The Art Of The Mid-Length reviews
Review by on 25 Sep 2010
A diverse selection of films in this mid length category made an interesting evenings proramme. All four films had their strengths but particularly impressive was White Buffalo, a well written emotive story of a soldiers return home. This was sensitively acted and directed and had a good musical score making it for me the stand out film of the evening.
Review by on 25 Sep 2010
White Bufflo blew me away. A masterpiece on every level. It tentatively captured human nature and the fallout of war - it is so relevent to what is going on in the world to day. We need more pieces like this - not art for art's sake but a beautifully acted, directed and crafted script about real people and real lives. It opened my eyes.
Review by on 25 Sep 2010
I had a great evening. I bought my ticket for this bunch of shorts on a whim, and I was not disappointed. These films opened my eyes to what can be achieved in a limited time frame. All the films were wonderful and I left wanting to watch more short films!
Review by on 25 Sep 2010
I loved these films!! Awesome bunch of shorts Cambridge. Really liked the one two punch of White Buffalo and Family Jewels, both giving interesting takes on the impact of the recent conflicts. White Buffalo definately gets my thumbs up for great filmaking!
Review by on 25 Sep 2010
The Art of Mid-length was both compelling and fascinating, serving up an array of wonderful shorts. Family Jewels provided the subtle yet strained difficulties of circumstance which contrasted well with White Buffalo and it's powerful display of the various casualties of war. Gisberta gets a big thumbs up too! Thanks for a fab night.
Review by on 25 Sep 2010
Entitled ‘Art of the Mid-Length’, Tuesday’s offerings show some films, even when shorter than a TV show, convey more emotion and engross you more than some could hope to in an entire trilogy.
BRAIDS ON A BALD HEAD follows Haewu, a Nigerian hairdresser, who questions where she is in life after an encounter with a female neighbour jolts her to seek more from her unfulfilling life and abusive husband.
GISBERTA charts the friendship between the cleaner in an orphanage, and young boy Elisha, and the jealousy of the other boys in the orphanage. The swift and shocking conclusion shows the power of jealousy and how much we come to care about character relationships in short timeframes.
FAMILY JEWELS follows the night before Carol is due to serve in Afghanistan. Her husband organises a farewell party for her, but she simply wants to stay in with him and their two sons and the evening turns into something neither of them wants. Through dialogue that really rings true, FAMILY JEWELS shows farewells are hard and often painful.
My personal highlight was the excellent WHITE BUFFALO, directed by Gabriel Pac. We are led to find out why through flashbacks to a more optimistic and (literally) colourful time, our main character Tommy finds himself where he now is. The excellent Christopher Ryden (Tommy) is more than complimented by those around him. The film excellently shows a man trying to fit into a life where there is no longer a space.
Jim Ross
BRAIDS ON A BALD HEAD follows Haewu, a Nigerian hairdresser, who questions where she is in life after an encounter with a female neighbour jolts her to seek more from her unfulfilling life and abusive husband.
GISBERTA charts the friendship between the cleaner in an orphanage, and young boy Elisha, and the jealousy of the other boys in the orphanage. The swift and shocking conclusion shows the power of jealousy and how much we come to care about character relationships in short timeframes.
FAMILY JEWELS follows the night before Carol is due to serve in Afghanistan. Her husband organises a farewell party for her, but she simply wants to stay in with him and their two sons and the evening turns into something neither of them wants. Through dialogue that really rings true, FAMILY JEWELS shows farewells are hard and often painful.
My personal highlight was the excellent WHITE BUFFALO, directed by Gabriel Pac. We are led to find out why through flashbacks to a more optimistic and (literally) colourful time, our main character Tommy finds himself where he now is. The excellent Christopher Ryden (Tommy) is more than complimented by those around him. The film excellently shows a man trying to fit into a life where there is no longer a space.
Jim Ross
Review by on 25 Sep 2010
White Buffalo was a pleasure to watch. It captured not only how war changes a man but also those around, be them family or friends. From still handed film making to documentary style action sequences, the cinematography and narrative combined effortlessley thus creating a tour de force in story telling. This film was made with passion and it is clearly shown on screen. It could have easily have been a rushed 10 minute short but that would have taken its charm away.
Well done and I look forward to seeing more.
Well done and I look forward to seeing more.
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
Of all of the films here, White Buffalo really stood out for me. As well as being beautifully shot, it was well written and deeply emotional. 26 minutes was definitely not enough!
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
One of the great things about a film festival are the programmes of short films which you would normally never have an opportunity to see. While ideal for new directors, they can be a challenge to tell a story in such a short time, requiring accuracy of vision and the discipline to cut anything that distracts.
Here we had a quartet of 20 minute "midlength" features, which gave more time to build a narrative. All took the opportunity to go into more depth, but differed in what they used this extra for. BRAIDS ON A BALD HEAD used the time to slowly reveal the details of an oppressive marriage and a possible escape. GISBERTA took a faster speed in its story of bullying and friendship in an orphanage, but kept the focus and pace right up to its shocking ending.
The real contrast in approach was from the two films that looked at the effects of going to war. WHITE BUFFALO was originally written to be a full length feature and so tried to pack a lot of twists and subplots into its time, which led to an oddly unsatisfying experience as it never really settled down to concentrate on telling one story well. In contrast FAMILY JEWELS showed the final night at home of a mother and military translator about to deploy, and stuck to this simple premise using its time to document the everyday niggles of family life on a not-so-ordinary evening full of tension, frustration, and hope.
Here we had a quartet of 20 minute "midlength" features, which gave more time to build a narrative. All took the opportunity to go into more depth, but differed in what they used this extra for. BRAIDS ON A BALD HEAD used the time to slowly reveal the details of an oppressive marriage and a possible escape. GISBERTA took a faster speed in its story of bullying and friendship in an orphanage, but kept the focus and pace right up to its shocking ending.
The real contrast in approach was from the two films that looked at the effects of going to war. WHITE BUFFALO was originally written to be a full length feature and so tried to pack a lot of twists and subplots into its time, which led to an oddly unsatisfying experience as it never really settled down to concentrate on telling one story well. In contrast FAMILY JEWELS showed the final night at home of a mother and military translator about to deploy, and stuck to this simple premise using its time to document the everyday niggles of family life on a not-so-ordinary evening full of tension, frustration, and hope.
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
what an amazing movie , white buffalo
really nailed it, look forward to see what they do next
really nailed it, look forward to see what they do next
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
What a wonderful evening - I loved the selection of films. White Buffalo really impressed me for being so substantial despite being only 26 mins. Congratulations to all involved!
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
Hats off to the Cambridge Film Festival, an interesting and at times eclectic mix of International cinema. From the harrowing and troublesome realities of Gisberta, to the indepth and heart renching story of a soldier trying to integrate back into a 'normal' existance, that is White Buffalo.
Very well done indeed.
Very well done indeed.
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
Some thought provoking films from Europe and Stateside in this interesting section... chilling, Lord of the Flies-esque undercurrents in the at times hard to watch Gisberta and some truly brilliant home grown filmmaking from the UK in White Buffalo... epic, gritty, no-frills cinema with some great performances touching on some particulary socially relevant topics... definitely ones to watch.
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
White Buffalo- Such an interesting story. Realism at its best. I hope to see something more of this story. We are always watching films about the war, but it's also important what happens to families and relationships back home.
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
Just want to congratulate Cambridge Film Festival 2010 on a fantastic collection of films. (More so, the film makers!) For me, the winner had to be WHITE BUFFALO - Director: Gabriel Pac (UK)
A very powerful and emotive piece which was beautifully told and directed. It allowed the intensely believable character relationships to do the talking. Organic and very moving indeed. Stand out performances of the night by these promising actors. I look forward to seeing more films like this next year!
A very powerful and emotive piece which was beautifully told and directed. It allowed the intensely believable character relationships to do the talking. Organic and very moving indeed. Stand out performances of the night by these promising actors. I look forward to seeing more films like this next year!
Review by on 23 Sep 2010
White Buffalo was the stand out for me, a considered, atmospheric piece which should inspire any young up coming filmaker about
Review by on 23 Sep 2010
What a great evening showcasing some wonderful fresh talent. White Buffalo proved what can be achieved with hard work and commitment.
Review by on 23 Sep 2010
What a pleasure it was to see such a touching and varied selection of short films. Rarely do we as an audience get a chance to see short films and this collection really proves that they are an underrated art form. Gisberta and White Buffalo stood out for me personally, two daring and captivating films.
White Buffalo deserves praise for being a piece of unhurried filmmaking too rarely seen these days. Great stuff!
White Buffalo deserves praise for being a piece of unhurried filmmaking too rarely seen these days. Great stuff!
Review by on 23 Sep 2010
What a great selection of shorts, congratulations Cambridge Film Festival! White Buffalo was the standout for sure. Great script, sensitive direction and the performances were amazing - it had me hooked throughout! I was glad I got my ticket to see these little gems.
Review by on 23 Sep 2010
What a great collection of shorts! All different yet all wonderful.
Looking back at it I must say that my favourite was White Buffalo.
It felt like it had the most substance and it had some great performances from the actors. The scene in the hospital had both me and my girlfriend almost in tears. Powerful stuff!
We both thought it is a story worth telling so more films like that please! So all in all, a very successful segment.
Looking back at it I must say that my favourite was White Buffalo.
It felt like it had the most substance and it had some great performances from the actors. The scene in the hospital had both me and my girlfriend almost in tears. Powerful stuff!
We both thought it is a story worth telling so more films like that please! So all in all, a very successful segment.
Review by on 23 Sep 2010
WHITE BUFFALO (26 mins)
Director: Gabriel Pac (UK)
A beautifully shot story which highlights the complexity of human experience of war, as well as the emotional fall-out which occurs after major traumatic events. Its subtelty makes an impact.
Director: Gabriel Pac (UK)
A beautifully shot story which highlights the complexity of human experience of war, as well as the emotional fall-out which occurs after major traumatic events. Its subtelty makes an impact.
Review by on 22 Sep 2010
Cracking selection of shorts! Gisberta and White Buffalo were definite highlights of the evening. Both emotional and haunting. Although these shorts were longer than most, they managed to tell epic stories in a short time frame. I liked the link between Family Jewels and White Buffalo - showing the different circumstances of soldiers and the difficulties war can bring to their lives at home.
Film details
The Art Of The Mid-Length
SHORTS
Germany/UK/USA/Nigeria, 2010.
95 mins. English
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