Kalainithan Kalaichelvan’s Kingdom Animalia: The Melanie Fyfe Story can be as easily misunderstood as cheered for. The film, a pure satirical story set in a fascinating world of humans and animals is a neither-here-nor-there fantasy, that is, however, a thorough visual treat. Appealing to the eye, but troubling to the soul, the film dissects the… Continue reading Kingdom Animalia: The Melanie Fyfe Story: A Much-Needed Satire Reflecting On Contemporary Times
Author: Indie Shorts Mag Team
Hell In A Handbasket: It Could Get Much Worse, Apparently
The pandemic has been a dumpster fire. And it keeps getting worse. Writer and director Lee Chambers gets straight to it. His 5-minute comedy, Hell In A Handbasket zooms straight to the people who could potentially make it better: scientists. At the centre of the plot is Dale Borger (Robert Bryn Mann), a scientist deep in his… Continue reading Hell In A Handbasket: It Could Get Much Worse, Apparently
Grizzly: An Explicit Critique Of Empty Tradition And Toxic Masculinity
Kill a grizzly to prove your strength. Kill a grizzly or die. Prove you are strong or die. Writer-director Aaron Van Maanen does not bother with subtlety for his 8-minute short, Grizzly and it serves the film exceedingly well. If it was not immediately apparent, the premise is about men. A grandfather drives his grandson to a… Continue reading Grizzly: An Explicit Critique Of Empty Tradition And Toxic Masculinity
Trick Shot: An All Or Nothing Shot That Ends The Game
Christopher Deans’s Trick Shot is a suspenseful, taut drama that also manages to weave the subtlest strains of humour into its narrative. Set on the eve of the Good Friday agreement, the story follows three men and a pool table. The men in question, rogue IRA volunteers, are not in favour of a ceasefire, and the table… Continue reading Trick Shot: An All Or Nothing Shot That Ends The Game
Mama’s Boy: The Tumultuous Path To Parent-Child Reconciliation
Director Daniel James Dismuke (also doubles as the lead and writer) touches upon multiple themes in his 20:28-minute-long Mama’s Boy. That the film is a story about a mother and her son is a dead giveaway from the title itself. But, that it goes beyond the warm, affectionate, reminiscing shorts we have grown accustomed to… Continue reading Mama’s Boy: The Tumultuous Path To Parent-Child Reconciliation
Just A Boy: The Big And Small Struggles Of Immigration
Angela Koh’s Just A Boy shows the dual struggle of being an immigrant child in a rich country: outside the home, you are met with (often violent) racism, and at home, parental pressure awaits. For you have the privilege of being in the land of opportunities, and so failure is out of the question, and showing weakness… Continue reading Just A Boy: The Big And Small Struggles Of Immigration
The Drive: Cyberpunk And (As Always) Unfortunate Realism
James Caley’s The Drive is pertinent to the times we are compelled to live in. Set ten years into the future (optimistic), the 11-minute film shows a world where our own eyes and ears have been turned against us. In something of a diluted cyberpunk world, eyes double as cameras, and ears microphones. You tap your temple… Continue reading The Drive: Cyberpunk And (As Always) Unfortunate Realism
HomeBound: Rare Authenticity In A Mental Illness Story
Small things become objects of great fear. Like a door. It’s just a door. Unless it is the sole barrier that is keeping the outside…out. It’s just a door unless the sound of its creaking hinge makes your insides twist and freeze with dread. And the great outdoors is nothing but a mine of dangers,… Continue reading HomeBound: Rare Authenticity In A Mental Illness Story
Danny Boy: A Well-Paced, Crime Thriller For The Gangster Genre Aficionados
This 12:32-minute-long Cory DeMeyers film packs in everything and more than one would expect from a gangster genre. There is friendship, there is betrayal, there are the profanity-filled, realistic conversations and a well-thought-out crime. Except that, DeMeyers, in under 15-minutes not only proves his mettle as the director of Danny Boy but also touches upon… Continue reading Danny Boy: A Well-Paced, Crime Thriller For The Gangster Genre Aficionados
Livin After Midnight: A Hilarious Short That Promises A Laugh-Riot!
Joe Mitchell’s Livin After Midnight has only one problem—its minuscule time-length. Barely six minutes long, the film, a thorough tomfoolery-meets-idiocy is a strange combination of comedy and horror-thriller that lets you laugh all the way up until its climax. Frankly, this is generous coming from Mitchell whose Motorcycle Boy was a mere 2:30-minute in length.… Continue reading Livin After Midnight: A Hilarious Short That Promises A Laugh-Riot!