Just past the halfway point of the 21st Annual HollyShorts Film Festival, and while time is flying by, that’s only because of how many excellent films there have been, and how many are still to come. With some fascinating categories on deck today, with films from Kids Animation, Period Piece, Fantasy and Magical Realism, Music Videos and Crime Drama, there’s a lot to be excited about. And that doesn’t even include today’s highlighted filmmaker Aaron Blaise, who has graciously taken the time out of their busy schedule to talk to us for a bit. For those looking to attend more of this year’s screenings, tickets can be found here, with streaming happening over on BitPix shortly after the screening wraps up.
KIDS AND FAMILY ANIMATION
Snow Bear – Aaron Blaise’s short film is a gorgeously animated piece about a lonely polar bear, finding company in the form of a bear friend they make out of snow. It has all of the ups and downs of a wonderfully done family film, with some moments that will break your heart, and others that will lift it. The music is beautiful, and the animation style feels right out of early Disney animation, in the best way.
PERIOD PIECE
Little Bird – Oahn-Nhi Nguyen directs this film, written by Nguyen and Ysabeaux Ng that shows life for immigrant and marginalized families in 1980s Los Angeles. Linh, a Vietnamese woman whose job is to hand out evictions for her landlord boss, finally finds her limit when she is mistaken for someone looking to help a Vietnamese family with their home, which has fallen into disrepair due to the landlord’s lack of care about getting repairs done for his tenants. This finally leads Linh to see the true depth of disregard families like this, all whom are people of color in the film, and the true lack of humanity shown by her boss. It’s a tremendous film that shows how taking a stand, even when it puts yourself into potential danger, is sometimes the only right decision.
FANTASY AND MAGICAL REALISM
The Pearl Comb – A wonderful piece of mythic horror from Ali Cook, it takes the legend of the siren and adds several new dimensions to it, as we hear the story of an altruistic fisherman (Simon Armstrong) who finds himself with a monkey’s paw after an encounter with the seafaring creature of legend. Granted the ability to magically cure any ailment with just a touch, the fisherman is also given an intergenerational curse that will plague his family for generations, passing his gift on to his wife Betty (Beatie Edney), with her passing on his story and harboring his gift. Edney, Armstrong, Cook and Clara Paget (who plays the mermaid) are all excellent in this, giving a bit of a more vicious edge to the already mysterious and dangerous creatures.
MUSIC VIDEO
Foster The People, “Lost In Space” – Directed by Rupert Höller, the band’s latest single is a glorious and catchy disco-pop jam, filled with vibrant color, a bright sound and a whole lot of dancing. The song itself is definitely an ear-worm, and the video itself is as fun and funky as the song itself.
CRIME DRAMA
Intruder – Camille Casmier’s short film is an oddly tense, gripping thriller that spins the break-in genre on its head. When Sam (Russell Kahn) is interrupted from making an anniversary dinner for his boyfriend by a neighbor who locked themselves out, Sam begins to get more and more paranoid about this “Roberta” (Yvette Dingwall) he’s never met. After she uses his fire escape to get back into her place below him, Sam questions her motives and spirals out trying to find out more and if she is who she says she is, taking some drastic measures that makes him far more suspicious than she ever was. Written by Adam Turkel, this film is a slow burn, but when the turn hits, it does so like a truck, making it an unexpected and heart-pounding journey.
That’ll do it for the films, a massive congratulations to all the filmmakers involved, and especially to our highlighted filmmaker for today, Aaron Blaise! Check out our interview with them below.
What inspired you to make films?What inspired me to create Snow Bear was the desire to make a film on my own, focusing on a single character in what I initially thought would be a simple environment, the Arctic. That simplicity allowed me to tell a deeply emotional and universal story. The film is a metaphor for my own life experiences: the loneliness I felt when I was younger, the love and joy I found with my wife Karen, and the grief of losing her to cancer. Like the polar bear in the film, I felt adrift after her passing, but eventually, I healed and found love again, all while cherishing the memories of my past. In essence, Snow Bear is a metaphorical reflection of that journey.
What message were you trying to communicate with this film?
The core message of the film is about overcoming loneliness and holding onto hope. If you persist and keep moving forward, you can find companionship and love again. Additionally, the film carries a strong environmental message. Initially, I approached the melting of the snow bear as a simple seasonal change in the Arctic, but it evolved into a metaphor for the impact of global warming on polar bears and their habitat. This underscores the urgency of taking action to protect our environment before it’s too late.
What kind of challenges did you face when making this film?
One of the biggest challenges I faced in making the film was my decision to do it almost entirely on my own. I leaned heavily on my background not only as an animator but also as an illustrator and painter. My skills in illustration and painting were invaluable in creating the backgrounds, layouts, and staging for the film. On top of that, I took on every aspect of the animation process, from storyboarding and writing to character animation, cleanup, effects, and editing. This required a great deal of discipline and a strict schedule to meet my weekly quotas and ensure the project was completed in a reasonable timeframe. Of course, when it came to music and sound, I collaborated with incredibly talented professionals like Mark Mancina for the music, John Roesch for Foley work, and Mac Smith for sound design at Skywalker Ranch. It was truly an honor to work with such an amazing team and bring the film to life together.
How does it feel to be a part of this year’s HollyShorts?
Being part of HollyShorts is an incredible honor. The festival has such a stellar reputation in the film festival world, and just being accepted into the lineup is truly humbling. This whole journey through the film festival circuit is relatively new to me, but over the past year, I’ve learned so much and come to appreciate how significant it is to be included in a festival like HollyShorts. I’m genuinely excited and deeply honored to be part of it this year.
What’s next for you?
Creating Snow Bear only fueled my passion for filmmaking even more. Now, we’re back to the drawing board, developing multiple feature ideas, new series concepts, and more short films. In fact, we have a feature-length prequel to Snow Bearin development right now, called Polar, which explores the story of our polar bear character as a cub. It’s a huge journey ahead, and we’re incredibly excited about what the future holds!
That wraps us up for today! Be sure to check back in with us tomorrow with more incredible films from the 21st Annual HollyShorts Film Festival!
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