These are just two of the films screened at the Independent Mzansi Short Film Festival (IMSFF) which was held recently and which was sponsored by VIDI.
Welcome to Hawaii was also named Best South African Short Fiction Film at the 2015 Jozi Film Festival. Directed by Rohan Dickson, it tells the story of a man's seemingly perfect life in suburbia which is disrupted when, on the day of his 40th birthday party, unwanted guests present him with problems he never imagined he would need to take care of.
The Gunfighter, winner of the LA Film Festival, was also the winner of Best International Short Film at IMSFF. In the tradition of classic westerns, a narrator sets up the story of a lone gunslinger who walks into a saloon. However, the people in this saloon can hear the narrator and the narrator may just be a little bit bloodthirsty.
• Burgoen (The Animation School - produced and directed by Frankie Scholtz and MW Guldenpfennig) - Winner Best Animated Short Film - Two new-born seedlings instinctively compete for water in a distant forest. Can they overcome the dangers of their environment in order to live a long fulfilled life in their true form?
• The Pixie Lowe Story (St Stithians College - produced and directed by Cameron Scott, Robert Fields and Felipe Kirsten) - Winner Best Documentary Short Subject - Who was Pixie Lowe? Why is there so little known about his tragic death in his matric year of 1979? For decades, stories have been told of the motorbike riding phantom that haunts the boarding hostels at St Stithians Boys College; of the sudden sightings and unnerving motorbike sounds at the of dead night. The true story hasn't been uncovered for 35 years - until now.
• Happy Earth Co (AFDA - produced and directed by Henrik Tjore and Hylton Jandrell) - Winner Best Student Short Film - Set in 2050; John lives in the heart of a megacity of depressed citizens. He works in the sales department of Happy Earth Co who release "Ecstatic 1000", a device that guarantees happiness. It's an instant success. However Happy Earth Co's real intentions are not as sincere as everyone thinks.
• Daniel Buys (Honesty Pays) - Winner Best Actor in a Short Film - Mike suffers from a form of social autism; he is brutally honest. This literal application of honesty has caused distress in his life and is why he is seeking companionship on an online dating site.
Other titles include Magalela Mtshali's thriller Ukhamba, set in an 1800s Nguni kingdom where two rival praise poets unwittingly uncover an assassination plot against their king; Malusi Kameni's Inner City, the story of two strangers whose paths cross twice on a single day and Miro Kolenic and Sarah Scrimgeour's animated Big Game, the story of a monster who can't wait to celebrate his birthday.
Says VIDI's Janene Matsukis: "As the premier South African VOD service, VIDI is delighted to lend its support to an initiative designed to nurture local filmmaking talent. We are delighted that VIDI will also provide the platform to make South African filmmakers' work easily available."
