Reel 2 Real's Made in B.C. shorts: From tree killings to yellow sticky notes
Does the name June Matheson ring a bell?
If you were living in Vancouver in 2004, you migh recall that was when the 72-year-old interior designer was charged with mischief for poisoning five trees (and killing three of them) that were blocking her view of English Bay.
In fact, Matheson's name was drawn so much into the media spotlight that she had to sell her condo and business to escape the public backlash, which included people throwing garbage, rocks, and feces at her balcony and flooding her with abusive phone and email messages.
The notorious story serves as the inspiration for local director Ann Marie Fleming and animator Kevin Langdale, who deliver a compelling blend of animated, altered live-action, projections, and models in a stylish and musical tale of nature—and human nature—in "Big Trees".
(She wound up getting an absolute discharge but she paid the Vancouver Park Board about $50,000—$30,000 to replace the trees and a $20,000 donation.)
The short film is part of the Made in B.C. program at the Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth (which runs from April 4 to 11) that screens on Sunday (April 6).
Made in B.C. includes the black comedy "The Missing Scarf", narrated by George Takei, about the fear of failure, rejection, and death, by Vancouver-based Irish animator Eoin Duffy.
Florian Halbedl's magical realist drama "Whispers of Life" also addresses the prospect of death, but in this case, a man reaches out to a suicidal gay teenager who has been bullied.
Even within this collection of short films, there's a compilation of micro-short films.
In the visually diverse "Yellow Sticky Notes: Canadian Anijam", B.C. filmmaker and animator Jeff Chiba Stearns asked 15 animators to depict one day in their lives, using only a black marker and yellow sticky notes.
If watching shorts compilations are your (or your kids') thing, there are plenty of other selections (for a variety of age ranges and audiences) to consider, including Family Shorts, Path Waves: An Indigenous Showcase, Animal Kingdom, Animation Sensation, and more.
For full details, visit the Reel 2 Real website.
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