I have historically skipped the short films portions of SIFF for many (most-likely unfair) reasons but there is (at least) one showing at SIFF this year that I am very intrigued by. It's a seven-minute documentary called Dark Material, and was made locally by the Reel Grrls team of Lane Stroud and Maile Martinez. It's bio on the SIFF website is one sentence: "An exploration of shadows and light in art."

The short film had just won two jury awards from the International Documentary Competition in Toronto last night for Best Editing and Best Use of a Theme, but what I find most intriguing is that the film is scored by Seattle trip hop artist Anomie Belle.

Anomie Belle is the project of musician Toby Campbell, who does a gorgeous job of creating atmospheric electronica. The song below, "How Can I Be Sure?" is lush and seductive with its slow, drawn-out, whispered harmonies. I haven't seen Dark Material yet or heard the score yet, but am curious to hear how he music compliments the short film.

The next Anomie Belle show is Thursday night at Nectar with Carmen Rizzo and Lal Meri Govinda. Dark Material screens at SIFF as part of the "Sensory Overload" shorts package on Sunday, May 31 at 11:00 am at SIFF Cinema.