Women In Film & Television Houston presents
A SHORT FILM SHOWCASE
Shorts selected by Jolene McMaster

HCC Town & Country Campus - Free and Open to the Public

Cinema 16 “EUROPEAN SHORT FILMS”, 10 AM to 11 AM
A Cinema 16 Release, www.cinema16.org, launching for the first time in North America, this DVD collection celebrates some of the best short films to have come out of Europe.

BEFORE DAWN – (Hungary, 2005, 13 minutes) Writer/Director Balint Kanyeres takes viewers along on an early morning journey with a truck smuggling refugees. It's a slice of life with drama.

ELECTION NIGHT (Oscar Winner/1999) – (Denmark, 1998, 11 minutes, Subtitles) Writer/Director delivers his vignette on tolerance with flair. On the way to his polling place, Peter decides to change cabs because of the cabbie's opinions about Arabs.

SIX SHOOTER – (Ireland, 2004, 27 minutes) Martin McDonagh, Writer/Director, and Oscar Nominee, 2009, for In Bruges). Strangers on a train all have the same thing on their mind, since all of them have lost a loved one recently. In Martin McDonagh's hands, this leads to drama, and danger. An unlikely story, but told well. As the title hints, it ends bloodily.

THE OPENING DAY OF CLOSE-UP – (Italy, 1996, 7 minutes, Subtitles) Nanni Moretti, Director. It's a big day for a theater that shows little films instead of Hollywood blockbusters, and theater owner and director Nanni Moretti guides you through it. Nice glimpse of Moretti's life, even for someone who likes an occasional blockbuster.


OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS FROM 2007, 1 PM to 2 PM
A Magnolia Home Entertainment release, www.magpictures.com, of short films nominated for the 80th Annual Academy Awards.®

TANGHI ARGENTINI – (Belgium, 2006, 14 minutes, Subtitles) Directed by Guido Thys. A few weeks before Christmas, Andre (Dirk van Dijck), a chubby middle-aged office worker in Ghent, arranges an Internet date with a woman who tangos. Trouble is, Andre doesn't know how to dance, so he begs Frans (Koen van Impe), a co-worker, to teach him. Frans refuses - he's a superior type, proper, erect, immaculately, separate from the others, while Andre is a bit of a shlub. Andre calls Frans' bluff, calling him boring and staid, so Frans accepts the challenge. They practice long hours; the passion of the tango infuses Andre and when the night comes, he's ready. Frans accompanies him to a nightclub where he meets Suzanne. She and Andre begin to dance. Then, something goes wrong. Is this all for naught? Elegantly lensed and crisply edited, and even provides a nice twist.