Andrea Powell stars in In/Significant Others.
Today, the first full day of the Boston Film Festival, brings a full slate of programming. I had the good fortune to see advance screeners of some of the films and will be giving you my previews and reviews on what I've seen. Today at 11 am at the Kendall Square Cinema (where all festival films will be shown) is the New England premiere of Between Floors, directed and produced by Jen White: an unusual and inventive film about what transpires when a number of people from different walks of life get stuck on elevators. The film cuts between locations and uses different filming techniques to portray the stress and intensity of 90 minutes of being stuck between floors.
One man is alone and filmed in black and white and in total silence. Another has his own camera and speaks into it about his thoughts and relationships. One elevator is literally crammed with people who get into scuffles with much shouting and shoving, a frightening portrait of panic. One elevator holds two men, one in a gorilla suit, both bloodied, who have apparently just had a fight with one another. One of the more intriguing segments involves a middle-aged couple dressed for a fancy-dress event, riding with a laconic young woman with pink and purple dyed hair wearing headphones who seems to have no connection to them. I enjoyed this film, the realistic way it unfolded, the suspense of seeing who would truly lose it and who would make the most of their temporary entrapment.
I also enjoyed the short animated film Memory by Ashley Freeman, a meditation on a young woman's relationship with her father, done in black and white rotoscoping style. This year's BFF features a number of interesting short films.
Tonight brings the world premiere of In/Significant Others, at 7:20 pm. Produced and directed by John Swhert (who made the festival hit Among Brothers), this is a thoughtful thriller about a murder and the intricate connections of a number of people in the town where it occurred. The narrative is layered but everyone's story is linked; a complex but intriguing story with some fine performances.
Also tonight, immediately following In/Significant Others, the short film Turning it Over, by Josh Marchette (executive produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon). This moody piece is about a young man struggling with alcoholism and trying to put his life back together. It has an interesting look, washed out colors, smoky rooms, dreamy flashbacks and dream sequences, packing a lot into its eight minutes.
Comments