The Worldwide Short Film Fest comes to Toronto

HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME & CELEBRITY SHORTS 

by Haley Cullingham

The film industry has become such a source of income these days, it's easy to forget that filmmaking is, inherently, an art. That's the beauty of the Short Film Fest. Range and complexity are what make short films fascinating. Directors making shorts have room to explore experimental and challenging ideas, try new aesthetics, and create worlds that are entirely original.

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me is the third Official Selection playing as part of the fest, and the films here range from claymation mental breakdowns (The Coat) to erotic black-and-white symphonies of human movement (Closer). One standout of this collection is Teenage Girl, directed by Greg Atkins. On the longer side of short, this 17 minute film explores a middle-age man in crisis over his identity. This crisis takes the physical form of a teenage girl whom he can't escape. Subtle, haunting, and not without humor, Teenage Girl emphasizes what is so fantastic about shorts-a simple, universally human idea explored in an aesthetically beautiful way.  

Celebrity Shorts are another fantastic part of the program this year. Watch Bob Geldof (the real Bob Geldof) get told off by a cab driver dressed like the Pope in I am Bob, and get a lesson in carpe diem from Arrested Development's Tony Hale (claw-free) in Ctrl Z. From the hilarious to the heartbreaking, all of the films in the festival are engaging, eye-opening, and very much worth watching. And, like all small, good things, they leave you wanting more.  

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me:
7 pm Wed June 11th @ Cumberland 4
2 pm Sat June 14th @ Cumberland 4 

Celebrity Shorts:
7:30 pm Thurs June 12th @ Cumberland 3
8:30 pm Sat June 14th @ Cumberland 1