The Saddest Boy in the World

A curious little boy decides he's had all the bad luck he can take in this darkly comic short subject. While most kids look forward to their birthday, Timothy Higgins (Benjamin B. Smith) isn't the least bit happy about the fact he's about to turn nine, and he's dreading the party his parents are throwing for him. As it happens, Timothy has good reason to be depressed -- he lost his dog, he's been abducted by kidnappers, he's humiliated on a regular basis during gym class and his best friend has been kicked out of the country, among other travails -- and rather than wonder what sort of presents he'll be getting, Timothy ponders ways of doing himself in on his big day. Written and directed by Jamie Travis, the fourteen-minute The Saddest Boy In The World received enthusiastic notices at the 2007 Slamdance and South by Southwest film festivals, and won awards in 2006 at the Calgary International Film Festival and the Atlantic Film Festival.