• Home
  • About Us
  • Submit Article
  • Write for Us
  • Contact Us
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

Every Grain of Sand: Grappling With Different Kinds of Grief

Sristi Gayen by Sristi Gayen
09 Sep 2019
in Reviews
0
Every Grain of Sand - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Covering a small but crucial moment of reforming old bonds between two sisters, Amanda Spencer’s drama Every Grain of Sand, co-written by Toby Osborne, rests in the realm of bitterness, quasi-catharsis and just approaching peace. 

In a stifling trailer, Mae (Tara Riggs, of DeKalb Elementary fame) finds her grave resentment explode upon losing the last remaining souvenir of her past life of riches: a crystal vase that also contained her mother’s ashes. While her sister, Lily (Regina Williams, best known for Life & Nothing More) laments the tarnishing of the ashes, it brings Mae’s feelings to the surface, which had already been lurking around. Without insurance, Lily had turned to Mae to pay her medical bills, meaning that Mae had to give up everything that she had worked so hard to build up. You empathize with her, as well as with Lily. Both individuals are languishing in personal hells, and yet neither tries to hog attention or sympathy. Two strong actors bring full power to their performances; you can certainly see sparks of Viola Davis in Williams.

Every Grain of Sand - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Just as it peaks, tensions between the sisters begin to fizzle out, they reminisce about their childhood while collecting their mother’s ashes. Perhaps the vase was not the last thing Mae had left, for she pulls out a fur coat and takes Lily on an impromptu ride in a sleek car. Pesky details aside, Mae and Lily go on a drive with their mother’s ashes, deciding the best resting place for her would be with nature, out in the desert. It makes for a nice image, watching Lily scatter the ashes to the wind. A sense of catharsis descends on the viewer as the film closes.

The pop music is perhaps a bit of a stretch to milk the feeling but overall, Every Grain of Sand features a soulful score, especially in the opening shots. The film suffers from shots cutting too abruptly or to a shot that does not do justice to the situation at that moment. DP Gregory Alexander Foltynowicz is bold in choosing dutch angles when Mae breaks down alone after Lily gives her a ring that is just like another she had. The visualisation of the film varies between traditional and somehow intensely personal. The film benefits from the soft, melancholy visual tone, flavoured with hints of Andrea Arnold’s eye.

Every Grain of Sand - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

The film does not reveal much about Lily’s past but hints at a less fortunate lifestyle than Mae’s, which makes for a complex dynamic between the two. With uncertainty over Lily’s very life, the film becomes a late coming-of-age of sorts for Mae– a contemplation on where she ends up from here. 

#ShortFilmReview: 'Every Grain Of Sand': Family is worth losing everything. Or is it? Click To Tweet
Every Grain of Sand: Grappling With Different Kinds of Grief
3.7 / 5 Stars
Direction
Cinematography
Screenplay
Editing
Music

Watch Every Grain Of Sand Short Film Trailer

Tags: ReviewShort Film Reviews
Previous Post

Our Home Here: Paying The Cost Of Having A Dream

Next Post

Lighthouse: Important Story Clumsily Told

Sristi Gayen

Sristi Gayen

Related Posts

Fish Out of Water - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Fish Out Of Water: Mellow Look Into A Child’s Inner World

20th January 2021
2125 - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

2125: A Quarantine Much Worse

19th January 2021
Next Post
Lighthouse - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Lighthouse: Important Story Clumsily Told

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

From Editor’s Desk

Editor’s Picks: 2020’s Flashback In One Go!

Editor’s Picks: 2020’s Flashback In One Go!

Sponsored

  • Recent Reviews
Facebook Twitter Instagram

About Indie Shorts Mag

Indie Shorts Mag is a publishing agency that works within the ‘short film circuit’. We review short films, documentaries, music videos and web series, amongst others. We stand out amongst the short film review sites for being multi-diverse & global in our platform and reach.
Our team works tirelessly to help promote, publicize and market your short films that deserve the shout-out! Besides reviews, we host film festival news as it’s a known fact that the film festival buzz is unmissable and we ensure you aren’t left behind!
We aspire to form a niche for ourselves as the ‘short film magazine’ that remains the hub for filmmakers & their audience.

Popular Topics

  • Announcements
  • Articles
  • Crowdfunding
  • Editorial
  • Film Festival News
  • Film Festivals
  • India Edition
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • Marketing
  • News
  • Online Premiere
  • Post-Production
  • Pre-Production
  • Reviews
  • Short Film
  • Short Film Competition
  • Short Film News
  • Tutorials
  • Web Series

Indie Shorts Mag on Instagram

Follow Us On Instagram

  • #ShortFilmReview: Fish Out Of Water: There
  • #ShortFilmReview: Nene: Her life was summed up in one canvas. Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@kinglouiefilms⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: La Jaula: Can you get yourself out of the network? Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@umbra_directors⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Anna: The promise to a better life passes through hell. Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@annafilm19⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: The Invitation (Die Einladung): Dinner could change everything. Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@thorsten7319⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Yearbook: All of mankind
  • #ShortFilmReview: Comfort Zone: Free your voice. Join the movement. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@jordanblady⠀
⠀
#DocumentaryFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportindieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Dreamers: The system might be rigged, but you aren
  • #ShortFilmReview: The Killing of Time: Hubris cannot escape downfall. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@neil.murphym⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm

© 2015-2021 Indie Shorts Mag

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film

© 2015-2021 Indie Shorts Mag