The Crazy8s gala is a screening of 6 short films that were shot and produced within 8 days. Beginning at The Centre downtown followed by an after-party at Science World, it is also the time when the film fauna of Vancouver come out to stalk the Vancouver savanna. As the Crazy8s moon rises, you can’t walk three paces without tripping on coattails or being blinded by sequins.
Six film concepts are chosen from roughly 250 submissions and are each provided $1000 for the production. This intense production cycle coupled with the diverse resources made available to the young filmmakers create a rigorous learning arena that has been likened to a condensed version of film school.
Tension grows rapidly in the first film, “CC”, as a struggling mother is confronted with a series of signs that her daughter may have developed a stronger bond with her AI nanny than with herself. The real challenge of the film is the gut-churning disquiet of being fundamentally more like the inadequate human in the equation, than the nanny who seems so lucid.
The next film, “Shuttlecock”, tells the irreverent tale of Winnie the badminton player who, years prior, had been knocked off the Olympic trail by a shuttlecock injury to the eye dealt by a scoffing opponent. Years later, and still wounded in spirit, Winnie has engineered another opportunity to play the very player who had taken her out of the games. The film loses no opportunity to fulfill the humour potential inherent to a film called “Shuttlecock”, and indulges fully in the sneering, unapologetic whims of Winnie on her path to vengeance.
The remaining four films continued to amuse the packed Gala audience. “Extra-Ordinary Amy” tells a fantastical story about a girl who creates death and destruction whenever she dances, a concept which throws the widespread aspiration of, “be yourself,” into playful question. “Bordered“ is a short film about the conflicted experience of a US border patrol who encounters two Syrian refugees who are freezing to death and have an urgent plea. “Smallfish” is a film expressed through frenetic dance about a young girl who becomes lost in a mesmerizing journey of her own making, where a fish kingdom that she has painted merges with a dream world. “Gemini” is a film that explores an accidental meeting of two Virtual Reality (VR) gamers in real life. Once they realize who the other’s avatar is, the female gamer confronts the other gamer about a disquieting experience. That these six films were pulled off in 8 days speaks to the tenacity and dedication of their makers.
Red dinner jackets, actors waiting to pounce on appetizer plates, and giant physics exhibits with the pulsing beats of Tiesto and Skrillex were the flavours of the after party at Science World. It was easy to be swept into the diverse mix of the creative members of the Vancouver film community that night after seeing those captivating films.
– Cimarron Ballantyne