BEGINNING FILMMAKING
Jay Rosenblatt
USA, 2008, 23 minutes  
In this endearing portrait of a very young artist, an enthusiastic father discovers truth in the cliché “creative differences” when he attempts to teach his 4-year-old daughter about filmmaking. Ella learns what she wants to, discards what she doesn’t, and is determined to be a star in her own mind.

FAREWELL PACKETS OF TEN
Ken Wardrop
Ireland, 2007, 3 minutes
As smoking in movies wanes, we can sit back and enjoy the sharp Irish banter of two women—the filmmaker’s middle-aged mother and a 79-year-old neighbor—reflecting on their dangerous but thoroughly enjoyable habit. Joking about smoker’s cough and chiding themselves for their habit, they have no discernible regrets.

IF IT HAPPENS
Marcel Lozinski
Poland, 2007, 39 minutes
In this Academy Award short-listed documentary, acclaimed Polish director Marcel Lozinski and his son Tomek return to their favorite park. The film cuts between past and present, revealing how in the naiveté of Tomek’s now-distant youth he was able to access deep truths about facing mortality.

THE LADIES
Christine Voros
USA, 2007, 13 minutes
Mimi and Vali are two lifelong friends who have outlived silly distractions like men and sex. Living together in their twilight years, they take care of each other and bicker as only best friends can. They share a unique past, a skill for dressmaking, and an unbreakable bond.

PETER AND BEN
Pinny Grylls
United Kingdom, 2007, 10 minutes
Peter and Ben were outsiders who abandoned their peers and found each other. But when Ben grew old and difficult to care for, Peter tried to sever a connection that ran deeper than he imagined. Director Pinny Grylls teaches us that some bonds are unbreakable, even when they are between a man and his sheep.

ROZ (AND JOSHUA)
Charlene Music
USA, 2007, 3 Minutes
A mother’s longing for her child can create optimism even in the face of extreme destitution. That all-consuming love pushes Roz to liberate her heart and mind from the suffocating confines of her daily struggle. The result is hope, which resonates as strength in Roz’s voice in this minimalist film buoyed by black-and-white imagery.   

SCORING
Ken Wardrop
Ireland, 2007, 3 minutes
Transcending the prudish simplicity of Thomas Edison’s 1896 short THE KISS, SCORING’s bold, black-and-white images of intense kissing elevate the act to an abstract level of intimacy. When those shots commingle with the moving story of a man whose disability limits his sexual interactions, the meaning of “scoring” transforms inexorably.