Reel Loud showcases a film selection as diverse as the wildest minds of the student body. Crossing over genres ranging from tragic drama to uproarious comedy, the festival entries include shorts about dance, betrayal, migrant labor, animation and breast implants. Promising something for everyone, the breakdown of Reel Loud highlights goes a little like this:
“Float On”: A comic book story of pixilated powers follows the special effects laden adventures of an average guy as he mans up to rescue his superhero girlfriend.
“Etcetera”: A war protest disguised as a love letter and vice versa.
“Masqued”: A lyrical fusion of Charles Perrault’s “Cinderella” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.”
“The Fruit of Labor”: The story of an illegal migrant worker on a local vineyard, that is poignantly contrasted with the lives of the Santa Barbarans who savor the wine he works so hard to cultivate.
“Aesthetically Pleased”: A little film that goes a long way to show that a speeding car is more beautiful than the Nike of Samothrace.
“El Sol Es Bello”: Murderous relatives vie for the inheritance of an ailing socialite in a glamorous period-piece farce.
“The Playmate”: A dark comedy about a bright-eyed boy who finds himself wrapped up in an increasingly unusual coming-of-age tale.
“Hypnocult”: Beautifully surreal nightmare of a man’s attempt to escape from an abandoned house.
“Fatty and the Sandman”: One pleasantly pudgy man’s journey from sky to sea – performed entirely with rubber bands.
“Sister Mary Catherine’s Happy Fun-Time Abortion Adventure”: The fourth in a series of films by writer/director Michael Weinreich, “Sister” follows a young nun who gets knocked up… You really just have to see it.