Nothing 'Short' of Brillance

Though short films don’t usually draw the large crowds around cineplexes that their full-length-feature counterparts do, this cinematic format has always garnered great respect, especially among art house and film festival audiences.

The short-film circuit has also been a launching pad for iconic filmmakers, from French New Wave pioneer Jean-Luc Godard to Hollywood heavyweights like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.

For budding student directors at Pasadena City College, their film knowledge and skills, as well as their creative expression, are put to the test with an advanced filmmaking class. This intense course, taught by Cinema Program Director Lindsey Jang, requires students to make a short film — from start to finish — over the course of a 15-week semester.

“It’s advanced filmmaking, so it’s like a capstone class,” Jang explained. “It gives students the opportunity to write and direct a piece to learn from and also create a calling card, so if they try to move into the industry, they have something to demonstrate their talents.”

Therefore, the shorts produced each semester aren’t just college kids running around with handheld cameras. The class requires serious planning and diligent work, involving screenwriting, casting, filming and editing. The student filmmakers are also responsible for costuming, hair and makeup as well as scouting locations for filming.

“I never worked with a crew before or hired actors or had to write a script — I mean, nothing concrete like that,” said Meaghan Delvin, who took Jang’s course in spring 2006. “I basically was the director and [assistant director], so I took care of food. It was challenging; I didn’t know what to expect.”

And although Raewyn Mundhenk did not have a script for her documentary, “Are You Happy? The Story of Morgan Warren,” she had to write a thorough treatment, specifically tailoring the film’s subject matter.

“I learned that doing a documentary is really difficult, even though it seems easy,” Mundhenk said. “Though it’s easier because there’s already a story, there were so many aspects about Morgan I wanted to cover, so I had to structure exactly what I wanted to tell. Lindsey Jang had me rewrite the treatment over and over, but in the end, he really helped me fine-tune it.”  

Jang, who has overseen the PCC Cinema Program since fall 2004, admits he is amazed each semester at the high-quality work produced by his students.

“Content-wise, some stuff is as interesting as you’d find at [USC or NYU],” said Jang, who attended graduate school at USC, one of the top filmmaking schools in the country. “And their quality of craftsmanship and the use of the camera — there were no boring medium-wide two shots. It’s surprising because we don’t have a lot of resources available [like we did at] USC, which I know firsthand, so I’m really impressed how much they did with such modest resources.”

After an impressive turnout at the PCC Film Festival last June, Jang decided to re-showcase the spring 2006 shorts in a film exhibition, “Second Chances: Highlights From the 2006 PCC Film Festival.”

The public is invited to watch the wide range of films, projected on large screens and running continuously in the PCC Art Gallery’s main space, and to see the immense talent that lies right in their own backyard.

“Kin”
Directed by Joey Liew
This gritty drama follows Chivas (Ruthie Heyerdahl), a cutthroat femme fatale assassin. Family loyalty and betrayal are suddenly in question when her brother (Hunter Jamison) makes an irrational, foolish mistake that could jeopardize the siblings’ deadly profession. Liew doesn’t shy away from using graphic language and imagery to transport viewers into a world of corruption and deceit. However, amidst the bloodshed, the audience is left wondering if Chivas is a heartless hit woman or whether her moral consciousness is catching up with her.

“The Structure of Faith”
Written and directed by Miguel Nuñez
Nuñez based his film on an incident that occurred in December 2005 in a rural Mexican village. Carmen (Raquel Salinas), a middle-aged woman obsessed with her faith, believes she has divine visions and conversations with God. Bewitched by Catholicism and surrounded by religious paraphernalia, she leads her family in over-the-top prayer rituals to save them from the devil. “The Structure of Faith” explores how basic religious principles can be misinterpreted and taken to the extreme with devastating results. The film, in Spanish with English subtitles, received the Audience Favorite Award at the 2006 PCC Film Festival.      

“Two Worlds”
Written and directed by Tony Shek
It’s 8 a.m., and as a man brushes his teeth, straightens his tie and heads for the office, another guy is fast asleep in bed.  This is the start of the witty “Two Worlds,” an hour-by-hour account in which Shek shifts back and forth between two men (Marcel Giwargis and Jordan Dell) and their very different weekday lifestyles. Though there is no dialogue, “Two Worlds” enables viewers to sympathize with the office workhorse while envying the other’s luxurious mode of living. This short won second place in the 2006 LA Works film contest.

“Hilary and Michael”
Written and directed by Meaghan Delvin
Taken from the director’s own personal high school experience, “Hilary and Michael” is a light comedy revolving around young love and angst in the mid-1990s. Hilary (Dana Deruyck) is a Molly Ringwald-esque adolescent who finally musters up the courage to ask her longtime crush Michael (Scott Olynek) to the high school dance. The film humorously explores self-esteem and self-doubt in both teenage characters through Hilary’s intimate narration and Delvin’s clever camera work.  

“Persephone”
Written and directed by Evan Phan
Phan contemporizes the Greek mythological tale about the intoxicatingly beautiful Persephone in this experimental short. A down-and-out, lonely man (Henry Kemp) becomes enamored with an oil painting depicting a woman in a garden. He continually visits the gallery and talks to the image, realizing that no one understands his infatuation. He is then transported into a different world, attempting to grasp the woman of his dreams. “Persephone” won third place for a PCC Advanced Filmmaking project in 2006.

“Pervert: The Movie”
Directed and edited by Javier Lopez
How do men really view women? Lopez investigates the young male psyche with shocking testimonials in his short documentary, “Pervert: The Movie.” Sexually explicit imagery and film footage are accompanied by candid interviews in which women are described as “beautiful, “confusing,” “dramatic” and even “whores.” Lopez was inspired to address this issue after noticing persistent sexism lurking in today’s society.

“Face of the Enemy”
Written and directed by Joey Harris
“Face of the Enemy” profiles two soldiers from opposing sides leaving home for war. Harris strips away the politics and focuses on the human condition, addressing the fact that although these two men have been conditioned to see each other as enemies, they are more alike than they think. Viewers witness the vulnerability in both men, saying goodbye to their wives and children, and feeling uncertain whether they will return home. This powerful black-and-white documentary won first place for a PCC Advanced Filmmaking project at the 2006 PCC Film Festival.

“Are You Happy? The Story of Morgan Warren”
Directed by Raewyn Mundhenk
As a one-on-one aide at San Rafael Elementary School, Mundhenk formed a bond with the effervescent 11-year-old Morgan, who has a chromosome disorder. When Mundhenk received the PCC short film assignment, she felt compelled to document and to share Warren’s incredibly positive, warm spirit. The uplifting short shadows Warren at school where a special educational program allows her to interact daily with her peers. Though “Are You Happy?” documents some of the hardships Warren faces, it also shows that she’s succeeding among a supportive community of friends, family and teaching staff.