My review and pictures of “Far” director Brian Crewe Q&A + Awards 2012 Fort Lauderdale Film Festival

On Sunday, November 11, 2012 I attended the gala Florida Premiere of the short Far at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. The screening was held at the legendary Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a selection in the "Dating 101" World Cinema Shorts Program.

Far is the long-awaited and buzzed-about short film from Dance of the Dead producer Brian Crewe, who directed, edited, and produced this refreshingly original piece from writer and star Marion Kerr. Woman pursues man. Asks him on date. Date goes from quirky to odd to surreal to repulsive, with no apparent reason why. But we soon find out the truth about this seemingly innocent waif whose identity is as mysterious as the curious contents of her handbag. Kerr's sparkling performance as the enigmatic Hannah is flawless. As her suitor David, Andre Hall is equally authentic. Both exude the innocence of youth and wonder of discovery.
If filmmaking is a family affair, this team has some terrific pedigrees. Cinematographer George Feucht also shot Dance of the Dead as well as Father vs. Son, two previous collaborations with Crewe and director Joe Ballarini. Composer Darren Fung scored Father vs. Son along with close to 40 other productions, including Summerhood, one of my Top Picks of 2008. The crew clearly has the ability to complete each other's cinematic sentences.

Far is one of the best candidates for a full-length movie I've seen among this season's short films. Crewe is one of the country's top television editors with a couple dozen features and shorts under his belt as producer, editor, actor, and director, but it's time for his feature directorial debut. Twilight Zone fans will rejoice, as I did, and leave wanting more.

I selected Far as one of my Top 11 Picks in the US Narrative Shorts category. See my wrapup article.

Director/editor Brian Crewe engaged the audience in an exciting Q&A after the screening. At the Awards Presentation that same night, Sunday, November 11, Far won the trophy for Best American Short Film. Crewe accepted the award from FLIFF President and CEO Gregory von Hausch.

Here are some pictures I shot during Q&A and Awards Presentation:

GALLERY (7 photos)