Author: Sristi Gayen

David Teixeira’s Mater is a horror flick that centers around the lengths a religious woman is willing to go to in order to save her dying mother. Now, horror plot rules dictate that if there is a religious character, there must be the devil trying to corrupt them (which is fine in and of itself,… Continue reading Mater: Age-Old Consequences Of Liaising With The Devil

16-year-old Nabila sneaks out of her home. It’s dark and the air feels thick, cautious even. The lovers meet and exchange promises and hopes for a brighter future. Abed (Adam Haloon) and Nabila (Anuar Jour), both Palestinians are prepared for whatever it takes to build a home together. A bracelet is exchanged to solemnize their… Continue reading Something To Live For: Story That Keeps Its Characters’ Humanity Intact

Paul Becker’s Connie + Consuelo is not a musical but it certainly has the flair and theatricality of one, with comic undertones thrown in for good measure. Set in a retirement home, it brings in veteran actors Angélica María and Christina Pickles to star as the central characters, diva Connie and sidekick Consuelo, two octogenarians… Continue reading Connie + Consuelo: Seeking Second Chances At 80

One of the more remarkable aspects of Bonnie Ryan’s Real. Live. Girl. are the two intertwining worlds of neon-lit webcam shows and sombre, ever-slipping reality of Alzheimer’s. Starkly different, their blend is a tricky business and Ryan manages to accomplish it with dexterity.  Rachel Nichols’ Jennifer is the link that connects these: she is a… Continue reading Real. Live. Girl.: On Alternating Between No One and Just The One

502 people were laid off at a factory, including the employee of the month. One turned to vengeance – with DIY masks and packing tape. Chris McCaleb’s 15 Minutes at 400 Degrees sees an unemployed single father turned hapless robber try to avenge his firing a year ago by robbing his erstwhile supervisor.  The resulting… Continue reading 15 Minutes at 400 Degrees: A Kindly Comedy of Errors

Death, many would argue, is hardest on the people left behind. From that perspective, what is death if not absence? And if it is an absence that torments those left behind, death is no worse than dementia. It is perhaps worse, losing a person one piece at a time so that near the end, your… Continue reading Dementia: Theorising Memory As A Form Of Love

Protagonist moves into new apartment/house/villa with a horrific past and is subsequently served up as dinner for body-snatching ghosts/demons/any number of variations on a malevolent supernatural entity. Writer-director Lucy Luna’s We’re All Here is a story we’ve all seen play out before.   Christin Muuli as Anika Mills, a literature podcaster and the latest unsuspecting protagonist,… Continue reading We’re All Here: We Have All Seen This Before

Look! asks you not just to look closely, but to look where there may not be much to look at. Look! asks you to see. Writer-director Adam Trad’s 5:55-minute short watches Evan (Jonathan Reason) ponder on his life, sitting on a park bench in Sightly Park (appropriately named for more than one reason). It is… Continue reading Look!: The Loneliness Of Combating Loneliness With Self-Reliance