After a successful first stint in 2011, “Lincoln Shorts” returned to Lincoln Drill Hall on Wednesday, March 7th. The event showcases a number of short films, directed, produced and animated by local filmmakers.
Speaking before the start of the night, Tim Johns, the founder and host of Lincoln Shorts, said: “Variety is the key to Lincoln Shorts. The team and I have made the night specifically to be entertaining. It’s about showcasing in an entertaining way.”
Tim continued: “There are some amateur videos, there’s some very professional-looking production company stuff, there’s film makers who submit their videos to film festivals around the world and then there’s some silly little bits that have been done on YouTube.”
Variety was certainly something that was apparent during Lincoln Shorts with a range of film genres, capture styles and ideas. On display were animated films such as “A Day At Donna Nook” and comedies such as “Super Glued” and “Jacob and Michael have an argument.” There was plenty of variation to keep it interesting.
Having pre-sold 130 tickets before the night, Lincoln Shorts had already exceeded the amount of attendees from last year. However, many more turned up on the night as extra seating was required to seat the onlookers at the Lincoln Drill Hall.
One short film that was greeted to a brilliant reception from the audience was “Bertie Crisp,” a six minute comedy animation, directed by Francesca Adams, who was born in Lincoln. The 2D adult animation was about a half bear, half panda named Bertie who lived with his rabbit wife, Grace, in a holiday caravan park.
Grace is determined to have a baby and gets Bertie (voiced by Mark Benton) to steal one of their neighbour’s kittens, though it doesn’t all go to plan as Grace realises that parenting is more difficult than she imagined. Everything from the animation to the well-written script made Bertie Crisp a very enjoyable watch.
Similarly, a teaser trailer for “Humans,” a film in which the role of zombies and humans are switched, ended a magnificent night on a high. The full length film is expected to release at the end of this year.
However, you didn’t need fancy equipment to submit a short film with “Dancing JCB at Wragby Show” and “Snowface” being filmed on mobile phones. The first has accumulated over one million views on YouTube, while the latter showed someone repeatedly putting their face into a layer of snow. Both provided a welcome change to the high definition quality videos.
Music videos from local artists were also on the bill, including Elliot Morris – “These Lies Don’t Tell Themselves”, Dancing Lotus – “Kings of Men” and Changing Horses – “Cut All Strings,” with the latter also performing a live set on the night.
Changing Horses provided a comical set with songs such as “Parking Space” and “We Are The Scum Of The Earth,” while another local band, The Lounge Crusade, performed tracks such as “Beck and Call” and “Ten More Years,” bringing a close to what was a great night.
Lincoln Shorts was a fantastic success that left many people inspired. The night wasn’t just a night of entertainment, but it raised awareness of the high level of local talent within Lincoln.