Arts & Culture Blog

Arts & Culture Blog

Pardis Parker's 'The Dance' is a Short Film with Wide Appeal

Short, sweet and silent (not counting awesome music) is the recipe Pardis Parker (Combat Hospital) came up with in his latest romantic comedy short, The Dance, in which he starred, directed and produced.

The film is simply the story of a man (Parker) who tries to win the affection of a co-worker, played by Evany Rosen (Picnicface), by trying to be what he thinks she wants him to be. When the hapless protagonist fails time and again, it is only at the end that he realizes being himself was what she wanted him to be all along. With a great music score to drive the story, it really is a pleasure to watch, and like any good short film, seems over far too soon.

The Dance isn't publicly available for viewing yet, but we have a couple of Parker's other great shorts embedded below.

In an email conversation Parker spoke on why he chose to go silent and how it paid off: "The Dance came about because I wanted to make something that everyone could enjoy, regardless of age, language, nationality, or origin - a universal story that could cross borders as easily as possible, and that an entire family could sit and watch together, from great-grandson to great-grandmother."

Growing up watching the silent antics of Mr. Bean and the Looney Tunes influenced him to create comedy through plot—comedy that needed no punchlines or gross-outs to be effective.

Working with very talented cinematographers, composers and designers Parker was able to create ten minutes of comedic romance that bridges language barriers and social constructs. The Dance is his most successful short to date, winning a half-dozen awards thus far in festivals all over North America and beyond.

And Parker couldn't be more pleased.

"The thing I'm proudest of is that there's no dialogue, that people watching in Belize or Namibia or Indonesia or France can all enjoy it together, and get the exact same thing out of it."

Despite his film being bumped from its original Sunday slot in the "Best Short" category by a pesky first-time director James Franco—who's short film Sal is showing for the first time at Carmel Art and Film on Sunday—Parker says he is a big fan of Franco's and is consoled by the knowledge his film will show twice at the festival and will take home an award.

Though he did have a little fun, telling the Weekly staff (with an emoticon wink), "If you see [Franco] during the festival, tell him that Pardis Parker's looking for him."

And now, for your viewing pleasure, Two Men, Two Cows, Two Guns and Afghan.