Riley Lynch’s Hardcore Halbert (written by Craig Lief) brings together two discordant ideas that fall into place with ease. Halbert has a ficus and his new neighbour has an unconventional solution. When the two come together, it is more than the plant that finds hope. This is a coming of age story. Halbert (Jack Kilmer)… Continue reading Hardcore Halbert: A Boy And His Plant Come Of Age
Author: Indie Shorts Mag Team
Say Their Names: A Turning Of Tables On The Public
Christian Heiche’s Say Their Names is a documentary, a tribute with righteous anger, to victims of systemic racism manifesting through police brutality. Set to Nina Simone, the film uses three minutes to pay respect to some of the many who lost their lives, while turning them from the viewed to the viewer. Ten victims—Atatiana Jefferson,… Continue reading Say Their Names: A Turning Of Tables On The Public
Bottom Of The Night: A Comedy Of Failed And Successful Revenge Missions
Joe Mitchell’s Bottom Of The Night is a 15-minute comedy featuring the director as a cop pulling a revenge prank on his colleague. Of course, things go wrong. A child has gone missing. Detective Campanella (DeMorge Brown) has received a tip. The film opens on him in his car with the parents of the child,… Continue reading Bottom Of The Night: A Comedy Of Failed And Successful Revenge Missions
Shutter the Doors: Grieving The Loss Of A Meaningful Place
Sheri Sussman’s Shutter the Doors is keenly poignant in a post-COVID world. A 14-minute proof-of-concept about the shutting down of a decades-old bar, the drama follows its owner as he struggles to come to terms with his loss. The film dwells in the few minutes of shared mourning between the owner, Sam (Ian Buchanan), and… Continue reading Shutter the Doors: Grieving The Loss Of A Meaningful Place
A Sickness: Building Horror With A Play On The Senses
Guy Soulsby’s 10-minute horror A Sickness is a gratifying indulgence in atmospheric horror. Following a man going about his day at home, the film works to creep under your skin and have you looking over your shoulder at every pause and noise. Indeed, the sound design cannot be ignored. It figures significantly in creating an… Continue reading A Sickness: Building Horror With A Play On The Senses
Lifeblood: A River, And The God And Land It Sustains
Nicholas Tory’s animated short Lifeblood pays tribute to Bourke shire, a New South Wales town with centuries of Aboriginal history. Set against the backdrop of the Darling River, the landscape contains stories upon stories, layered and overlapping, an intricate ecosystem that is governed by each element of the land. The 19-minute film—written in collaboration between… Continue reading Lifeblood: A River, And The God And Land It Sustains
Remind Me in an Hour: The Mechanics Of Comfortable Relationships
Raphael Frost Gonzalez’s Remind Me in an Hour is a surprisingly complex examination of romantic relationships for a premise as simple. A woman finds a breakup reminder on her (rather inattentive) boyfriend’s phone. Yet, in 9 minutes the film dissects relationships and audience expectations with deftness. The narrative sets up a deceptively simple chain of… Continue reading Remind Me in an Hour: The Mechanics Of Comfortable Relationships
I Don’t Know: A Comedy Of Cosmic Magnitude
Veronika Bolotina’s I Don’t Know (co-written with Jacob Eriksson) is a very masculine Inside Out (2015) with a hint of Split (2016). A 12-minute comedy about the struggle of a man over asking someone out, the film goes further to involve the universe itself. Interestingly, it is the universe and not God who is invoked… Continue reading I Don’t Know: A Comedy Of Cosmic Magnitude
Groomsday: The Price Of Others’ Cruelty
Kyle Coffman’s Groomsday, featuring Trystan Colburn in a second collaboration with Coffman, chronicles the story of a couple from their early days to their bloodied wedding night. A non-linear narrative wrapped up in 16 minutes, the film keeps returning to the gruesome present, survival in doubt. Landon (Colburn) and Connor’s (Dylan LaRay) fast-developing relationship is… Continue reading Groomsday: The Price Of Others’ Cruelty
Kaiketsu: A Tribute Rooted In Admiration
Joseph Kusic’s Kaiketsu, co-written with Ryan Thie,is a revenge drama, following a samurai disciple who travels across continents to avenge the death of his master at the hands of an American officer. Its 10-minute duration is divided in half, the first narrating the murder, and the second its revenge. The opening sequence shows glimpses of… Continue reading Kaiketsu: A Tribute Rooted In Admiration