Stunned by the digital generation

Went to see a programme of shorts at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Normally I wouldn't have bothered, short films aren't really my bag, but it was the official world premiere for a short written and directed by fellow blogger Potdoll. Her piece, Lady Margaret, was one of nine featured from the UK Film Council's digital shorts programmes. Plus it gave me a chance to meet the mysterious Potdoll, who uses a photo of a doll to represent herself in the blogosphere. [Like I can preach, since my picture is of my winklepicker shoes.]

We met in the delegate centre before the event and had a good natter. Also bumped into several other friendly faces, nearly all of them actors or filmmakers. Meanwhile poor Potdoll was nearly climbing the walls with nerves. Eventually it was time to go into Filmhouse 1 and watch the shorts. Lady Margaret was first, and bloody impressive it was too. Started off light and brezzy, but got darker and more menacing. By the end I could sense the audience worrying how far the film was going to go, as it made them complicit voyeurs. Great use of a windscreen wiper sound over the closing credits, too.

There were seven other pieces of between seven and 12 minutes, some hilarious, others moving or disturbing, one that had me gasping for dialogue [a bit like an asthmatic gasping for breath]. The screening culminated in a longer piece called Cherries written by Fiona Kissane, a chilling yet all too believable projection of where war could lead Britain. All in all, a fascinating snapshot of where digital filmmaking is going in the UK and a glimpse of the talents out there. Stunning stuff.