The Vancouver Island Short Film Festival returns for its 18th year this weekend at Vancouver Island University’s Malaspina Theatre. This year, the submissions committee received more than 160 entries, but only 20 films made the cut. The festival director, Zoey Heath, and submissions co-ordinator, Greg Brown, selected a diverse range of committee members hoping to bring a wide range of skills to the job. The selection committee chose works from international filmmakers from Australia, Iran, Japan, the U.K., the United States, as well as Canadian filmmakers from B.C. and Ontario.
Victoria-based graphic designer Pauline Gallinat is one of the featured filmmakers. Her lighthearted two-minute short film, “Time Together,” offers a snapshot of a couple’s dynamic as they settle down to go to bed. Gallinat suggests that it is a familiar exchange in most relationships, with one of the characters having a need to share and yearning for attention, while the other character appears to simply want to read a book. Gallinat said the concept for the film was inspired by her own relationship with her partner, and it is subtly also a queer story since one of the two characters is non-binary, and she thought it was important not to have definite gender roles.
“Time Together” is part of the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival’s second program, which will show on April 22. It can also be viewed at www.paulinegallinat.com.
The festival director said that this year’s event would also offer online viewing for audience members who may not yet want to venture into crowded spaces or for international viewers. The festival website, www.visff.com, has further information on the program lineup and ticket prices for the festival.