Buskirk screens film competition

The first page of the program for the annual Manhattan Short Film Festival boldly announces that this year is "undoubtedly the most exciting year in the festival's history." \nWith a total of 621 entrants, the most in the festival's history, each of the 12 finalists has been chosen for public viewing out of hundreds of internationally submitted films, as well as American films.\nIn her introduction, Theater Director Danielle McClelland said the Buskirk-Chumley Theater is very proud to bring a film festival of this nature to Bloomington audiences. The 12 films were shown to a packed house, and each audience member was asked to submit his or her choice for best film. \nFor the first time in the festival's history, the public will vote on the best short film and the winning filmmaker with receive the equipment and funds necessary to make a feature-length film. The films are being screened in six cities across the country, Bloomington being the first to have the opportunity to view the films. New York audiences will view the films Sept. 18, and shortly after, the winning film will be announced. \n"Danielle worked with them very closely to bring the festival here," said Katy Hall, the house manager and an IU graduate student. "It's so great that Bloomington is one of the satellite locations, especially since it has never been open to the public before."\nSeveral films viewed were exceptionally made and featured a variety of story lines, cinematography and scoring. The most well-received film was Ashvin Kumar's "Little Terrorist," from India. The film is about the journey of a young Muslim boy who innocently follows his cricket ball over the Pakistani border and into a minefield in India. Indian guards mistake him for a terrorist and chase him further into the desert, where he is saved by a kind but eccentric old schoolteacher. \n"I would have to say (my favorite film) is Ashvin Kumar's 'Little Terrorist,'" said Christopher Wisner, a sophomore communication and culture major. \n"It captured a great depiction of racial/religious barrier between the characters as well as the fading away of such a barrier."\nOther popular films included the comedy "Pol Pot's Birthday," by Talmage Cooley of the United States, and "The Silent Treatment," by Peter Lydon of the United Kingdom. "Pol Pot's Birthday" is a surprisingly funny look at a notoriously heinous historical figure. Pol Pot was a Cambodian dictator who ruthlessly murdered hundreds of people throughout the 1980s, but this film attempts to take a different view of the leader. The story is set in Pol Pot's office, where several of his staff members throw the dictator a surprise birthday party.\n"'Little Terrorist' was poignant and had a good message, but I knew most of the audience would vote for it," said Jodi Miskell, a senior journalism major. "So I voted for 'Pol Pot's Birthday.' It was just so hysterical."\nOther films included the computer-animated "Rock Fish," from the U.S., and "The Tooth," from Australia. The short "Self Help" by Tes Noah Asfaw was submitted by the UK and was also a popular film with the audience. The premise surrounds a young man named Peter who has been carried deep into his own depression. He attends a self-help seminar in search of some guidance, and instead finds solace not in the seminar, but in a fellow attendee named Rachel who is a fan of Curtis Mayfield and reminds him of a childhood dream. \nAfter the viewings, audience members discussed how appreciative they were that the Buskirk-Chumley brought the festival to Bloomington. \n"I'm very pleased that a fest of this caliber was brought to Bloomington," Wisner said. "It gave us an opportunity to see serious, professional works from around the globe."\n-- Contact staff writer Olivia Morales at ormorale@indiana.edu.