Containing award-winning and provacative short films screened in the film festival circuit, THE ULTIMATE SHORTS COLLECTION contains five previously released shorts compilations. Included are CELEBRATING AFI, OFFICIAL SELECTIONS, SPOOKS AND CREEPS, HEADCASES, and HOLLYWOOD SCAREFEST.
CELEBRATING AFI showcases some of the best short films to come out of the American Film Institute's storied program between 2000 and 2003. Shorts include "Family Attraction" (starring Chris Penn and Martin Sheen), "Chili Con Carne" (starring Mel Gibson and Kristy Swanson), "Shangri-La Cafe," "Bar Time," "The Car Kid," and "Fair Play."
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS: The Sundance Film Festival is widely regarded as the definitive festival for celebrating independent film. But not only does Sundance focus solely on feature films and documentaries. They also are the predominant showcase for short films of all shapes and sizes. This release collects several of the most original and engaging shorts since Sundance 2000, including "Bit Players" (starring Verne Troyer), "Love Thy Brother" (directed by Ralph Macchio), "Fits & Starts," "Delusions in Modern Primitivism," "Neo-Noir," "Gasline," and "Mullitt."
SPOOKS & CREEPS: Alice Cooper, Ewan McGregor, and Rebecca Gayheart star in this collection of six short horror films. Cooper introduces the first short FREAKSHOW, a parable about two kids who sneak into a Coney Island sideshow on Halloween. In DESSERTS, McGregor plays a man who is hunted by a sea monster. In DOPPLEGANGER, a woman (Gayheart) finds her boyfriend has a twin who takes control of him while he is asleep. Other shorts in this package include A FATE FORETOLD, REDUCING STANLEY, and HOLIDAY ON THE MOON.
For anyone interested in short films but without the time or money to travel around from festival to festival, HEADCASES provides a good substitute. HEADCASES collects seven shorts shown at American film festivals during the first few years of the 2000s, all unified by their interest in characters with troubling mental and emotional problems. Some of the films utilize that subject matter for comedy, and others for dramatic purposes, but each film collected has won praise at the festivals where it was screened. The multiple award winning shorts TOM HITS HIS HEAD and MY CHORUS are included, as is the Canadian film NOT A FISH STORY, praised by renowned auteur Atom Egoyan. Also featured is I AM ALI, winner of the Jury Award at the Newport International Film Festival. Rounding out the collection are THE DELICIOUS, ED, and TRAPPEDINFREEDOM.
HOLLYWOOD SCAREFEST: This is a collection of terrifying short films from the acclaimed Hollywood Scarefest festival. Blending horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, the directors of these award-winning shorts prove that terror comes in many forms. Includes: "Convulsion" by Glenn McQuaid, "A Woman Scorned" by Treva Etienne, "Pause" by Josiah Polhemus, "Jeff Burton's 911" by Jeff Burton, "Trippin'" by Robb Hanna, "Silent Razor" by Otis Johnson, and "The Walls" by Patrick Rea.
