EIFF Review: Rushes SOHO Shorts

Posted by: Scott Hayes  •  September 30, 2006 @ 11:59am

Filed under: Reviews

For my money, watching any collection of short films is getting good value for your moviegoing dollar. Especially the SOHO shorts. These short films were the winners out of the Rushes SOHO Shorts Festival held at the beginning of August. Edmonton is just the first stop for this collection on a worldwide tour. Categories include animation, live action, title sequences and idents, newcomer, and music video.

Here are some of my favourites:

Astronauts is an 8-minute animated short about two guys in space, one of whom is kind of a dolt. He loses the rocket's keys on some planet. That's just the beginning of the mayhem he creates, but at least there's a guide to space etiquette to help you get through some of those awkward extraterrestrial situations.

Hibernation is about the bond between boys, especially when one gets real sick. Touching and funny in places, essentially it shows how some kids deal with the death of a friend by dressing up like animals and performing electricity experiments on bees.

Rabbits has 60s-style educational stickers (you'll know what this means when you see it) complete with superscript labels that follow the items around. Well, a cute little boy and girl cut open a rabbit and discover a magic demon that can turn bugs to diamonds so long as he keeps eating jam. Trippy with a King Midas twist.

As a last note, if you miss the screening, then you still have a chance to catch the winners online at www.sohoshorts.com, but it's still better to go to the theatre.

Rushes SOHO Shorts is playing at the Princess II Theatre on Saturday, September 30th at 4:00pm and Sunday, October 1st at 9:15pm. For more information visit www.edmontonfilmfest.com.