Ahh, winter. That coldest of seasons. A time for snow, slush, bare trees, dogs and hangin’ out indoors. That’s how the season’s portrayed in Amir George‘s short film This Past Winter, which combines poetry, slow jazz and gritty video to paint an ice cold portrait of winter in the city. The film features images by Amir, words by Angele Anise and music by Ill Legit.

This is a fairly simple short film, but easy to get into in its laid back, lazy way. The music’s got a comfortable groove, as does the slow delivery by Anise.

One of the things that’s really interesting about it all, though, is when some of the recollections by Anise are illustrated by photo slides, shot out of focus by the video camera. The first time this happens, it comes off as a glaring, amateurish mistake. However, as each slide is presented in the same way, it starts connecting with the voiceover in that these recollections are already fading into a hazy blur, which is further accentuated by the film’s excellent punchline. Well, the last line of the monologue cracked me up anyway…

Amir George is a Chicago-based videomaker and, if you dig this one, you can watch other examples of his work on Vimeo.