Filmmakers and film enthusiasts of Missouri reunited under the stars at the annual 2021 CoMo Shorts film showcase. CoMo Shorts was an opportunity for Missouri indie filmmakers to display their work and for others to pitch new films for a chance to win $1,000 on Sept. 23. The competitors put their fate in the audience’s hands as they voted for their favorite pitch, ultimately dubbing LeeAnne Lowry the winner with her script “Hard Work.”
The outdoor, three-night event was hosted at North Village Studios Patio Sept. 23-25. The event carried a particular small-town feel to it. The sounds of downtown Columbia at night, a small red carpet, rows of mismatching chairs and the big screen surrounded by large speakers added to this ambiance.
Each night kicked off with a different singer as audience members filed in. Musicians included Rheanna Owen, Holley Pering and Abigail Rose. The performances lasted around 45 minutes, followed by the showcase.
Each night followed the same structure, with eight back-to-back films quickly taking to the big screen. The films were split into two categories: family-friendly films and mature films. An intermission in between the two categories allowed audience members to indulge in snacks and drinks from Scott’s Baked Goods and Fretboard Coffee.
The second night concluded with a Q&A with three of the filmmakers: Kevin Rothlisberger, Steph Borklund and Alexander Isgriggs. Audience members could ask questions about the artist’s work and their journey as a filmmaker. This added dimension to the event and set it apart from a traditional film-watching experience.
“The way we want to tell stories, and the way we want to hear stories, is basically over a campfire,” said Matthew Schact, event director and MU journalism professor. “We want to be there with the person who’s telling the story [and] they want to be there with us — that’s why I felt the need to [organize] this.”
“Secret Screening Acorn” | Jordan Lundy
“Secret Screening Acorn” by Jordan Lundy was a sweet story that acted as an interlude between heavy topics. This short film was the perfect combination of real life and a fairytale with sprinkles of comedy. Each actor wore makeup to look like different animals, while big cutouts of trees filled the office space.
The film follows a working, single mother who tells her son a bedtime story inspired by her life. The mom plays the main character (Squirrel) who only wishes to see her son play his guitar. However, her boss (Mr. Fox) instills terror through each cubicle and refuses to let Squirrel go. With the help of her co-workers (the other forest creatures) and “one good idea to get things started,” Squirrel sneaks away and sees her son perform. If you weren’t laughing, you were smiling or saying, “Aww!”
“A Brush with Violence” | Alexander Isgriggs
“A Brush with Violence” by Alexander Isgriggs had my head tilting in puzzlement and my eyes widening from shock. This was an interesting piece, to say the least. If you are a dentist, beware and watch at your discretion. The animation style resembled a children’s book, but mature content featured in the second half.
Have you ever gotten up to brush your teeth only to find a foreign piece of food lodged between your teeth? Well, that’s the premise of the film. When floss fails, the film’s unnamed protagonist grabs pliers and pulls his tooth out. And wait — that’s not even the grossest part. He then eats the piece of food. I’m not sure if the laughter was from confusion, discomfort or a blend of the two, but either way, the audience chuckled.
“A Lonely Death” | Matthew Suppes
“A Lonely Death” by Matthew Suppes was one of my favorite films of the second night. The actors spoke Japanese, and the audience became so invested in the film that they didn’t mind attentively reading subtitles. The film examined the significance of death and how different cultures cope with and address it. This film highlights the separation between the living and the dead and how material items can’t follow us when we die, but are still sentimental while we are breathing.
The film follows an Asian man at his job where he sorts a dead man’s objects into three piles — recyclables, donations and scrap. Within mere hours, this man’s life is packed away. Sadness consumes the employee as he goes rogue and takes a box of the dead man’s belongings home. He even tries on his glasses, symbolizing how the employee sees the world through the dead man’s eyes. He becomes attached to a man he never knew and projects his lonely life onto him. The man oversteps the rule of working for the dead, not family, and his daughter explains the harsh realities of who the dead man really was.
“Monument” | Josh Johnson and Tim Maupin
“Monument” by Josh Johnson and Tim Maupin featured an intense audio that vibrated through my whole body. The audience was aware of each acute sound, from the sister poking her brother with a red lollipop to a car door closing. For a second, I thought I was watching “A Quiet Place.” The film sheds light on climate change and environmentalism. I’m not sure if it was the fall air or the message, but I got chills.
At first, a family road trip seems typical with the question of, “Are we there yet?” permeating the car. However, it took a turn when they strapped medical masks to their faces. As they get out of the car, the audience realizes the attraction was a tree trapped in a bubble. The film took the audience on a horrifying trip to our impending future, where the air was contaminated from pollution and trees were a beautiful rarity.
“Loom” | Kevin Rothlisberger
Kevin Rothlisberger dives into his personal take on an old-school werewolf and vampire horror flick in his short film “Loom.” The film requires a niche audience, but nonetheless is creative and can be appreciated by everyone. In the film, a camping trip gone horribly wrong in the rural Midwest leads to the deaths of four country boys. The director uses homemade costumes, his friends’ pickup trucks and creative do-it-yourself special effects to convey a 30-minute gore fest. Complemented by aerial drone shots of the environment, chase scenes through the woods and a signature Midwestern soundtrack, “Loom” is truly one of a kind.
“Peaches” | Mark Baumgartner and Dustin Hawkins
“Aw s**t.” The ending of the film “Peaches” by Mark Baumgartner and Dustin Hawkins left audience members in awe. To be fair, this rings true for the majority of the film. After the loss of her husband, a woman named Peaches reflects with a hospice care worker while on her deathbed. Eventually, the conversation shifts towards the ideology of afterlife where Peaches at first writes it off completely. But when her husband’s spirit is brought into the conversation, she buys into it. “Peaches” is an incredibly clever, slightly heartwarming and engaging film ending in, “Aw s**t.”
“Two Sides” | Steph Borklund
Steph Borklund calls for a connection with younger audiences in her film “Two Sides,” a raw, intimate and realistic coming-out short film. The film is about the relationship between a gay woman and her Catholic father, told in a storybook sequence. The two characters walk alone and tell their side of the relationship. The premise of the plot is how a Catholic father didn’t want to accept his daughter’s sexuality and how that affected their relationship. The film calls for empathy, seeing that unfortunately, this is something some members of the LGBTQ+ community don’t recieve.
“Sexo” | Lizzie Germann
“Sexo” by Lizzie Germann was nothing short of hilarious. The work is one episode in Germann’s series “The Sidelines,” but is able to stand as its own film. It is set at the sidelines of a children’s soccer game, where an American couple approaches a Mexican man who is nannying. The couple asks him to have “sexo” (aka, sex with the wife) for her birthday present. The couple does not know Spanish and ends every word with the syllable “o.” They offer more and more money to the man if he were to sleep with the wife. As the price for “sexo” grew, so did the giggles of audience members. The actors heightened the plot and quality of the film. Germann made it impossible for audience members to not get a kick out of the interaction. “Sexo” was a high quality film with a plot and characters that were engaging, and once again, hilarious.
Edited by Elise Mulligan, emulligan@themaneater.com
