NEXT FLOOR: Denis Villeneuve, Canada
Canadian Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve's 'Next Floor' is one of the highlights of this year's World Wide Short Film Fest. As part of the Opening Gala's 'Award Winners From Around the Word,' it's not hard to see why the 12 minute film has earned accolades at numerous prestigious festivals in
Canada
, the
U.S.
, and
Europe
.
In a world of astronomical executive packages, life-shattering white collar crimes, a growing gap between the rich and poor, and natural resources being devoured and bartered like chips in a high stakes poker game, we can all put our own spin on who the people sitting around a huge banquet table are in the movie. World leaders? Executives? Rich socialites? It doesn't really matter --- what matters is how they mindlessly tear through whatever is put before them. What ensues is a spectacular orgy of consumption, with plates and plates of increasingly more grotesque dishes being ravished and tossed aside. Servants (us?), cater to their every stomach-rumbling whim until finally the floor gives out and they crash down to the level below. With that the servants follow, and continue to offer them plates of nauseating organs and freshly butchered animals. The floor gives away once again, and continues to do so until they finally fall beyond reach into the depths of their own design. The descent into hell is complete, but the servants are left behind. They appear lost, without a purpose. The film ends with the head servant staring into the camera, directly at the viewer, as though he/she has a played a role in this madness. And maybe we have.
More Award Winners From Around The World:
SKHIZEIN, Jeremy Clapin, France
A unique look at the events that alter us and shape our perception. The main character in this animated film, Henri, is hit by a meteorite and finds himself off kilter afterwards. In fact, he's precisely 91 cm away from himself, and must learn to adapt to a new world. Skhizein is a meditation on how unexpected events can change the way we think, and live, in the world.
JERRYCAN, Julius Avery, Australia
Remember those lost adolescent days when you'd call up a friend and take off on your bike, maybe sneak a smoke, play some video games, endure the local bully and absorb a staggering amount of peer pressure? A group of youths engage in such an afternoon, which culminates with a game of paper rock scissors for explosive stakes.
COFFE AND ALLAH, Sima Urale, New Zealand
A recent immigrant from
Africa
finds solace in sport and comfort in coffee. This sensitive film deals with the loneliness inherent to the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures that at times seems too huge to overcome, and the universal acts of kindness and acceptance that can begin to erase the figurative borders that separate us, once the literal ones have been crossed.
GONE FISHING, Chris Jones, UK
A heartbreaking examination of life and death and the broken promises and redemptive moments that take up the time in between.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEARDS, Melanie Levy, USA
Are you a devote Muslim, or a Hell's Angel? An NHL hockey player in the midst of the playoffs, or a lazy cheapskate? The reasons for growing a beard are as varied as the men who sport them. This doc takes a closer look at the significance of facial hair.
TEACHING THE ALPHABET, Volker Schreiner, Germany
Creative editing of Hollywood clips takes us from A to Z in a most enthralling fashion.
The WorldWide Short Film Festival runs from June 16-21. To purchase tickets or learn more about the fest,
click here.
Opening Gala: Award Winners From Around The World:
Bloor Cinema, Tuesday, June 16th, 7:00pm
ROM, Sunday, June 21, 9:30pm
76 minutes