Alone With the Land (Iran, 1999, 18 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD Vahid Mousaian Returning to his village after many years in the city, Omid meets an eccentric old shepherd who once worked for his family. As they journey together, landscape and memory gradually merge in Mousaian's simple but affecting tale of the bonds of history, family and the land.

Babie (USA, 1999, 5min.) SCR/DIR Jonathan Michals PROD Allan Elfman After being fired from an "incredibly exciting" job, Jonathan Michals takes us along on an impressionistic personal journey whose eventual destination is Pittsburgh for a visit with his beloved Babie.

Changing Directions (USA/Sweden, 1999, 20 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD Maria Ess&egraven In Maria Ess&egraven's gently humorous drama set in 1967 Sweden, shy, melancholic community pillar Reverend Erik Larsson, gamely does his bit to help his rural parishoners through a traumatic event ñ the national change from driving on the left to the right. All goes well until love makes a detour into his life.

Home (England, 1998, 11 min.) DIR Morag McKinnon PROD Hannah Lewis Morag McKinnon depicts a day in the life of Bobby, a dedicated government-housing inspector. Assisting those in need and investigating complaints may seem commonplace, but his day is far from ordinary.

My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts (Canada/Norway, 1999, 10 min.) SCR/DIR/ANIM/ED Torill Kove With sharp humor, this playfully droll animation offers the filmmaker's personal interpretation of Norwegian history ñ and her grandmother's role in the WWII shirt-pressers' Underground.

Tales From the Reading Room (England, 1999, 23 min.) SCR/DIR Minkie Spiro PROD Elli Jason In the last days of the British Museum's historic Reading Room, workmen briskly pack up volumes once thumbed by the likes of Huxley, Shaw, and Marx. In this charming valentine to this magnificent circular chamber of literary reverie, Minkie Spiro (Rat Women, SF98) interviews its contemporary denizens, ostensibly absorbed in research but ever-keenly attuned to their surroundings and the possibility of romance.

Tribute to Alfred Lepetit (France, 1999, 9 min.) SCR/DIR Jean Rousselot PROD Laurence Braunberger Who is Alfred Lepetit? Unknown to general audiences, adored by the likes of Roman Polanski and Charlotte Rampling, Alfred is about to receive a lifetime achievement award. A hilarious portrait of a film legend among the stars.

At the Ends of the Earth (France, 1999, 8min.) SCR/DIR/ANIM Konstantin Bronzit PROD Folimage Russian animator Konstantin Bronzit’s delectable short wryly reveals that maintaining the delicate balance of domestic tranquillity is difficult everywhere – especially at the ends of the earth.

The Booth (England, 1999, 12 min.) SCR/DIR Anthony Alleyne PROD Alleyne & Francesca Staasch Enterprising young Mike Barrett is leveraging an unlikely asset – an unused London phone booth – into his entrepreneurial dreams. When an eccentric old lady elbows in on his un-mobile office, he’s forced into desperate action.

Echo (Belgium, 1999, 14 min.) SCR/DIR Frederic Roullier-Gall PROD Carlo Binsztok In Roullier-Gall’s eloquent drama, an elderly couple, their love undimmed by age or infirmity, embark on a train trip. The bustle and jostle of unaccustomed travel unloosens a cascade of memories, echoes of the painful circumstances of their first meeting.

In God We Trust (USA, 1999, 16 min.) SCR/DIR Jason Reitman PROD Dan Dubiecki, Dominic Cianciolo & Tim Crane Sent to Limbo by a speeding truck, Robert learns he is going to hell "on points"– more from a desultory life of sins of omission than from his accumulated minor infractions. Jason Reitman’s ironic fantasy gives us fallible mortals hope for a second chance.

The Periwig Maker (Germany, 1999, 15 min.) DIR Steffen Schaeffler SCR/ED Annette Schaeffler Set in rat-infested London during the devastating 17th century plague years, this absorbingly dramatic puppet animation portrays a solitary wig-maker in the throws of a fateful decision. Kenneth Branagh narrates.

Reinvention (USA, 1998, 4 min.) DIR/PROD/SCR Sadia Shepard With a tender eye, we are brought into the life of an 83-year-old inventor and his wife. The man and his muse prove wonderful subjects for Sadia Shepard’s gentle documentary.

Watch Out! (France, 1999, 5 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD/ED St&eacutephane Schohn Will a lone jogger heed disembodied words of warning on an empty beach?

The Window (USA, 1999, 17 min.) SCR/DIR Jono Oliver PROD Oliver & Tara Culp When two jaded New York cops investigate an unusual occurrence at an inner-city apartment building, they must choose between public order and private faith.

$30 (USA, 1999, ? min.) DIR Gregory Cooke PROD Cooke, Christopher Landon & Line Postmyr Sixteen-year old Scott finds his father’s birthday present an unwelcome consummation of his virginal dreams. But one hour and $30 later, a sordid transaction has transmuted into a rare gift. Sara Gilbert stars.

Flowergirl (Australia, 1999, 19 min.) DIR/SCR Cate Shortland PROD Anthony Anderson At the end of a carefree year in Sydney, vegetarian Daisuke is returning to Osaka and his father’s butcher shop. With vivid handicam footage and wistful voice-over musings, Daisuke captures his last Bondi beach days and his own inner turmoil over leaving his secret love. Cate Shortland has arranged a beautifully expressive bouquet to youth’s fleeting bloom.

Half Full, Half Empty (Ireland, 1999, 3 min.) DIR Lisa Mulcahy PROD Catherine O’Flaherty Two hostages await the arrival of their guard. What will he bring them today?

Hoppin’ Mad (Australia, 1999, 7 min.) DIR David McKay PROD Georgina Wilson Rainer and Dirk, two feckless German tourists driving across the Australian outback, have an accidental encounter with one of Australia’s well-known inhabitants…and then have to live with the consequences.

Los Gringos (USA, 1999, 6 min.) SCR/DIR Rob Letterman PROD Brian Brenton This cutting-edge computer animation parody pays homage while giving a twist to the "spaghetti western" where the primary ambition is to die with your boots – or in one case, zoris – on.

The Rules of Golf (Northern Ireland, 1999, 5 min.) DIR Hugh McGrory PROD Michael McGeagh An adrenaline-fueled film about the code of the street and an adolescent boy trying to live within its visceral rules.

Small Change (Germany, 1999, 15 min.) DIR Marc-Andreas Bochert PROD Gabriele Lins Every day on the way from the parking lot to his office, a pursed-mouthed businessman gives a bedraggled homeless man a few coins. Then one day the beggar starts offering something in return.

When the Day Breaks (Canada, 1999, 10 min.) DIR/ANIM Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby After a mundane morning errand leads to a brush with tragedy, the chipper Ruby finds affirmation in the city around her. With deft humor and finely rendered animation, Forbis and Tilby evoke the promise and fragility of a new day.

Break & Enter (Australia, 1999, 9 min.) DIR Amanda Brotchie PROD Melanie Coombs A late suburban night brings every homeowner’s nightmare, a hooded cat burglar, to an elderly couple’s cozy bungalow. After the mistress of the house applies a homey utensil to unexpected results, Amanda Brotchie’s humorous tale reveals that dreams of domesticity and adventure may reside in the same hearts.

Cherry Picker (USA, 1999, 3 min.) DIR Morgan J. Freeman PROD Jonathan Mednick Ever had workmen outside you window first thing in the morning? We’ve all been there, but maybe Jeanine Garafolo’s feisty cherry picker jockey will teach us a little R. E. S. P. E. C. T.

Fat Cat on a Diet (USA, 1999, 4 min.) DIR/ANIM Raman Hui PROD Judy Conner Tired of his human-imposed regimen of bland diet food, our intrepid feline embarks on a quest for more flavorful fare in Raman Hui’s computer-animated comedy.

Hungry (England, 1998, 24 min.) DIR Richard Clark PROD Eileen Moxley In Richard Clark’s deeply moving drama, a sweet-tempered tele-marketer with an irresistable phone manner is also a grossly-overweight loner whose only relationship, with his doting sister, is threatened when Gregory discovers a new use for his telephone.

The Indescribable Nth (USA, 1999, 9 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD Oscar Moore In this sweet animated tale, Scott – his heart as empty as his shake-’em-up novelty shop – makes a bedtime wish upon a star for someone to love. This leads to a magical doorstep delivery and a lifelong quest for that indescribable Nth.

Jell-Ohh Lady (USA, 1999, 22 min.) DIR John Mossman PROD Kristy Wunsch & Laura Lee This whimsical tribute to a generation of aproned heroines finds lovely Lilly ensconced in her 60s suburban Wisconsin kitchen facing a day – and life – of Jell-O salads, Green Bay Packer Backers parties, and nosy neighbors. A desire to smash the mold begins to well inside her.

The Scarecrow (Russia, 2000, 15 min.) DIR Alexander Kott PROD Sevory Selyanov Alexander Kott (Photographer, SF 99) casts his mesmerizingly spellbinding eye upon a lonely rural child and his new silent friend.

Seven Hours to Burn (USA, 1999, 9 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD Shanti Thakur Drawing on the childhood experiences of her mother in Nazi-occupied Denmark and her father in Partition-torn India, Shanti Thakur’s documentary intercuts abstract bodyscapes with ghostly historical footage, meditating on how two parallel wars fought over ethnic and religious purity created one couple.

The Bats (USA, 1998, 8 min.) SCR/DIR Jim Trainor In an age of e-everything, it’s delightful to discover a Sharpie, paper, and an off-the-wall imagination are all a talented animator needs, as Jim Trainor’s autobiography of a vermivorous neotropical phyllostomid (bats, to you) wackily demonstrates.

Five Feet High and Rising (USA, 1999, 29 min.) CAM/SCR/DIR Peter Sollett PROD Eva Vives & Emma Wilcockson This engaging documentary-style drama begins one hot summer day at a local pool on the Lower East Side when Victor, an ebullient mix of innocence and street savvy, meets an older girl from a different neighborhood. The next day he sets out on a journey to find her, leaving the security of his street – and childhood – behind.

Lights, Camera, Action Figures! (USA, 1999, 4 min.) SCR/DIR David Jahns ED/PROD Jerry Pratt With every on-screen character from the Star Wars movies already made into action figures and Christmas fast approaching, an innovative toy company marketing director tries something new.

Sentinelles (Canada, 1999, 8 min.) SCR/DIR Guy Lampron PROD Michel Fleury & Claude Lajoie. Perched high on a commanding skyscraper’s shoulder, two gigantic metal eagles implacably gaze out over a surrealistic cityscape. In Guy Lampron’s richly visual computer animation, a powerfully poetic transformation unfolds.

…sleeping dogs lie (USA, 1999, 17 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD Joseph Moran Johnny and Stella are lovers. Johnny, a lowlife Lou Reed look-a-like shares Stella’s love of garish fashion and smart-mouthed repartee, but not her affection for Buttercup. As Joseph Moran’s outrageous screwball comedy launches, an impulsive act and a parole violation land Johnny in trouble. Only a heart-broken Stella can save him.

Thibideaux (USA, 1999, 6 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD Karl Gromelski Going to pick up the family dog for the first time is one of life’s special and exciting moments.

Wave and Smile (Germany, 1999, 18 min.) DIR Enriko Boettcher PROD Alexander Stigler Everybody believes in miracles – some more, others less. When a cynical young TV reporter seeks to exploit several little curiosities and wonders, he crosses into a no-man’s land where faith, truth and journalism intersect The restlessly edgy style of new German cinema is perfect for Enrico Boettcher’s surrealistic tale.

Blindman’s Bluff (Australia, 1999, 21 min.) SCR/DIR Rachel Ward PROD Henrietta Hartford Davis In actress Rachel Ward’s directorial debut, reclusive Anna agrees to tend her beautiful sister Sophie’s two small children for a few days. She settles in to Sophie’s idyllic island lifestyle, save for the lunch time ritual which leads to unforeseen romantic consequences.

Brother (Australia, 1999, 8 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD/ANIM Adam Elliot Shortsfest favorite Adam Elliot (Uncle SF98, Cousin SF99) returns with Brother, the final installment in his family trilogy. Through poignant black-and-white claymation, Elliot brings us this funny and unsettling childhood memory of a sibling, cigarette butts, asthma and all.

Dream Kitchen (Ireland, 1999, 8 min.) SCR/DIR Barry Dignam PROD Katherina Fay A disheveled kitchen, an oil-stained Dad, a haggard Mum and a beautiful secret – such is the stuff as dreams are made of.

The Funeral of the Last Gypsy King (England, 1999, 8 min.) DIR Jane Rogoyska PROD Meg Thomson & George Duffield One cold blustery day, a clutch of villagers attend a funeral. As mourners’ hats, the priest’s insipid oration, even a rag-tag band’s forlorn musical tribute are snatched away by the wind, the gypsy’s musical legacy lives on.

George Lucas in Love (USA, 1999, 9 min.) DIR Joe Nussbaum PROD Joseph Levy Ever wonder where George Lucas’s inspiration for Star Wars came from? Joe Nussbaum’s hilariously clever send-up of Shakespeare in Love uncovers Lucas’s decidedly non-Joseph Campbell heroic sources.

My Job (Scotland, 1999, 3 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD Joern Utkilen A Scandinavian pilot relates the trials and rewards of professional flying in her own special way.

The Picnic (Korea, 1999, 18 min.) SCR/DIR Song Ilgon PROD Cho Soojin One winter afternoon a family outing leads to a forest near a windswept beach. Impervious to the beauty around them, the father, a debt-crushed businessman, impassively and methodically prepares a fatal ritual. Beneath this stark tale roils an economic ocean, whose undertows and riptides of can founder any family’s vessel.

Protest (USA, 1999, 3 min.) SCR/DIR Steve Katz PROD Russ Dube In the not-too-distant future, even nature’s most majestic land mammal may be driven to this ultimate act.

this is for betsy hall (USA, 1999, 7 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD Hope Hall Hope Hall’s impressionistic documentary compellingly traces her mother’s emotional legacy, a struggle with self-image and eating disorders which consumed her – and her family’s – life.

6 Miles of 8 Feet (USA, 1999, 22 min.) SCR/ED/DIR Ben Tomlin PROD Wes Hutchison, Tish Harrison & Jim Brodsky In his story of a new sheriff’s effort to end the dusty byway standoff between a country road-widening project, a rural rancher and a rush hour commute, Texas-native Ben Tomlin subtly illustrates the human costs of the New West’s changing priorities.

Flux (Australia, 1999, 9 min.) SCR/DIR/PROD/ED Michaela French With stunning imagery and poignant narration, experimental animator Michaela French leads us on a personal journey through trust, love and an accident to emerge transformed on the other side of loss.

Girl Go Boom (USA, 1999, 3min.) DIR Mark B. Tiedemann PROD Chris Davis The love of your life is just across the table. Okay, so maybe poetry isn’t your forté. But still you try. How can she resist?

The Last Real Cowboys (USA, 1999, 12 min.) DIR Jeff Lester PROD Lester, Philip Nobert, Scott Christensen & Rudy Gaines In Jeff Lester’s comic yarn, grizzled cowpoke compadres Slope (Mickey Jones) and Tar (Billy Bob Thorton) have ridden the range since they could reach the stirrups. One day over a classic campfire meal, Tar’s recollection of a childhood pastime lead them into novel tongue-in-cheek territory.

This Guy Is Falling (USA, 1999, 12 min.) DIR/PROF Michael Horowitz & Gareth Smith Warren is a dreamer, a nice guy, but not the brightest. He believes in daytime baseball, nights under the stars, and good old-fashioned love. When his friend accidently pushes a world-changing button – provoking exhilaratingly zany special effects, Warren’s first thought is to save his girl.

The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo (USA, 1999, 30 min.) CAM/ED/DIR Simeon Soffer PROD Soffer & Jonathan Stack Every Sunday in October the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola hosts one of America’s most unusual events. Amateur inmate cowboys risk life and limb to participate in this dangerous sport before 5,000 free folk. Is this a modern day Roman Circus or the annual chance these men have to prove their courage?

The Wolfman (England, 1999, 7 min.) DIR/PROD Timothy Hir Hope In Timothy Hope’s uniquely inventive cut-out animation, a lonely astronomer’s obsession with the moon takes a cosmically bizarre twist.