Aaron Van Maanen’s Hypodermic takes grief down to a physical level. A character who literally carries it within his body begins to lose his grip on his immediate reality, becoming increasingly enveloped in a reality of his own. The trick that makes the film is turning its abstractions concrete. Isaiah’s (Lakin Mims) personal reality is… Continue reading Hypodermic: The Literal and Metaphorical United Under the Skin
Author: Indie Shorts Mag Team
Balloon: Conventions of Violence and Their By-Products
Through the superhero myth, Jeremy Merrifield’s Balloon, co-written with Dave Testa, explores the destructive forces that come into being in reaction to evil. Sam, a middle-schooler, finds out just what this means when he is relentlessly bullied by a classmate. But as the film shows, it is not one individual only that leads Sam to… Continue reading Balloon: Conventions of Violence and Their By-Products
What we say, What we mean: Meanings, Perspectives, and Interpretations
Abigail Parmenter’s What we say, What we mean plays with reality to present alternative realities of a couple who are breaking up after their final fight. Four minutes long, the film takes a no-frills approach to illustrate its argument about a particular tendency of words. The narrative intercuts between two scenes, forming one single sequence… Continue reading What we say, What we mean: Meanings, Perspectives, and Interpretations
Finale: An Answer to Languishing in a Pandemic
Anthony Vander’s Finale is a bid to portray COVID-19, not as stats and facts, but as the suspended limbo of unceasing fear that it is. Centred on two sisters, one a violinist and the other a ballerina, the 15-minute film keeps it as isolated and overwrought as the real thing. Empty spaces occupy a significant… Continue reading Finale: An Answer to Languishing in a Pandemic
Paintless: The Second Coming and a Young Artist’s Doom
Konstantin Pivovar’s 23-minute Paintless explores the world of Christians after the Second Coming. For one artist, it is a bleak one and has spelled doom for her work. The film follows the unnamed woman through a fraught interview with the priest in charge of approving suicides. Trouble is, he knows she is lying. The film… Continue reading Paintless: The Second Coming and a Young Artist’s Doom
New Shoes: Childhood Abuse and Unconditional Love
Thommy Kane’s New Shoes sees the bleak world that a young boy occupies, with his mother at the centre of it, and he on the periphery waiting. Always waiting, with a brick ready at hand. Twenty-two minutes long, the film explores Tristan’s threadbare life until it sways right on the edge of falling apart. Tristan… Continue reading New Shoes: Childhood Abuse and Unconditional Love
Barbarian God: The Thrills of a Medieval Viking Vampire
David McGuff’s Barbarian God, based on Daniel Prillaman’s play, explores what happens when a Viking vampire confronts a nun’s faith—right after killing a priest with the nun secretly watching. The film swaps out the play’s young boy for the young nun, changing the dynamics of the encounter. An undercurrent of homoeroticism runs through the film… Continue reading Barbarian God: The Thrills of a Medieval Viking Vampire
June 22nd: Shades of Adolescence Beyond Mere Hedonism and Romanticisation
June 22nd, a 24-minute film by Michael .T, documents a day at the beach for a group of teenagers enjoying their remaining days of being carefree teenagers in school. Written by .T, Trey Malik Cruz and Evan Pérez, June 22nd understands itself as an account of a day marked with teen excitement for life. Oddly… Continue reading June 22nd: Shades of Adolescence Beyond Mere Hedonism and Romanticisation
Colors of Death Valley: A Fleeting Trip Through A Harsh Landscape
Corbin Cox’s Colors of Death Valley, created for hospitality company Cabana, is a 3-minute trip into the extreme conditions of San Francisco’s Death Valley. Featuring a single character and his trailer as he explores the desert, the film—as the title states—showcases the colours of Death Valley. A myriad of colours are to be found, even… Continue reading Colors of Death Valley: A Fleeting Trip Through A Harsh Landscape
Going Down South: Crime and Brotherhood on a Fateful Morning
Joshua Paul Messarge’s Going Down South is a dark comedy that explores a crucial turning point in the lives of two brothers who live a life of crime. In this 20-minute film, circumstances bring Mickey and Donnie to a point where their lives could change forever in the best or worst of ways. The narrative… Continue reading Going Down South: Crime and Brotherhood on a Fateful Morning