It’s hard to picture two unacquainted lesbians meeting by chance in some public place, then quickly finding a secluded backstreet or park in which to get it on — only gay men do that, right? Tera Mallette’s short film Momentary challenges this expectation.
“[In the film] two girls are walking in the city. They pass each other and there’s an instant spark of attraction, so they go down an alley to make out,” Mallette says. “It’s a loose narrative about lesbians hooking up like gay men do.”
Momentary is just one of many short films that make up the In Your Pocket program. Now in its second year, In Your Pocket aims to promote accessible filmmaking; because only works created using smartphones or iPads are accepted, even novices with no equipment can see their work screened.
This year’s Come Together theme, chosen by co-curators Marcin Wisniewski and Xtra writer Chris Dupuis, stipulates that each four-minute-or-less film must be the product of collaboration. Wisniewski and Dupuis were eager to explore unconventional pairings and examine the effect of collaboration on the creative process.
Mallette acknowledges that shooting a film on a smartphone or iPad means making concessions in terms of quality, but she appreciates the benefits: “Considering how ubiquitous smartphone devices are, there’s no excuse for people not to produce more films.”
She’s also learned a few things from her collaboration with Drew Danielle Belsky. “I’m a terrible person to work with. I’m awful; I’m never satisfied,” she says. “But it’s kind of cool, because I could have made a film I would have made, Drew could have made a film she would have made, but the film we made together wasn’t one either of us would have made.”
In Your Pocket: Come Together
Mon, May 26, 7pm & Tues, May 27, 7pm.
videofag, 187 Augusta Ave
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