Small packages, good things

ICELAND, WE HAVE A PROBLEM: Norwegian short film To Plant a Flag, the story of NASA’s preparation in Iceland for the 1969 moon landing, is one of the Show Me Shorts selection of short films from around the world.

A lost donkey, a stolen moon buggy, a history lesson, a hijacked car, and a reluctant gnome feature in a selection of some of the best short films around from New Zealand’s leading international short film festival.

A popular addition to the Gisborne arts calendar, Show Me Shorts presents a sampler from the film festival.

Included in the programme of short films is Amerigo and the New World (France). The film explores the fake news around the “discovery” in 1492 of Amerigo, the name given to the American continent.

New Zealand film Walk a Mile is the story of a grumpy old man who lives next door to a noisy family who he hates. When something happens to his neighbours he realises how much he cares for them.

Korte Kuitspier (Short Calf Muscle) from the Netherlands is an absurdist black comedy about Anders who is different. There’s this thing others see but he doesn’t . . .

Norwegian short film To Plant a Flag brings to the screen the story of NASA’s preparation for the 1969 moon landing. Sent to Iceland’s lunar landscapes the high-tech training mission in dealing with obstacles entails an encounter with not the third kind but an Icelandic sheep farmer.

Other films from around the world include Nefta Football Club (France), Walk a Mile (New Zealand), Ru (New Zealand), Memory Foam (New Zealand), and Venom — Finn Andrews.

Well-known local actors Alison Bruce, Miriama McDowell and Jeffrey Thomas feature in the films, along with singer-songwriter Finn Andrews and Hollywood players Jason Schwartzman and Jake Johnson.

Show Me Shorts: The Sampler, Dome Cinema, Saturday, October 19, 7pm. Tickets $14 from The Aviary (Poverty Bay Club) or the Dome Cinema. R13 Violence, drug use, offensive language, rape themes & content that may disturb. Contact The Dome Cinema for details.