I attended the 3rd British Short Film Days last week, organized by the British Council, which lasted three days, and included 30 short films. Three themes were selected for this year's short films: Sexual diversity, Cultural plurality, and Animation.
To be able to participate in and write about this event, I had to miss the Editorial Board meeting, and hand in my column two days late. So, if you're reading these lines, that means I'm working at Bilkent News, or Hande hasn't murdered me, yet. On the first days, when I again used to be late for sending the weekly column to Hande, she used to call me and ask where my column was. Now, however, she never calls! You know, that's the stressing part. When she doesn't call, you always have the feeling that your column will be silently replaced by a cartoon or something!
Never mind, lets get back to what I was talking about, the British Short Film Days. One should examine this separately: British films, and short films. Short films, if you've ever watched any, usually have the weight to tell the audiance what it wants to say within minutes. In this festival, for instance, the shortest movie was three minutes, and the longest was seventeen. People find it amusing when they hear that a movie lasts for a few minutes like this, but the thing is, it is much more difficult to express an idea in minimalistic terms.
Popular, youth attracting British films, on the other hand, are associated with their extraordinary sense of humor, as you should remember from 'Snatch' or 'Love Actually', for instance. Remember, Atilla? They try to create fun not out of actions, like the American cinema, but out of dialogues and situations, which I find much sharper and funnier. Their style is much more dynamic, brave (Trainspotting) and realistic. Most important of all, British movies have a cooler cinematography, especially in the use of colors (sorry, colours), and storytelling.
Combine what's above and what's above the above, and that's what the British Short Film Days was about. Although many of them lacked to possess the positive characteristics previously mentioned, some were just typical. However, I especially loved the one named 'how to tell when a relationship is over'. Keep an eye open for these short, but very entertaining films!relationship is over', if you had a chance to watch it. By the time you're reading these lines, I hope it won't be the case that they've shown me 'how to force someone resign from Bilkent News'

Efe Peker (POLS/IV)