The 2004 International ResFest Digital Film Festival

Programme description
SHORTS ONE
RESFEST 2004 kicks off with a survey of state-of-the art storytelling, with a mix of animation, live action and graphics-oriented work to give you a taste of the festival's unique blend of filmmaking techniques. See the retelling of the tragic fate of Oedipus in the luxurious cinematic splendor redolent of '50s era epics - with a cast of vegetables. See what happens when the inexorable thrust of time slows, then stops, allowing three characters to transcend their destinies in Daniel Askill's visually stunning philosophical mindbender We Have Decided Not to Die. There's much more in our opening night show - start RESFEST with this eclectic mix.

SHORTS TWO
A wry humor threads its way through this program of shorts as filmmakers respond to life's daily travails by mixing striking visual trickery with old-fashioned laughter. Sunday suggests the volatile danger of mixing sex, babysitting and pizza, while One Step Ahead follows one hapless character in his pursuit of speed in a city seemingly designed to slow him down in the latest from Stefan Nadelman.

SHORTS THREE
The flimsy divide between real life and fantasy figures in Shorts Program Three, with a mix of decidedly idiosyncratic portraits - of cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, a slew of scarred rock stars, and New York's bicycle gangs - and other characters who may or may not be real. But why fixate on borders and boundaries? The point here is to see how filmmakers show us the world, and with a mix of breathtaking imagery, humor and design chops, this program's artists definitely get the job done.

BUSHWACKED
See what happens when you turn some of the world's top activist media-jamming filmmakers loose in an election year! In this showcase of often hilarious activist shorts you'll see the latest from artists such as Bryan Boyce, Eric Henry, Archer & Beck, Michael Moore, Guerrilla News Network, Johan Söderberg and many more.

BY DESIGN
Now in its third year, the By Design program has become the showcase for preeminent motion graphics and broadcast design work from around the world. This year's program is rich with RESFEST regulars, including Logan, MK12 and Richard Fenwick, and includes as well stellar work from the likes of Psyop, Suk + Koch, Justin Harder and Plus et Plus. Come discover the best new design work!

CINEMA ELECTRONICA
RESFEST's seminal music video showcase returns this year with another stellar slate of brand new work from around the world. Trends this year include a penchant for kaleidoscopic imagery as in "Chromeo," with its loving nod to the Busby Berkeley dance spectacles of the 1903s, plus lots of live action/animation hybrids helping liven things up. And while directors chafe at the precipitous drop in budgets, it only means that the videos get more inventive as artists find new ways to do things. Look for the latest from Pleix, H5, Logan, Hexstatic, Dougal Wilson, and many, many more.

VIDEOS THAT ROCK
This year's Videos That Rock program is a rollicking survey of rock-oriented projects, with a good number of animated videos this time around. In "Year of the Rat" from Monkmus, a man and his dog spread affection through the streets of urban despair, while Dougal Wilson's "Three Girl Rhumba" for Klonhertz is, in the director's words, "a video made of paper." Perennial favorite Michel Gondry returns with "Walkie Talkie Man" for Steriogram, and there's new work from Jonas Odell, Chris Hopewell, Plates Animation, Kuntzel & Deygas and dozens of others.

JONATHAN GLAZER RETROSPECTIVE
This year's director retrospective program surveys the exceptional work of British director Jonathan Glazer, whose music videos include the seminal "Street Spirit" for Radiohead and "Rabbit in Your Headlights" for UNKLE, as well as award-winning commercials for the likes of Guinness and Levis. In his first feature, Sexy Beast, Glazer bridged the aural and visual precision of his short form work with riveting performances to make the film one of the best of 2000. This year will see the release of Glazer's second feature, Birth, starring Nicole Kidman. Our program traces Glazer's career to date, with commercials, music videos, trailers and rarely screened behind-the-scenes footage.

SHYNOLA RARITIES
We thought it was high time to showcase perennial RESFEST favorites Shynola with a program of their own. In a few short years, this prolific British directing team has created some of the most amazing videos ever made. Comprised of college chums Gideon Baws, Chris Harding, Richard (Kenny) Kenworthy and Jason Groves, the chaotic collective has crafted pieces that are by turns hilarious, epic, moving and sexy for the likes of UNKLE, Quannum, Radiohead, Stephen Malkmus, Lambchop, Junior Senior, Queens of the Stone Age, Bur and The Rapture. The boys have rifled through their closets and pulled together some unique bits and bobs in a special RESFEST-only program of Shynola rarities.

Best of Resfest Africa

For the second time RESFEST 2004 is pleased to present a showcase of South African shorts that illustrates the country's burgeoning talent and diverse creative impulses. The programme includes live action, animation and design shorts, as well as music videos, offering viewers a glimpse of a new generation of filmmakers and their eclectic interests. Best of Resfest Africa was a huge success last year and one of the most well attended Resfest screenings in CT, Johannesburg & Durban.