Long Distance Information

Mike Plante, Short Film Programmer

This week, we offer two very different takes on boys and their dads to remind you to call home on Father’s Day this Sunday.

From the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, we have Long Distance Information. Consisting of a single straightforward scene of only a quick phone conversation between two static figures, this tightly packed short stars British stalwart and reliably grizzly-voiced Peter Mullan as a perfectly cast father figure receiving a call from a son. Despite its easy run time, the short film builds to a single payoff that manages to be cute, silly, wistful, lonely, heartwarming, nostalgic and full of longing at the same time. Director Douglas Hart, himself a former bassist for the band Jesus and Mary Chain, has had a successful life as a music video director for the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Paul Weller, Pet Shop Boys and The Libertines. Now you can enjoy his first narrative short.

Next, peer into one of the fastidious worlds crafted by the enigmatic Daniel Mulloy. The British born filmmaker is equipped with an astute sensitivity, specificity of vision, and clarity in bringing out truth in performance. With exacting precision, Mulloy’s dramatic framing exudes emotion with a painterly approach. His concern with gestures, textures, moments and expressions combine with the natural drama of real life in a way that makes him one of the most fascinating dramatists working in the short form today. His short films Dad (2007 Festival), Baby (2011) and today’s featured short film Antonio’s Breakfast (2006), about a young man and his friends making room for a father’s needs, were all Sundance Film Festival Official Selections. His concern for family and the way relationships play out is readily apparent. A recent fellow of the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab, you’ll be able to look for his first feature in no time.