One of the wonderful things about Slamdance Film Festival is that it has a section of films that it labels “Unstoppable”. These are films that focus on overcoming barriers, often involving physical or other disabilities. The films may be about such barriers, or made by people facing them. Here is a look at a few of the shorts in the Unstoppable section.
Everhand (6 minutes), directed by Shane Hillier, won the Jury Grand Prize for Unstoppable Shorts. A one-armed farmer sees an add for an artificial arm that would make his work much easier. But the user agreement has some issues—and a factory rep with a chip in his neck that is always present. The farmer and his wife must try to regain control of their lives. The jury stated: “Less is more. Show don’t tell. We’ve all heard this advice, but so rarely do we actually see the fundamentals of filmmaking in action. This winner encapsulates the core of what makes cinema effective and fun, a simple and straightforward choice: Everhand.”
Girl of Wind (38 minutes), directed by Nanxi Yuan, was awarded an Honorable Mention. Yang Yang will climb anything—all the way to the top. For this young deaf woman, this is an expression of a free spirit that will not be overcome by convention.
The Bear Hunt (12 minutes), directed by Lily Drummond, was my favorite of the ones I saw. A twelve year old girl wants her flawed teddy bear “fixed”. It may reflect the fact that she is what many people would consider flawed. When she meets the woman who made the bear, she learns that all the bears she makes have something wrong with them—just like people.
Explant/Implant (3 minutes), directed by Josh Weissbach, is a chaotic visual documentation of a lifetime of surgeries coming to a replacement of his original pacemaker.
Familiar Stanger (14 minutes), directed by Ace Mahbaz), is the story of a first date. The woman seems a bit taken aback at the discovery that the man is deaf. There is some friction because he feels put down. But the two learn important things about each other after an interesting plot twist.
Murphy’s Ranch (11 minutes), directed by John Michael Riva Jr., involves two brothers (one blind) who come to check a rich person’s pool for a leak. They end up discovering far more about the owner and his beliefs than they expect. This really seems like a set up for a larger story.
