2013 PCFF Shorts Collection: Middle / High School Edition

Director(s): Multiple
Country: Multi-national
Language: English, musical, or no dialogue
Multiple Film Types | 2011, 2012 | 70 min
Recommended for ages 13+ (Parental Guidance: See films for thematic elements.)

Your Shorts are Showin’ (YSAS)

PCFF proudly presents this year’s YSAS programs. We have compiled three age-specific reels of short films. Some of these films were chosen by our jury and others invited by our Director of Programming. We hope you enjoy this wide assortment of shorts!

  • Ad Alta
    USA, 2012 / Dir. Lucy Reevely / 8 min
    Who said silent films aren’t made anymore? This interestingly shot short film about a prospering street vendor competing with a struggling one on the streets of New York City has many things to say without ever saying a word. The piano accompaniment accurately captures the emotional ups and downs as two very dissimilar people gradually come to live and sell in harmony.
  • Make it a Great Day
    USA, 2012 / Dir. Joshua Jones / 7 min
    By hatching after getting thrown in the trash, this chick freed himself from a predestined journey to a poultry butcher. Now all he has to do is fend for himself in an unfamiliar world. An interesting story with a multi-interpretative outcome.
  • The Last Prank
    USA, 2012 / Dir. Richard Schall / 7 min
    Two hand puppets know their days are numbered when they are tossed into a “for garage sale” box. As a last hurrah they come up with a list of pranks to pull on their host family one last time. The morning of the yard sale becomes a time of comic mayhem if you’re a puppet anda total nightmare for the unsuspecting family.
  • Breathe In
    Ireland, 2012 / Dir. Kate Dolan / 11 min
    The unexpected death of a close friend is difficult for anyone. For nine-year-old Grace it is a journey handled with deft sensitivity by director Kate Dolan. Working through Grace’s perception of death, her guilt, and eventually accepting the circumstances brings Grace relief and wisdom far beyond what most of her peers will experience for years.
  • Fired!
    UK, 2012 / Dir. Greg Ash / 20 min
    Talk about a world of empowered children! Seven-year-old Harry is very disappointed with the birthday present his Dad gives him. Evidently it’s the last straw: Harry fires his bad Dad and interviews all types of men to replace him. Eventually Harry decides that unemployed Jay is the man and Dad is forced to leave his house and look for a new family down at the DadCentre. But wait! All is not lost. His original Dad knew all along he was making a big mistake and conspires with another dad to set things right.
  • Dragon Watching: A Documentary
    Directed by Kyle Collins / USA, 2012 / 4 min
    AS220 Youth Studios is proud to claim this comedic, poetic documentary as part of its ongoing video class. Kyle tells the story of watching dragons in Providence through beautiful cinematography and satiric voice-over musings. Greg Robinson and Justin Espinal also helped in creating this film as part of the production crew. Rest assured there were no dragons harmed in the making of this film.
  • Stakeout
    USA, 2012 / Directed by Kit Pongetti / 16 min
    Inspired by the films of John Hughes, “Stakeout” takes a fresh and specific look at the comfort and beauty of friendship, and the stinging pain of inevitable change. Set in 1986 suburbia, two best girlfriends, Cyd and Sarah, make a game out of staking out parties from their car, complete with curtains, a briefcase, walkie-talkies and snacks. Through binoculars, they watch and judge the “typical” high-school teens as they enter the party and engage in the usual antics of developing adolescents. Only this night, when Sarah decides to enter the party in search of her brother, Cyd elects to stay in the car alone. Her efforts to entertain herself come up short, whereas when Sarah returns, we find she’s had the night of her life.
  • Fatal Vittles
    USA, 2012 / Directed by Devin Bell / 4 min
    This dark yet whimsical animated short makes a musical out of listing 26 things you should NEVER put in your mouth. Hopefully the outcomes were always obvious to the viewer!