Storm Surge

Short Film Series
Country: Canada

I was quite impressed by most of the films in this series.

Paradise
Director: Jesse Rosensweet

A stop-animation story of a man whose life literally goes off the tracks. Very clever and likeable.

Away
Director: Peter Mettler

A very short film about a man who gets away from technology. Very simple and effective.

Wolf Lake
Director: Michael V. Smith

Filmed in Super 8, this very low-budget film is more of a piece of art than a film, as a girl narrates a poem about what happened at Wolf Lake while the camera follows her around.

The Last Moment
Director: Deco Dawson

I would classify this as a "mystery" involving a man and a girl, though it takes various approaches in telling the story mashing up film styles on the fly, including film noir and New Wave. Very unique.

Centigrade
Director: Colin Cunningham

An abusive trailer park father gets his due in this gritty thriller set in an Airstream RV and a desert road. Very cool (or, more appropriately, hot).

Night
Director: Dylan Akio Smith

An artistic and very stylish story incorporating ancient legends and a story of a grief that blots out the sun.

Madame Tutli-Putli
Director: Chris La Vis, Maciek Szcerbowski

On a midnight train to nowhere, Madame Tutli-Putli wakes up alone, menaced by an invisible threat. I didn't quite get this one, but I kind of lost concentration towards the end. Nice stop-animation though.

Q&A: A handful of the filmmakers came up and answered some questions, mostly regarding how they went about making their shorts, and their future plans. I was surprised to see Colin Cunningham, director of Centigrade, but who I know as Major Davis from Stargate SG-1, in the flesh, and was almost tempted to yell out "STARGATE!" but instead asked him a question about where he got the inspiration for his film. In fact, I believe I was the first person from the audience to actually ask anybody something.