening of the Oscar short film nominees last year, but it was great to check out something new, as always!
All in all it was a fun way to spend an evening, filled with variety, and some powerful films that packed a punch in the space of minutes. In the past, we have attended other film festivals such as the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (2013 and 2014), as well as a screening of the Oscar short film nominees last year, but it was great to check out something new, as always!
