Nora Jaenicke’s The Reading (co-written with Bobby Peretti) wastes no time in setting up its plot. Opening with an author reading to an audience, one might think it is mere filler, but pay attention to the audience members, and one can feel instinctively that there is, in fact, something about it that must be paid… Continue reading The Reading: A Reckoning Of Creative License, And A Shattering Story
Author: Indie Shorts Mag Team
Cramming: Navigating The Unforgiving Maze Of Life As A Growing Child
Too often, narratives about teens and preteens on film focus on heady adventures and larger-than-life experiences, inclined more towards escapist fantasies and glamourous entertainment. But occasionally, the relatively smaller, day-to-day events get the limelight, offering resonant, identifiable stories. With Cramming, Dan Perlman does just that. The story of two POC boys accused of cheating becomes… Continue reading Cramming: Navigating The Unforgiving Maze Of Life As A Growing Child
Ba Ham: A Refugee Story For The Generations To Come
One is left wondering after this 30-minute long film. Is Ba Ham a tale of friendship or love? Is it the display of desperation or resilience? Are the suspicion and subsequent trust earned, unique to refugees? To put these questions to rest, one would have to invest heavily in this Shahab Habibi-directed drama. But, Habibi… Continue reading Ba Ham: A Refugee Story For The Generations To Come
Zaara: A Budding Filmmaker’s Dilemma Of Coping With A Reality That Doesn’t Match Her Dreams
Director-writer Hassan Raza’s 35:00-minute-long Zaara is many things at once. It’s a social drama, filmed with the distinct style of a silent movie. It’s a short that explores sensitive subjects such as racism, gender stereotype, family discord. It’s a tragic telling of a girl, unable to assimilate herself into the norms and confines of societal… Continue reading Zaara: A Budding Filmmaker’s Dilemma Of Coping With A Reality That Doesn’t Match Her Dreams
Lea: Growing Up Through The Bleaker Days Of Childhood
There is something about films like Lea that is so absorbingly intimate that seeing the last of the end credits roll feels like emerging from a different world altogether. Here, Nora Jaenicke’s 15-minute short has mainly Anna Pesavento’s cinematography to thank for that experience. Set in Italy, it follows a little girl, the eponymous Lea… Continue reading Lea: Growing Up Through The Bleaker Days Of Childhood
Plastic Fingers: Uplifting Portrayal Of Life After Abuse And With Mental Illness
How do you work a heavy subject without it sagging under its own weight? David J Paradise attempts to answer this with his 14-minute drama (co-written with Angela Paradise), Plastic Fingers. The story follows Sebastian, a mime, whose daily life is dogged by his mother, who, as we find out, is actually dead. Set in… Continue reading Plastic Fingers: Uplifting Portrayal Of Life After Abuse And With Mental Illness
400 Days Later: A Closer Look At The Effects Of The Pandemic On The Theatre Industry
Director/editor/DoP Stephen Bell’s 09:45 minute long film picks on the theatre industry. And, by focusing on the life of one of its artists, 400 Days Later sheds light on this often overlooked profession. That this pandemic hasn’t spared anyone is well known. What is additionally often remarked upon is the strength with which those in the… Continue reading 400 Days Later: A Closer Look At The Effects Of The Pandemic On The Theatre Industry
I Still Am: Beginning At The End Of Abuse
A thriller impressively made during lockdown, Tara Lynn Rye and Simon O’Keefe’s 11-minute I Still Am takes a psychological approach to the aftermath of domestic abuse. The title is a refrain that occurs through the narrative, its protagonist listing out all the things she still is, even away from her abuser. Still afraid, still walking… Continue reading I Still Am: Beginning At The End Of Abuse
The Naked Woman: On Secret Doubt And Painful Regret
The thesis of Allie Avital’s The Naked Woman is perhaps that regret is corrosive. The 16-minute film opens on a momentous intersection of two people unknown to each other. One’s actions (or lack thereof) begin to haunt him, almost as an act of penance. Does it make a difference? A cello plays in the background,… Continue reading The Naked Woman: On Secret Doubt And Painful Regret
To The Girl That Looks Like Me: Powerful Portrayal Of Anger And Self-Actualization
Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah’s poetic short, co-written by Dawson-Amoah and Adeleke Ode, To The Girl That Looks Like Me summarises a key component of being black: hair. And with it, all the other bits and pieces that come attached, like shame, and the scrutinising eyes that cause the shame. In a five-minute runtime, the narrator’s powerful voice… Continue reading To The Girl That Looks Like Me: Powerful Portrayal Of Anger And Self-Actualization