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RIFF 2016 SHORTS BLOCK #3
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016
5:30PM - 7:30PM
RIFF SHORTS BLOCK #3
Sunday, October 23, 2016
5:30-7:30pm: Screening + Filmmakers Q&A
Fazioli Room
Rahway International Film Festival Short Films Presentation
Showcasing works that inspire empathy, equality, and awareness through film, RIFF has got it all. With shorts films ranging from documentary to animation to drama to comedy, these films from all over the world will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you think.
Shorts Block #3 Lineup:
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"The Flavor of the Moon" directed by Yan Zhang (China)
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"Sing for your Supper" directed by Mu Sun (CA, USA)
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"Don't Mess with the Sharkies" directed by Richard Rabelbauer (Switzerland)
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"Uncanny Valley" directed by Federico Heller (Argentina)
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"Eggplant" directed by Yangzhi She (CA, USA)
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"Tongue Stabs Cheek" directed by Kyle Heller (Canada)
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"Pitter Patter Goes My Heart" directed by Christoph Rainer (Germany)
Following the films, there will be a Filmmakers Q&A with the attending filmmakers.
*All festival tickets & day passes include free admission to the Opening Night After-Party & Saturday Lobby Networking Hour, which will offer a complimentary light buffet and cash bar. Come join the fun!
"The Flavor of the Moon"
Short Narrative | Runtime: 21:10
Country of Origin: China
Language: Mandarin (with English subtitles)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Synopsis: Desire is one of the most original and basic instincts of all the animals in the world. It is also the root causing all events. In a little town which the time background is not clear, people follow and yearn for moon because of a legend. The events about the moon even become more and more intensified. Disputing for moon becomes the lingering shadow in the town. Recently, there is a man whose proposal was rejected. He decides to unveil the unsolved legend of the moon and win back his lover's heart through fighting for moon.
Director: Yan Zhang
Yan studied at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Film. In 2013, she worked on the short film "Grandma's Arirang" which won several international awards and screened at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Yan currently resides in London and is studying at London Film School.
"Sing for your Supper"
Short Narrative | Runtime: 15:10
Country of Origin: California, USA
Language: English
Genre: Musical
Synopsis: In a totalitarian world where one only eats as well as they can sing, a man must overcome his bout of laryngitis if he ever wants to eat again.
Director: Mu Sun (in attendance)
Born in China, but raised all around the world, Mu’s international upbringing has had a strong influence on his work, striving to tell stories that have a universal and timeless relevance. A graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Mu brings together a strong technical background with a diverse set of influences that include east Asian cinema, Russian literature and contemporary independent film. Along with musical/fantasy film “Sing For Your Supper”, he is also touring the festival circuit in 2016 with romantic drama set in Los Angeles “City by the Sea”, which is also showing at Rahway International Film Festival 2016. He is currently developing “Sing For Your Supper” as a feature film.
"Don't Mess with the Sharkies"
Short Narrative | Runtime: 24:18
Country of Origin: Switzerland
Language: German (with English subtitles)
Genre: Mockumentary, Sci-Fi
Synopsis: After near extinction of humans by a higher developed species called "Sharkies", Marie and Robert, two of the last survivors, attempt to record a last statement for posterity. This turns out to be rather difficult as they risk being eaten alive wherever they go...
Director | Writer | Producer: Richard Rabelbauer
Richard Rabelbauer was born in 1965 in Vienna. He graduated as a physicist from ETH and lives in Zurich. Since 1996, various theatre performances and stagings with various casts. From 2012, studies of film/audiovisual creation at Schule für Gestaltung Bern and Biel (SfGBB).
Website:
"Uncanny Valley"
Short Narrative | Runtime: 8:52
Country of Origin: Argentina
Language: English
Genre: Sci-Fi
Synopsis: In the slums of the future, virtual reality junkies satisfy their violent impulses in online entertainment. An expert player discovers that the line between games and reality is starting to fade away. 3DAR’s latest short film explores the frightening potential of our next technological revolution.
Director: Federico Heller
Federico Heller was born in 1983 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the age of fourteen, he started filming and editing with his own equipment and a few years later, he got a job as editor. He joined film school already having a good knowledge in montage and storytelling and continued to train in visual effects, animation, and digital art. In 2003, Federico decided to join forces with his brother and co-founded 3DAR, where he worked as director, producer, and visual effects supervisor to hundreds of different projects for TV, advertising, and film. His interest in storytelling and character development led him to write original stories for TV series and in 2015 he wrote and directed his first short film Uncanny Valley.
"Eggplant"
Short Animation | Runtime: 7:00
Country of Origin: Califoria, USA
Language: English
Genre: Animation
Synopsis: Durian was born with his facial expressions opposite to everyone else's.The film shows a time span of this little boy growing into a young adult, featuring milestones in both his real life and his imaginary world.
Director: Yangzhi She
Yangzi She was born and raised in Beijing, China and moved to Los Angeles to study animation in UCLA since 2011. She currently works as a freelance animator and storyboard artist.
"Tongue Stabs Cheek"
Short Narrative | Runtime: 12:21
Country of Origin: Canada
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Experimental
Synopsis: Blame! Revenge! Suicide! Cake! Things started pink and purpled out from there for young Chair-Dragger, who has the end of his rope tied to the heavens and a stool beneath both feet for the kicking. But his big fix for the Big Fix is interrupted by a silver-tongued stranger who has other designs.
Director | Writer: Kyle Heller
After graduating with a Specialist in Cinema Studies from the University of Toronto, Kyle Heller moved to Berlin to pursue the practical side of the medium he discovered first casually, academically, and then passionately. He is the writer of two feature-length scripts, and since moving across the Atlantic, has completed a one-year practical filmmaking course at Met Film School Berlin.
Director: Karl Schirnhofer
After finishing high school Karl Schirnhofer left Holland to live in Berlin to gain experience and knowlegde in the production field of Cinema, after producing 3 short film Karl is pursueing his passion for Casting.
"Pitter Patter Goes My Heart"
Short Narrative | Runtime: 21:55
Country of Origin: Germany
Language: German (with English subtitles)
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Synopsis: The hopelessly romantic Lisa takes desperate measures to win her former lover back. But the fact that he already has a new girl at his side and that Lisa needs to bring her alcoholic father to an anti-varicose-campaign photo shooting without letting him know, is not particularly helping. The tragedy takes its course.
Director: Christoph Rainer
Christoph Rainer is an Austrian filmmaker that graduated from the Filmacademy in Vienna with a bachelor degree in directing and received a Fulbright scholarship to pursue his master at Columbia University in New York, where he graduated with honors. His short films have been invited to over 300 film festivals worldwide, screened at museums such as the Tabakalera in San Sebastian and the MoMA in New York and have won numerous awards such as the TIFF Emerging Filmmaker Award at the Toronto Film Festival. He has also been the director of the Shortynale Film Festival in Austria for the last six years.