Last month, ShortHaus Cinema held our first-ever Short Film Competition! Though we provided prompts and suggestions, the actual format of the competition was simple: make anything you want, keep it short and everything must be completed within a week. This included any pre-production, scripting, shooting and editing.
Under those guidelines, we had eight submissions that surprised and delighted us, and they came in a variety of genres: comedy, satire, sci-fi, horror, thriller, documentary, and even a stop-motion monster movie. The competition ended on Tuesday, March 12, and participants spent two hours sharing their work, laughing and discussing each film thoughtfully.
Check out our YouTube Channel to see these amazing short films!
At the end of the night, our participants and their guests voted on the submissions, and we are happy to announce those winners here! Each winner could choose from a selection of Criterion Collection movies on 4K Bluray, all of which are from previously featured ShortHaus directors.
An Ode to Films of the Past
In first place, we had a tie between Ismael Ochoa’s “Abstract Dreams” and Michael Owen’s “Uber Driver.”
Micheal Owen (left) and Ismael Ochoa (right) holding up their prizes: Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise and Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
Ismael loves monster movies, so much so that he can effortlessly describe the differences between the eras of Godzilla (his favorite is the Showa period, and the Heisei period is the one where Godzilla looks like a cat, obviously). To celebrate his favorite monster movies, Ismael used stop-motion animation to pit three monsters against each other while claymation figures watched in horror. The short required 890 still images to fill its less than three-minute runtime, an impressive feat for a first-time filmmaker who also happens to be eight years old. He was graciously assisted by his father, Isaac Ochoa, but Ismael was a stern director, and all major decisions were left to him.
Stop-motion is quite challenging and time-consuming on its own, but Ismael also chose to include shifting camera angles and dramatic lighting changes. When the monster that looks suspiciously like Godzilla fires his blast, the lights shift to UV, bathing the scene in vibrant hues. Other times the scene is bathed in red, heightening the tension and dramatic atmosphere. Ismael also included subtle elements of comedy, intentionally leaving in green-gloved hands instead of chroma-keying them out. He also gave a monster giant googley eyes in shock. Ismael proved himself to be creative and driven, and we hope to see many more films from this future director!
a green-gloved hand reaches into the scene, intentionally revealing the filmmaking process
a pencil is used as a practical effect while UV light makes it appear like a blue and glowing energy blast
Michael Owen chose to pay homage to his favorite directors in his short titled “Uber Driver.” Most obviously, Micheal takes inspiration from Martin Scorsese as he updates Taxi Driver for the 21st century, having Travis work instead as an Uber driver (but have just as many bad opinions about today’s political landscape). Micheal’s Travis character spews vitriol in monologue as he drives around at night and later reenacts the scene shouting in the mirror, “You looking at me?!” In addition to Scorsese, Micheal cites his influences in the filmmaking of Stanley Kubrick and Orson Welles, the improvisational style of John Cassavetes, the comedy of Ed Wood, the parody of Mel Brooks, George Lucas’s tenacity in filming American Graffiti during the limited hours of midnight to 4 a.m., and the practical animation effects of Ray Harryhausen (Micheal places a toy car on his dash to mimic shots of driving).
Last Shot. Smoky in the bandit, Burt Reynolds smiles at the camera, breaking the 4th wall.
Travis is bathed in red light while a voiceover provides his hateful inner monologue
a toy car stands in for Travis’s “taxi” as he drives around
Anxieties of Modern Life and Learning
In third Place, we had “Buffer Code” by Jade Roberts. In it, Jade plays a college senior taking her very last exam remotely. Just as she’s about to submit it, though, the web browser starts buffering, and she’s confronted with the spinning wheel of death. Certainly an anxiety-inducing experience, Jade’s character starts hitting the monitor, desperate to not lose hours of work. Instead of fixing it, though, she gets sucked into the computer. She’s circled by lines of code and her entire body is pixelated, a very cool visual. Overall, Jade’s story is simple and short, but the editing successfully builds tension and captures the anxiety and frustration of the situation.
Jade Roberts and her collection of Maya Deren shorts
a pixelated student trapped in the matrix
Making People Laugh
We had one more prize to give away after that, but managed to have another tie for Fourth Place. Donna Stockwell, director of “Piggy Goes to the Fair,” graciously ceded the prize to Jaime Nino, director of “The Woods.” Both films were delightfully funny and had the whole room bent over in laughter.
Donna Stockwell, Fourth Place sans prize
Jaime Nino and his prize, Cheryl Dunye’s Watermelon Woman
“Piggy Goes to the Fair” has Donna playing three separate characters, all donning unique outfits and accents. Our lead is a farmer who needs to take her prize pig, Eloise, to the fair. Donna utilizes creative visual effects throughout the story, such as enlarging Eloise to the point she barely fits in the back of a pickup truck, cutting out the bottom of the truck’s tire so it appears flat, and rotoscoping one of her clips so her hysterical woman character can be seen on the same screen as her taxi driver character. All the effects are delightful and add to the hilarity of the short, but perhaps most impressive is the totally undetectable ADR used in the outdoor scenes where the wind destroyed the audio. Donna has asked not to share her film publicly and we respect those wishes.
Eloise appears enormous while Donna struggles to get her into the back of her truck
“The Woods” is a spoof on found-footage horror films like The Blair Witch Trials, but also pokes fun at real-life Facebook groups that share conspiracy theories about the local community. Jaime plays Lee James, an “amateur” reporter investigating claims about something living in the James S. Boan woods, right here in Bolingbrook. Lee is overly confident and narcissistic, not even bothering to learn his cameraman’s name. Unsurprisingly, Lee abandons him when things do get dangerous. Jaime’s acting is delightful, with just the right level of buffoonery. The cinematography done by Sylvester Sanchez perfectly mimics a detective thriller at the start with the flashing emergency vehicles and moody lighting. As it continues, the facade begins to fall away, and the camera gets way too close to Lee’s face, blowing out the highlights and revealing the amateur skills of these detectives.
“There’s a great evil lurking here, and I will get to the bottom of it”
A surprisingly spooky visual from this spoofy horror story
Self-Love and Empowerment
Though we ran out of prizes to give out, our other entrants provided excellent submissions that deserve some honorable mentions. In alphabetical order, our final participants included Chantelle Branch, Ariel Henton, and Kofi Intsiful.
Chantelle chose to submit an ad for her self-love coaching titled “Love Reset.” The editing is upbeat and fun, truly enticing the viewer to join in on this self-love retreat. Chantelle is fun and charismatic in her introduction and quickly cuts to a testimonial of a woman enjoying the amenities and learning to “reset to another chapter of me, redefining who I am.”
Chantelle introduces herself as a Self-Love Specialist
Chantelle utilizes wipe transition to keep the energy moving
Ariel Henton interviewed her mother for her documentary entry “Short Film.” The film begins by cutting between shots of childhood photos while “Family Feud” plays on in the background, introducing us to the quiet joys of the Henton household. Cut to the interview, and Cathy Henton sits in a corner of her home, surrounded by warm oranges and blues as she talks about her life. She shares stories about growing up, being one of the few black teachers in her school district, learning adversity, and later serving in the military. Ariel has asked not to share her film publicly, and we respect those wishes.
Ariel Henton receives feedback on her film
Cathy Henton sits in a cozy corner of her home
Kofi Intsiful gives a somewhat autobiographical, somewhat fictional slice-of-life in “Nationals.” In some scenes, he’s clearly acting while he talks about the beautiful day, describes his hunger, or complains about the mess of bikes he has to tidy up in his backyard. In others, he’s just enjoying a meal from Portillo’s in a very quiet and intimate setting, or sharing footage of him playing soccer, giving it his all but still just barely missing the goal. In Kofi’s own words: “Message is simple, In everything you do, you have to compete, work, win and become a National Champion. Don’t play with your skills and craft; always aim high to get a shot at the National level. That’s where all the enjoyment is at.”
Kofi steps out of a gas station, utilizing local Bolingbrook locations
Kofi manages to make everyone hungry in this intimate scene at Portillo’s
This competition far exceeded our expectations, and each participant approached their films in truly creative and unexpected ways. With such a short time frame, any inclusion of VFX or other time-intensive processes is impressive. Many participants cited long hours and late nights to get their films done within the deadline. Micheal, who works as an actual Uber driver, noted the majority of his work was completed after he finished working between the hours of 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Donna expressed frustration since she had so many ideas but ran into so many complications with her special effects. Kofi didn’t have transportation available and was limited to certain locations. Jade was still exporting her film when she walked into the final meeting. Despite the limitations, each participant showed a level of dedication that should be congratulated no matter what.
If you’re as inspired as we were, keep an eye out for next year’s competition. We’re expecting big things from your short films.
ShortHaus Cinema meets once a month to watch and discuss short films. There’s always a featured director, but if you have a film, finished or in progress, you’re always welcome to bring it to a meeting to share and receive feedback.