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It's hard to be critical with independently produced works sometimes.  As a filmmaker, I always am surprised at how critical I can be of the films I've watched. But who the hell am I to bash or praise?  Did I stay up late nights, worrying and fretting during the production phase of every movie with each of the filmmakers whose films I analyze? Of course not.  These thoughts popped up in my head shortly after sharing my views on Chicago Public Radio's Vocalo a couple of days ago.

Then again, I initially started this blog nearly two years ago as a way of further educating and expanding my own cinematic canon and education.  And if in the process I happen to marginally enlighten readers on some material...well then I couldn't be happier.

So pushing forward, I must say that the sparse "Blue" (Directed Ryan Miningham) left the strangest imprint on me. I stayed for the Q&A after the screening to give due attention and respect to the filmmaking team. But the fact of the matter is, "Blue" is insufferably dull. On paper, it's a winning Hollywood formula: a struggling boxing contender named Blue (played by screenwriter Don Wallace) is trying to avoid a life of crime on the streets by winning the big fight destined for the film's climax. The problem is that the small idea behind the film is out-shrunk by its even smaller budget, modest filming technique and lack of visual flair. So when you have a film that is as predictable as studio garbage and has the non-professional look of an underground no-one-will-see-it piece of work, where do you go? How do you savor or affirm it? During my on air radio interview for Vocalo I gave the film an ultimate recommendation, yet not out of praise. When the lineup of a festival includes the frustrating elusiveness of a work like "Nymph," the cookie cutter over-simplicity of "Blue" can be sane viewing.

Luckily I was able to sit in on one of five different short film series the fest offers.  This series (#4) was labeled "Escape & Rebellion," a heading that highlights the shared themes among the works. Each one of these entries (which run about fifteen minutes a piece) is a complete entity, so to harp on a particular short film for its faults would prove useless. Instead, I'll talk about the highlights of each one.

"The Attack of the Robots from Nebula 5" (Spain) -- Essentially it's everything that was funny and not overbearingly obtuse about "Napoleon Dynamite" while only taking up a fraction of that feature length film's running time. A black & white first person narrative, the biggest laughs come from our misanthrope protagonist who insists aliens are going to meet him under an expressway underpass.

"Good Advice" (Sweden) -- Far and away the best of the short films, this winning story follows a young child who lives under the disapproving or nonobservant eyes of his parents. Understanding that his unborn younger brother is close to entering the world, he tapes a personal survival guide on his handy voice recorder, selecting the "Do's" and "Don'ts" of properly surviving the household. Feelings become very real and poignant once this same young chap decides to runaway. A definite must see.

"Ciao Mama" (Croatia) -- Definitely the darkest of the bunch, if only for never discussed reasons, I imagine this was either based on a one act play (all the action takes place essentially in the living room) or will be used as a concept piece to pitch the idea. The camera work here tends to avoid the subjects in particular shots, thus bringing to focus the fact that each of the two characters are avoiding their very own ugly truths.

"Ernesto Kely Takes Off" (Spain) -- A without question offspring of Woody Allen, "Ernesto" begins with Ernesto talking directly into the camera (also serving as a quasi-narrator) about his indecisions, phobias and ideal desires regarding his personal and professional life. The fact that he's a struggling abstract painter who is using warehouse space from his future father in law doesn't make matters particularly easier. Good music comes with this black & white photographed sleeper, including the track "Accident" by Speedmarket Avenue.

"The History of Aviation" (Hungary) --  If this were a feature film, I'd say give it the Best Cinematography Oscar right this second.  A strange and in retrospect haunting period piece, we follow a high class group of family, friends and workers who are looking for a little girl on a lush island. And yes, you guessed it, there is a plane involved.

"Lars and Peter" (Denmark) -- What happens when you catch your father masturbating while he's drunk on his birthday? Now imagine you're nine years old too. This interesting character study could lead to an even more interesting feature film.

"The Illusion" (Cuba) -- People actually walked out of this film around the 3 minute mark, once it became clear we were never going to get a clear steady camera shot or even a scene that was in full focus. A terrific experimental short subject documentary, "Illusion" tells the first person story of a woman filmmaker who travels to London to find her estranged father who left Cuba before Castro's revolution. If you can bear with it, it's quite rewarding.