As a person who abhorred math and science in high school, the set for A.J. Bond's trippy time-shifting short Hirsute freaks me out more than the surreal yet freakishly effective ending.
- BlogTO.com, Sameer Vasta (September 7, 2007)
Hirsute
Kyle, a young scientist, is struggling to build a time machine when he is confronted by an arrogant future version of himself. Shocked to discover that his future holds a preoccupation with body-hair removal and boiled eggs, Kyle vows to change the course of his life.
Format
Panasonic HVX200
Length
14:00
External Links
Official Selection - Highlights
2007 Toronto International Film Festival
2008 Seattle International Film Festival
2015 Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Film Festival, Seattle *10 year retrospective
Festival History
Toronto International Film Festival 2007
Vancouver International Film Festival 2007
Atlantic Film Festival 2007
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival 2007
Calgary International Film Festival 2007
Edmonton International Film Festival 2007
Image+Nation Montreal International LGBT Film Festival 2007
Victoria Film Festival 2008
Cinequest Film Festival 2008
Kingston Canadian Film Festival 2008
Cleveland International Film Festival 2008
East Lansing Film Festival 2008
Festival de Cinéma des Trois Amériques 2008
Method Fest Independent Film Festival 2008
Florida Film Festival 2008
Philadelphia Film Festival 2008
Kansas City Jubilee Film Festival 2008
Atlanta Film Festival 2008
Seattle International Film Festival 2008
Maryland Film Festival 2008
Pink Apple Film Festival Switzerland 2008
Munich International Short Film Festival 2008
Antelope Valley Independent Film Festival 2008
Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival 2008
Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival 2008
NewFest New York LGBT Film Festival 2008
Frameline San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival 2008
OutFest Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival 2008
Just For Laughs Film Festival Montreal 2008
Gimli Film Festival Winnipeg 2008
San Francisco International Festival of Short Films 2008
Vancouver Queer Film Festival 2008
Closet Cinema New Mexico 2008
Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival 2008
Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival 2008
Cork Film Festival, Ireland 2008
Tallgrass Film Festival 2008
Northwest Film Festival Portland 2008
Pink Film Days Amsterdam 2008
Icon Science Fiction Festival Tel Aviv 2008
Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival Seattle 2009
BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival UK 2009
Melbourne Queer Film Festival Australia 2009
San Joaquin International Film Festival 2009
X_Science: Cinema from Science to Science Fiction, Italy 2009
London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film 2009
Out Film Connecticut 2009
FilmOut San Diego 2009
FairyTales International Queer Diversity Film Festival, Calgary 2009
Rooftop Films New York 2009
Mix Milano 2009
Fest International Film Festival Portugal 2009
Fantasia International Film Festival Montreal 2009
Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival San Diego 2009
Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival Atlanta 2009
Awards
Won the Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Film at the 2009 Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival
Won the Best Narrative Short Film Award at FilmOut San Diego 2009 in San Diego, California
Won the Sci Fi Short Film Prize at the 2009 CyBorg Film Festival in Italy
Won the Audience Favorite Award at the 2009 Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival in Seattle, Washington
Won the Kathryn Tucker Windham Storytelling Award at the 2008 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival in Birmingham, Alabama
Won the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the 2008 Northwest Film Festival in Portland, Oregon
Won the Gerry Brunet Memorial Award for the Best Short Film by a British Columbian director at the 2008 Vancouver Queer Film Festival
Won the Gut Check Online Film Contest on Short of the Week.com
Nominated for Best Actor in a Short Film at the 2008 Method Fest Independent Film Festival, Calabasas, California
Nominated for the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Drama at the 2008 Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival, Yorkton, Saskatchewan
Nominated for 7 Leo Awards, BC's film and television awards, Vancouver, BC: Best Screenwriting, Art Direction, Make-up, Editing, Overall Sound, Sound Editing and Male Performance in a short film
Quotes
Time travel is a tricky subject, but Bond crafts something that makes us all ponder what we’d do when presented with our future selves. 4/5
- Torontoist.com, Mathew Kumar (September 5, 2007)
The short-cuts program featured a fascinating [14-minute] short by A.J. Bond called Hirsute, in which the would-be inventor of a time machine is visited by his smarmy future self.
- National Post, Chris Knight (September 14, 2007)
Like any good time travel movie, it ties your brain in a knot and leaves you asking: what the hell just happened?
- Ion Magazine, Michael Mann (November 2007)
The short Hirsute explores the idea of how people evolve and what they accomplish over time -- for better or worse -- and in the process provides one of the great unexpected comedy/horror moments in the history of film.
- Gay.com, Mark James (May, 2008)
The film deftly evokes emotion in its darkly comedic premise and manages to explore a homoerotic aspect of time travel that has been previously overlooked.
- The Peak, Cameron Maitland (February 2008)
A cliff-hanging ending wraps the piece with a chilly whiff of the late Stanley Kubrick.
- Bay Area Reporter, David Lamble (August 7, 2008)
Having produced and edited several shorts, this is Bond's first film as a director, and successfully delivered, at that.
- Xtra, Kathleen Mullen (August 30, 2007)
...wryly amusing, well acted, and highly engrossing.
- Baltimore City Paper, Christopher Skokna (April 30, 2008)
All in all, Hirsute is a tremendous directing debut for A.J. Bond...
- Short of the Week.com, Jason Sondhi (April 2009)