The student film festival ‘Encore’ began its two-month run in the PCC Art Gallery on Tuesday.Walking into the gallery, viewers are introduced to the early stages of film with an exhibit of zoetrope films. It is a captivating process to see the 12 scene slides come to life. They are drawn by hand by beginning film students and put in a cylinder which give the slides life resulting in live animation.
You are then led to the screening room where the 10 films chosen by Lindsey Jang, head of the cinema program, play continuously. The themes of the movies range from AIDS to suicide, analyzing one’s relationships to the importance of friendship.
Mathew D. Goodwin’s ‘Nineplace’ is a first-person narrative following the suspenseful chases between an older assassin and his alleged target. The film has a 1930s receptivity accompanied by smooth jazz music while the entire movie runs in black and white, giving it an old caper sensibility. It builds in its suspense and leaves the audience confused as it delivers several plot twists in the last three minutes. It unfolds like a mini thriller.
Ray Chou’s ‘4000 Miles’ follows four friends trying to keep in touch online. Though separated by distance and slowly drifting apart, they are unable to forget the familiar quirks that keep their friendship alive. At one point they all break out in head-banging song, which provides a nice dose of comic relief.
Tony Aguilar’s ‘Invisible Sun’ has a serious tone, involving a man whose loved one is dying of AIDS. It follows his struggle to accept the inevitable. The performances were very convincing and the makeup added a realistic look to the severity of the disease.
Jose Venegas’ ‘Manipulated Life’ finds a young woman desperate to reach the man she loves as she experiences several premonitions featuring his demise. While the events begin to unfold as she predicted, the chase is on as the woman is determined to find her love and prevent the end result she has foreseen.
The 10 films run for about an hour. They are entertaining and at times surreal. It is worth seeing.
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