Virginia Film Festival

The Art of the Moving Creature

2014. USA. 17 min. Director: Jessica Burnam

“The Art of the Moving Creature” was a yearlong, interdisciplinary course at the University of Virginia in which students from Art, Drama, and Architecture collaborated to research, design, and fabricate giant creatures. This documentary follows the development of these creatures, from early conception to final showcasing at “The Stan Winston Festival of the Moving Creature,” named in honor of Stan Winston, a University of Virginia alumnus and renowned film special effects and creature designer. Through interviews, participants reflect upon the design process, the partnership with The Stan Winston School of Character Arts, and the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration.

CottonDreams

2014. India/Poland. 15 min. Director: Sandeep Balhara

The side effects of a growing economy and extensive use of biotechnology pushed Indian farmers into the world’s greatest agrarian crisis. “CottonDreams” delves into life of one such family and brings out a tragic tale of love, life and sacrifice under extreme living conditions in rural India.

Find Me A Man

2014. USA. 7min. Director: John Sebelius

Eight Years ago, Randy Roy lost her husband of 22 years, Bill, to a drunk driving accident. Since his passing, she has found it difficult to find any man that measures up. Find Me a Man explores the lengths and humor that comes when trying to find love, in your 60s, in Topeka, Kansas.

A Hundred Thousand Books

2014. USA. 11 min. Director: Zachary Parks Grigg

40 years ago Sandy McAdams opened Daedalus bookstore on the downtown mall. Time allowed the shop to grow from a small bookshop to a hundred thousand book library. Sandy’s uncompromising approach to the business as well as his love for the written word are explored in this short documentary.

Song of the Cicadas

2014. USA. 28 min. Director: Richard Robinson

Based on an idea from David Rothenberg’s Bug Music, Song of the Cicadas explores the metaphors evoked in comparing the incarceration of American Political Prisoner Timothy Blunk (Resistance Conspiracy Case) with the 17 year period spent underground of the Magicicada. Filmed in an historic prison during a Cicada emergence, Song of the Cicadas forms a poetic critique on the politics of incarceration and the surveillance aspects of media.

The Sound Inside

2014. USA. 7 min. Director: Tyler Trumbo

After experiencing substantial hearing loss, three individuals take up a lip reading class to stay connected to the world that is slowly leaving them behind. Through a journey of sound design, this film takes a leap into the world they are able to hear, the sounds they are losing, and the small steps taken to better understand a life that is changing beyond their control.