short films and videos

at Oliver's Books

THE LAST STAND

THE LAST STAND unfolds the tragic ramifications of a fifteen-year battle between environmentalists and the timber industry over the fate of ancient coastal redwoods in Northern California.

Along the fog shrouded coastline of Northern California, are the tallest and oldest living beings on earth – the Coastal Redwoods. These giants can grow to be over 2000 years old, measure a colossal 22 feet in diameter and reach heights of over 360 feet tall. Having once blanketed the entire North West coast of the continent, this towering species has been decimated by decades of relentless logging. Today, less than 4% of the pre-historic redwoods remain standing.
http://www.trilliumfilms.net/awards/synopsis_frames.html

Sonata For the Left Hand

A documentary by Sarah Harbin

It is understood that in times of economic hardship, people will suffer for lack of basic necessities, such as food or medicine.? Humans, however, are emotional creatures who have other, more sophisticated needs.? Armed only with tuning forks and replacement parts, a small band of North American piano tuners invade Cuba on a mission of musical mercy.

For The Birds

Did you see MONSTERS, INC.? If you missed PIXAR’s latest animated epic, then you probably haven’t seen FOR THE BIRDS, the 4 minute short film that won an Oscar last Sunday evening for Best Animated Short. We will screen the film this Tuesday, April 2nd, and one of the creators, Jory Prum, will be on hand to introduce the film. Jory will also present a few other shorts.

HORSES ON MARS

A film by Eric Anderson

He's 3.5 microns tall, and he's 100 million miles from home.

Three billion years ago, a microbe blasts off from his home planet propelled by a meteor impact and embarks on a journey across the solar system. 

Eventually he tries to get back home - but heads in the wrong direction by mistake. Unable to ever return again, he has one last glimpse of home - and a dreamy vision of what lies ahead for it.

Yesterday's Tomorrows is director Barry Levinson's wry and affecting rumination on how we as Americans in the 20th century imagined our future. By turns comic and poignant, the film reveals how the constant enthusiasm for technological progress during the 20th century--and the corresponding, ever-renewable promise of a cleaner, brighter future--invariably ignored the broader issues of social change and the unpredictability of human nature. And while many of our sunny dreams of technology never materialized, many others have transformed into threatening nightmares.

The documentary weaves together interviews with a remarkably eclectic group of sharp-eyed observers, ranging from architect Philip Johnson, economist Robert Heilbroner, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader to satirist Fran Lebowitz, cartoonist Matt Groening, monologist Spaulding Gray, and cult filmmaker John Waters, with clips from Hollywood features, old newsreels, and rare archival clips from corporate promotional films running from the ridiculous to the sublime. With Yesterday's Tomorrows, Barry Levinson brings his wit and humanity to the documentary form and creates the kind of intelligent yet highly entertaining program that is television at its best.  (1999; 99 mins.)

The credits are: Barry Levinson, Director; Barry Levinson & Tom Fontana, Executive Producers; Richard Berge, Producer and Co-Writer; Kenn Rabin, Associate Producer and Co-Writer
Kenn Rabin will be present to discuss the making of the film and answer questions. 

VIEWING HABITS a video essay by Amy Ferraris

"WHAT'S HE BUILDING IN THERE?"
A voyeuristic tale of a suburban recluse.
Written by Tom Waits
Directed by Jeremy J. DiFiore

The Real Adventures of G.I. Joe by Dan Ligon

Dan uses his childhood friends to bring the madness of war to the big screen. The film stars some of the great action figures of the seventies including Action Pilot, Sea Adventurer, Action Soldier, Mr. Carter, Captain Kirk, Spoke and many more.

Barstow 2008 by Bob Morrow
Right now dozens of cities are making their bids to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. This is the story of Bennie Finch's dream to bring the torch to the popular city of Barstow. Because it's much more popular than those other, "less popular" cities.

Mr. Know-It-All by The Atik Brothers

Mr. Know-It-All takes us on a history tour of Sausalito, California.

(Festival dedicated to DV films)

S.F. Cutters 

(Final Cut Pro User Group)

ATA 

(Artists Television Access)

Other Cinema 

(Craig Baldwin's series of unusual and experimental film)

RESFEST

(The Future Of Filmmaking)

AtomFilms

(place your short on the Internet)

2-pop

(end-all community for digital filmmaking and editing)

(place your short on the Internet)

(Bay Area leader in the media arts field)

(Bay Area Video Coalition)

(place your short on the Internet)

Film Index

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