ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Paramount TheatreEndowment Fund for Excellence

THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE

Built in 1930 at the beginning of the Great Depression, Abilene’s landmark Paramount Theatre has a rich history both in the world of cinema, and the lives of the citizens of West Texas. Originally an atmospheric movie palace, designed by David Castle and financed by local entrepreneur H.O. Wooten, the theatre has been the entertainment destination for the region for the past 83 years.

Fully restored and renovated in 1987, the theatre was given a new life as a live entertainment venue as well, and is now host to thousands of patrons each year for live concerts, ballet, opera, musical theatre, private events, and much more. The Paramount Film Series, now in its 27th year, screens the best of classic and modern cinema in the opulent atmosphere of this prized facility.

The Paramount is a member of the League of Historic American Theatres and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information about the theatre’s diverse programming, or for information about renting the facility for your next event, visit the Paramount Theatre website:

www.paramount-abilene.org

24fps Interns Aubree Barnett and Ashley Hall

OPENING NIGHT PROGRAM

Fields and FloodsFriday, November 1, 2013 7:00 pm

“The world is my workshop. It is not my home.” --Abbas Kiarostami

SequenceDirector: Carles TorrensNarrative USAEveryone on the planet has the same horrible dream about one single man on the same night.

The DiverDirector: Damon MohlAnimation/Narrative/Experimental USAThe strange life of a plastic toy diver.

SkinDirector: Jordana SpiroNarrative USAA young taxidermist and small-town loner becomes entranced by a girl he meets.

Nightingales in DecemberDirector: Theodore UshevAnimation CanadaA metaphorical surrealist tale that is a trip into memory and the fields of current realities.

Night ShiftDirector: Zia MandviwallaNarrative New ZealandAn airport cleaner gleans the means for her survival from what others leave behind.

Oh, Willy...Directors: Marc James Roels, Emma de SwaefAnimation Belgium/France/NetherlandsWilly returns to his naturalist roots as he bungles his way into noble savagery.

Espantalhos (Scarecrows)Director: Marcelo DominguesNarrative BrazilA scarecrow endures his everyday existence waiting for the night, when he truly comes alive.

Irish Folk FurnitureDirector: Tony DonoghueDocumentary/Animation IrelandIn this animated documentary, 16 pieces of abandoned furniture are brought to life.

JonahDirector: Kibwe TavaresNarrative UKWhen two young men photograph a giant fish, their small town becomes a tourist attraction.

Silent TreatmentDirector: Mark LobattoNarrative UKIn a bleak waiting room where time stands still, two strangers are compelled to connect.

The 10 films that make up the First Night Program are presented under the title “Fields and Floods.” They are from 9 different countries and all explore the difference between perception and reality.As humans, we constantly seek what we see as the true objects of our desire. But just as a farmer knows that without rain his crops cannot grow, he also knows that too much rain can flood his fields, destroying all he has worked for. Such is the true nature of wanting. I was inspired by the writings of John Steinbeck (most notably The Grapes of Wrath) to assemble a program of films illuminating the idea to be successful,

the act of wanting should be simple, straightforward, and true.Steinbeck has written: “There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do.” It is human nature to see everything that happens to us in our lives through our own peculiar filter of “want.” In our dogged pursuit of what we think will make us happy, we often walk hurriedly past the one true moment (or person) who holds the key to that goal.

This program concludes with Kibwe Tavares’ fable, Jonah, a powerful exploration of the corrosive nature of our own desires. It is a plea to step back and find the beauty in the simple path.

--Barry Smoot 24fps Festival Director

A bout This Program

MATINEE PROGRAM

Ghost in the TownSaturday, November 2, 2013 2:00 pm

“Things do not change. We change.” --Henry David Thoreau

Baghdad MessiDirector: Sahim Omar KalifaNarrative IraqAn Iraqi boy obsessed with football must travel with his father to the city to repair their TV.

The RoperDirectors: Ewan McNicol, Anna SandilandsDocumentary USAAn African American cowboy dreams of making it on the pro roping circuit.

Grünes Gold (Green Gold)Director: Barbara MarheinekeNarrative Germany This mockumentary presents the “real” reason for the US invasions of Iraq.

34° 4 SDirector: Adriano ValerioNarrative FranceTwo young lovers, together since childhood on the island of Tristan da Cunha, face separation.

Marcel, King of TervurenDirector: Tom SchroederAnimation USAIn this Greek tragedy, a Belgian rooster survives extraordinary circumstances.

More Than Two Hours Director: Ali AsgariNarrative IranA young Iranian couple must find emergency care but discover difficulties with the rules of the state.

Gaspé CopperDirector: Alexis Fortier GauthierNarrative CanadaA family is forced to leave their home when the father refuses to cross a miner’s strike picket line.

PlanetsDirector: Igor ImhoffAnimation ItalyA boy and a girl at play are swept up into the vastness of the universe.

Penny DreadfulDirector: Shane AtkinsonNarrative USAA story about a kidnapping that goes horribly wrong.

Hello, World : )Directors: Rafael Mathé, Etienne LaraguetaNarrative FranceA technological corporation develops a system to increase the brain’s power.

The 10 films that make up the Matinee Program are presented under the title “Ghost in the Town,” and were inspired by the song of the same title by Joshua James. Joshua is a singer/songwriter most often described as a “roots rocker,” an artist who explores the ancient tropes and traditions of who we are based on where we come from. He states: “The whole concept of Ghost in the Town is our need for a certain image of our life--how our parents and our siblings and maybe our parents’ friends and people associated with us growing up viewed us--and how it’s sometimes really hard to get away from that.”

Using his powerful song as a jumping off point, I wanted to assemble a program of films touching on the idea that we all carry with us the shadows of our past--and although we may be different people now, it always looms behind us. So this program is about perception based on history. Our past has formed who we are--it has taught us. Our past influences every path we take, It effects how we love, hate, forgive, lift up, judge, condemn or embrace. Embedded in the middle of the program is The Roper, a simple example of the power of seeing people based on common goals and aspirations, regardless of our, or our nation’s, past.

--Barry Smoot 24fps Festival Director

About This Program

CLOSING NIGHT PROGRAM

I will remain.Saturday, November 2, 2013 7:00 pm

“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced” --Malala Yousafzai

GraceDirector: Keir BurrowsNarrative UKA story of interconnect lives in the hours before a nuclear war.

FeralDirector: Daniel SousaAnimation USAA wild boy found in the woods is brought back to civilization.

JuaritosDirector: HF CrumNarrative USAA narco-blogger stands up to a Mexican drug cartel after a life-changing experience.

Attitude 3Director: Isaac GoodwiineNarrative/Experimental USANew York’s controversial “stop & frisk” law is the basis for this experimental dance narrative.

On SuffocationDirector: Jenifer Malmqvist Narrative SwedenThis dialogue-free film describes what happens when the system disregards basic human rights.

PaulieDirector: Andrew NackmanNarrative USAA child prodigy has to learn humility after getting bested in a school essay contest.

Premiere AutomneDirectors: Carlos De Carvalho, Aude DansetAnimation FranceTwo children who live in the winter and summer encounter complications when their paths cross.

Gwizdek (The Whistle)Director: Grzegorz ZaricznyDocumentary PolandMarcin, a lowest-leagues football referee who lives in a small town dreams of a better life.

EfimeraDirector: Diego ModinoNarrative SpainAlicia travels to the city for a long-awaited ballet audition only to finds all is not as it seems.

La Otra CenaDirector: Albert BlanchNarrative SpainWhen survivors flee a ruined city, an old man insists on staying behind for Christmas Eve.

ExplosionsDirector: Christopher FreyNarrative/Experimental AustraliaThe inhabitants of a neighborhood begin to mysteriously float into the sky.

About This Program

The 11 films that make up the Second Night Program are presented under the title “I Will Remain,” and were inspired by the song of the same name by Matthew and the Atlas. Simply put, it is a program about what we leave behind in our wake. Certainly the most difficult of all three of the 2013 exhibition programs, it deals with issues of forgiveness, our violent nature, racism, bullying, human rights, the healing power of kindness, forbidden love, and the afterlife. It is important to see our lives as a path. It is important to make decisions in our lives based on the legacy of our actions. It is important to consider what perceptions we leave behind, as those

are lasting. In Grace, the opening film on this program, a character facing the most uncertain of futures can only remember the teachings of the legacy of his grandmother: “Life gives you everything...everything.” ---Barry Smoot 24fps Festival Director

THE DIRECTORS

2012 Best DirectorEsteban Crespo--Aquel No Era Yo

USA

Carles TorrensSequence

Damon MohlThe Diver

Jordana SpiroSkin

Tom SchroederMarcel, King of Tervuren

HF CrumJuaritos

Andrew NackmanPaulie

CANA

DA

Theodore UshevNightingales in December

Alexis Fortier GauthierGaspe Copper

The 24fps International Short Film Festival extends congratulations to the 35 directors of this yearsʼ Official Selection Films for their exceptional work.

FRAN

CE

Carlos de CarvalhoPremier Automne

Aude DansetPremier Automne

Rafael MatheHello, World : )

Adriano Valerio32 4 S

Kibwe TavaresJonah

Keir BurrowsGrace

Etienne LarraguetaHello, World : )

UK

Mark LobattoSilent Treatment

SPAI

NAlbert BlanchLa Otra Cena

Diego ModinoEfimera

SWED

EN

ITALY

Igor ImhoffPlanets

POLA

NDGrzegorz ZaricznyThe Whistle

NEW

ZEAL

AND

Zia MandviwallaNight Shift

Jenifer MalmqvistOn Suffocation

Anna SandilandsEwan McNicolThe Roper

Shane AtkinsonPenny Dreadful

Daniel SousaFeral

Isaac GoodwiineAttitude 3

BELG

IUM

Marc James RoelsOh, Willy...

Emma de SwaefOh, Willy...

BRAZ

IL

IRAQ

Sahim Omar KalifaBaghdad Messi

IRAN

Ali AsgariMore Than Two Hours

AUST

RALIA

Christopher FreyExplosions

GERM

ANY

Barbara MarheinekeGrunes Gold

IREL

AND

Tony DonoghueIrish Folk Furniture

Marcelo DominguesEspantalhos

The 2013 Film Submission Field

Over 1,600 films were submitted to the 24fps International Short Film Festival for official selection consideration this year. The films represented over 35 countries. The final cut just prior to selection consisted of 282 films, which were then reduced to the 31 films being screened in competition for this 15th edition of the festival.

THE 2013 JURY

REMOTE PANELJuried privately in Austin, Dallas, Abilene, Los Angles, and New York

Ran Barker (Jury Chair, retired producer--Warner Bros)

Robert Leeper (Robert Leeper Media)

R.D. Nolen (Director, film historian, SAG)

Kyle Smith (Screenwriter, educator--UT Arlington)

Scott Mitsui (Producer, Mark Woollen & Associates)

Sohini Sengupta (Producer, Mark Woollen & Associates)

Victor Diaz (Film Critic, Time Warner)

Gadi Elkon (Film critic and blogger)

Todd Vann (Marketing Director, Time Warner)

Barry Smoot (24fps Festival Director, Paramount Theatre Artistic Director)

LOCAL PANELJuried privately in the Paramount Theatre

Nil Santana (Jury Chair, professor of Art and Design, Abilene Christian University)Betty Hukill (Paramount Theatre Executive Director)

Debbie Mann (Center for Contemporary Arts)Martha Kiel (Hardin Simmons University, retired)

Victoria Spangler (Abilene Cultural Affairs Council)Lori Sims (Freelance artist, musician)Richard Transki (Costume designer)

Patrick Kelly (Curator of Exhibitions, Old Jail Art Center)Sara McKnight (Paramount Theatre)

Nancy Capra (Artist, Paramount Theatre Board of Directors)Lelo Schaffer (Center for Contemporary Arts)

Cara Hines (Freelance visual artist)Rob Davidson (Red3 Productions)Jaron Farmer (Red3 Productions)

Daniel Latham (Abilene Behavioral Health, TSTC )

The festival awards determined by the 2013 24fps Jury will be presented at the close of the Second Night Program.