Kabir McNeely’s 14-minute My Name is Moe is a personal exploration of a teenage boy’s relationship with himself and with the world. Moe lives with an eating disorder, body image issues and social anxiety, all connected to his obesity. McNeely plays Moe. His search history is filled with queries about losing weight (fast). His parents… Continue reading My Name is Moe: Utterances around (and Sometimes by) Fat Bodies
Author: Indie Shorts Mag Team
Düsseldorf: Comedy as the Product of Clashing Dramas
Mike Lars White’s Düsseldorf is a 10-minute short about the chance encounter of four people leading to a comedy of errors. Two of them are in the midst of a fight. The third wants to mediate it. The fourth wants to leave. This takes place in the parking lot of a mall. The scene opens… Continue reading Düsseldorf: Comedy as the Product of Clashing Dramas
Òran na h-Eala: A Biopic that Does More
Steve Exeter’s Òran na h-Eala (translating to Song of the Swan) portrays Moira Shearer’s experiences as she teeters on the edge of a life-altering decision. There is ballet on one hand that she has worked so long and so hard for. On the other, there is a career in film enticing her with the promise… Continue reading Òran na h-Eala: A Biopic that Does More
The Stupid Boy: Stupidities in Love and Hate Make the World Turn
Phil Dunn’s The Stupid Boy brings together a boy who is reluctant to accept that others can be malicious, and a man who has come to believe that others are nothing but malicious. The others for the latter are based on an us and them distinction. Which is to say, the man is a supremacist. … Continue reading The Stupid Boy: Stupidities in Love and Hate Make the World Turn
Artifice: Luxury and Danger Co-exist in an Ancient Hacienda
Yohanan Doron’s Artifice is an experimental fashion short set within a woman’s fever dream as she and multiple others wait or prepare for a mysterious ceremony. Four minutes long and totally devoid of dialogues, the film uses editing and elaborate compositions to construct meaning. Luxuriant colour palettes are the first thing one notices about Artifice,… Continue reading Artifice: Luxury and Danger Co-exist in an Ancient Hacienda
Chidinma: Four Walls and Men who Reinforce them
Blessing Egbe’s 12-minute Chidinma is a thriller following a new, more dangerous challenge facing the titular character just as one hurdle has barely been dealt with. Chidinma has a marriage of convenience with a native UK resident that is meant to be resolved as soon as she gets her residency papers, but it becomes far… Continue reading Chidinma: Four Walls and Men who Reinforce them
Eureka: The Dragon Comes of Age through Violence
Miida Chu’s Eureka is an intimate journey into the experiences of a young girl straining to rupture the walls that cage her into a life of sex work. Set against the backdrop of anti-Chinese riots of 1885 in California, the film lets itself be completely infused with her tumult as she tries to negotiate with… Continue reading Eureka: The Dragon Comes of Age through Violence
Early Bird: A Treasure Hunt after a Heist
Issack Cintrón’s Early Bird is set in the aftermath of a heist. Following a bounty hunter and the last man standing that he is supposed to get answers from, the film goes on a quest to find missing money and tie up loose ends. Elliot (Bryce Craver) is the typical job done, no questions asked… Continue reading Early Bird: A Treasure Hunt after a Heist
Even Saints Bleed: A Self-Portrait of the Artist in the Middle of Construction
Ricardo Bouyett’s 40-minute Even Saints Bleed exists strongly in the psychological realm, with its protagonist leaning into her trauma so as to be able to produce a finished manuscript. With two other characters occupying the world of the film, the protagonist’s story becomes a tussle between the other two as she tries to decide the… Continue reading Even Saints Bleed: A Self-Portrait of the Artist in the Middle of Construction
Taste the Difference: Comedy and a Bit of Horror in this Parody
Sohale Dezfoli’s 5-minute Taste the Difference is an obvious parody of the Pepsi Challenge, but with cola swapped for painkillers and a few other narrative choices, it becomes more than what it advertises itself as. Instead of an informal setting as in the case of the actual Pepsi challenge, the film creates a precisely scientific… Continue reading Taste the Difference: Comedy and a Bit of Horror in this Parody