Curating Shorts: A Life of Concern (Paul Washburn)

A Life of Concern

For most of our live being completely content can seem almost inhuman. After all, isn't it true that you don't know how much you really miss something until it is gone? The following short films celebrate life and demonstrate the exuberance can be found in the melancholy. Joy is longing resolved. Struggle is soon accomplishment. This is the life of concern, a life stage by stage, from the helplessness of childhood to self-reflexivity of early adulthood.

1. The Chestnut Tree by Hyun-min Lee (04:08)

-The Chestnut Tree is a traditional 2d hand drawn short film directed by Hyun-min Lee. Set to music by Chopin, this charming story centers around a little girl and her mother as they revisit memories under the Chestnut Tree.

2. I Promise Africa by Jerry Henry (02:45)

-Tragedy is something the entire world experiences; sometimes simultaneously. During the tragedies of 9/11, I was in a rural village in Kenya shooting a documentary about orphans. This is what I witnessed.

3. A Boy’s Mouth by PJ Ravel (05:26)

- White letters on a shifting background spell out the tragedy of a silent seven-year-old.

4. The Apollos by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones (05:58)

-The Apollos, directed by Nick Parker and Jazmin Jones, tells a powerful story of the struggle of a high school senior class to pass a bill making the Rev. Martin Luther King’s birthday a nationally recognized holiday.

5. Embrace It by Kirthi Nath (06:40)

-Embrace It explores the landscape of love, politics and spirituality.

6. The Midnight Hour by Edgardo Cervano-Soto (08:00)

- A young man is overcome with doubt during the midnight hour. In order to combat the doubt and despair, he begins reminiscing about his day and comes to face and realize his values, hopes and dreams.

7. Slip of the Tongue by Karen Lum (04:05)

- Careful what you ask a stranger at the bus stop- you might just get an answer! A look at perceptions of beauty, ethnicity, and body image.

The theme of focus being concern, the films we organized in a chronological developmental order encouraging the spectator to "grow up" with the content and character of the films as the screening progresses. The Chestnut Tree is the most underdeveloped and experiential portrayal of concern among the films and is best served up first because it sets up the films that follow in soothing manner that aims to encourage reflection in terms of emotional reaction as well as emotional development. The films tackle immediate concern for others (I Promise Africa) to the sense of helplessness that can be felt at a young age (A Boy's Mouth). Deeper cultural and community concern is front and center in The Apollos and Embrace it presents an ethereally wise perspective on concern and touches back to the social justice theme (specifically involving MLK and Gandi). The final films, The Midnight Hour and Slip of the Tongue present the concern of individuals very concerned with the "self" and serve as an effectice capstone in the development of our concern.