Varsity 5 Sunday, April 15, 2018 - 12:30 PM

Who Decides

Short Stories 1: In the Light of Day

Narrative Short

7 minutes

2017

Director(s): Mylissa Fitzsimmons

USA

Synopsis

Oregon Premiere

While visiting a relative in the hospital, a young girl wanders into the room of an elderly woman who has a bible in her hands and a crucifix above her bed. The two engage in a discussion about who decides when it’s your time to die.

Director’s Statement

Who Decides was inspired by my love of horror films and my own child sneaking into my room late one night after a nightmare and waking me up to ask, “Who decides when it’s your time to die”? Winner of the 2017 Sun Valley Film Festival Short Film Lab.

Aria

Short Stories 1: In the Light of Day

Narrative Short

14 minutes

2017

Director(s): Myrsini Aristidou

Cyprus, France

Synopsis

Oregon Premiere

Athens, Greece. Seventeen-year-old Aria works at Jimmy’s local kebab place. She’s impatiently waiting for a driving lesson with her father during her break. When he finally arrives, instead of going driving, he drops off a mysterious Chinese immigrant, who speaks neither Greek nor English, into Aria’s care. What will either of these young women do? Subtitles

Director’s Statement

Sounds, looks, movements, the colors of Athens tell the story of Aria, Lu, and Petros on this cold February afternoon. And when all the elements and subtleties finally unify and collide, the city becomes the soundtrack of Aria’s life. Image by image, sound by sound, and piece by piece, I anticipate the moments that I merge with these characters through their journey, just as they merge into mine.

First Date

Short Stories 1: In the Light of Day

Narrative Short

10 minutes

2018

Director(s): Alex Beh

USA

Synopsis

Oregon Premiere

Two very different people meet on a dating app, but can’t figure out how to have a civil conversation, much less get dinner! An awkward adventure through the Los Angeles night with an unexpected outcome... the possibility of true love? Maybe. if they can just let go and give it a shot.

Director’s Statement

First Date is a little glimpse into how the way you meet someone can influence how you get to know them; how being uncertain about who they are because of the method in which you meet can greatly affect how much you trust each other. For me starting with nothing—a swipe, a picture, and a blind meeting where two people are basically under the microscope immediately—was a fun way to enter a film.

The Day That

Short Stories 1: In the Light of Day

Narrative Short

26 minutes

2017

Director(s): Dorian Tocker

USA

Synopsis

World Premiere

On the day of a father’s unexpected death, six family members each seek ways to manage their grief. In the face of his sudden absence, the ordinary takes on heightened meaning. A poetic exploration of the beauty of life and death and the incomprehensible mystery of it all that’s both profoundly personal and unquestionably universal. We all vanish.

Director’s Statement

I woke up one summer morning to find that my father had vanished from the face of the earth. He’d had a heart attack in his sleep. And yet the world outside—sun trickling down onto the streets of Brooklyn—was completely alive in all of its beauty and glorious mundanity. I’ve been thinking about the paradox of that day for 15 years.

Unnatural

Short Stories 1: In the Light of Day

Narrative Short

26 minutes

2017

Director(s): Amy Wang

Australia, USA

Synopsis

U.S. Premiere

Desperate to escape his past, James, a reclusive teenager, moves to a new town with his over-protective, watchful parents. He is eager to fit into a new school and befriends Izzy, a rebellious girl from his class. Izzy is a breath of fresh air and offers James the freedom and friendship he’s longed for his entire life. But James has a secret. A secret so destructive, it could endanger him and maybe those around him.

Director’s Statement

Being a Chinese-Australian filmmaker has been difficult for me. Growing up in a culture that was so inherently different from my ethnicity made me hate who I was. I made this film because I want people to see others as human, not a caricature or negative stereotype of their sexuality or their ethnicity. Through understanding and compassion, we grow as a culture and become better people.

So Much Yellow

Short Stories 1: In the Light of Day

Narrative Short

10 minutes

2017

Director(s): Erica Milsom

USA

Synopsis

Oregon Premiere

Set in Northern California in the late 1960’s, So Much Yellow depicts the car ride that changes a family forever. is heartbreaking story follows a young girl’s perspective on the day her little brother, who has Down syndrome, is taken away from her to live in an institution. Featuring real-life brother and sister Kayline and Otto Gavenda.

Director’s Statement

The story evolved many times over 10 years until I thought what that day would be like from the point of view of a young sibling. As I wrote down one of that girl’s thoughts, “I didn’t want you to think that nobody fought for you,” I realized why I hadn’t been able to let this story go. This was the core of our film. If a story is hard to find, then it’s probably the most important one you can tell.