Films to make you laugh, cry and scream

SCARY MOVIE - In short film Splinter Arthur Grieve (played by Michael Wilson) has been haunted by a fear of the dark since childhood.

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Forty-one films in seven days; it sounds like a lot of viewing but they're easy-to-digest short films - anywhere between four and 25 minutes.

The Show Me Shorts is the only national competitive short film festival and there are 41 New Zealand films this year.

All 41 films will be screened in six themed sessions - Spine Chiller, Mad Scientists, Crack Me Up, True Story, Once Upon a Time, and Mixed Bag.

Organiser Gina Dellabarca says the Show Me Shorts festival fills a gap in the film calendar. "We - three of us - came up with the idea because we wanted to see more short films and we know other people wanted to see more of them, too.

"There aren't many opportunities to see short films in a cinema on the big screen with surround-sound.'

The Show Me Shorts festival started in Auckland in 2006 and expanded to Wellington last year. This year's festival screens over seven days at the Paramount, starting on November 13.

Dellabarca says it's good to have such a diverse range of New Zealand short films to choose from - many are independently-funded and shot, but the festival also includes films funded by the NZ Film Commission.

At last year's festival, the New Zealand films were largely period pieces but this year there a good smattering of horror, comedy, animation, science and slice-of-life stories.

Wellingtonian Brendon Hornell worked on two films selected for the festival. Splinter, directed by Mark Williams, is a spine-tingling thriller about a man with an extreme fear of the dark. The Sunshine Man, directed by Peter Tonks, is a dark comedy that's sure to leave audiences thinking twice about hanging up on salespeople.

Hornell is stoked both films have been included in the festival and will be showing at the Paramount on the large screen.

"They're a great example of the different ends of the spectrum," Hornell says. Splinter required Film Commission funding and took more than a year to make while The Sunshine is more light-hearted and was filmed on a whim, without funding.

Working as the production manager on both films was a challenge and Hornell is happy to see the results.

He's particularly thrilled with Splinter's portrayal of psychological unease.

"It's really about the bogey man - 'is he real or is he not real, is there something to fear or not?'.
"If it's successful, it's successful because it makes people hide behind their chair."
"It's a very scary film," says Ms Dellabarca. "I had to hide behind a pillow while watching it."

Hornell says Peter Tonks is also clever filmmaker and calls The Sunshine Man "fresh" and very different from Splinter.

The story follow a telephone salesman trying to sell his incredible new product and looks at what is he selling, whether he can be trusted and who is he talking to.

The Sunshine Man screened at Nelson's Flying Fives International Film Awards, where it won second prize. It's also been selected to screen at Australia's Byron Bay Festival next year.

"I will be very keen to see what both directors come up with next and if they want me to work with them, I would say yes," Hornell says.

He is also working on several ideas for feature films, including one about New Zealand rugby.

* The Show Me Shorts festival screens at the Paramount from November 13 to 19. Ticket available from the Paramount, 384 4080 or see www.paramount.co.nz

* Festival programmes are available from cafes around town and at the Paramount, or see www.showmeshorts.co.nz

SCARY MOVIE - In short film Splinter Arthur Grieve (played by Michael Wilson) has been haunted by a fear of the dark since childhood. SUPPLIED