• Indie Short Mag TV
  • Free Film Festival Cover Letter Generator
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2025Accepting Films
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
    • Interview Submission Form
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2025Accepting Films
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
    • Interview Submission Form
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

If I Rise: Allowing Protagonists A Real Choice

Sristi Gayen by Sristi Gayen
in Reviews
0
If I Rise - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

One would think a film such as this could not surprise you. For, even if it is moving, what could a writer change in a story whose central question is whether the protagonist would rise? But Ian Stoker-Long’s If I Rise, co-written by Francesca Ling, does offer something new: a protagonist’s real agency in choosing if they will rise. Not a foregone conclusion that they will get up by the end of the crucial countdown, but instead, an honest account of strength and human fallibility. 

In If I Rise, protagonists are human, given to patterns, just as much as the next person. A little over five minutes long, the film paces itself to a frantic, desperate kind of music; at its centre, June (played by Ling) reflects on the events of her life that led her to where she is now: knocked down in a Muay Thai match, countdown ringing in her ears. An abusive ex-fiance flashing in her vision. 

If I Rise - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

The overarching theme of the film is of strength, and with this it confronts the ramifications of emotional abuse. For June, it came from her ex-fiance (Justin Schwan). An already messy relationship took a turn for the worse as June took up Muay Thai, something that was exclusively for herself. 

Brandon Alperin’s cinematography focuses on creating a memory-like look, very personal and shot with a lot of close-ups. Some minor flawed edits aside (the kaleidoscopic effect that is used sometimes could have been done away with), If I Rise is tightly paced and fitted to emulate June’s mind, to see things as she sees them. As the countdown begins approaching ten, expectations start to drain away, leaving room for an audience to really see the story and connect with it. 

If I Rise - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Watch If I Rise Short Film

If I Rise: Allowing Protagonists A Real Choice
  • Direction
  • Cinematography
  • Screenplay
  • Editing
  • Music
4.4
Tags: DramaDrama Short Film ReviewReviewShort Film Reviews
Previous Post

Bummer: Juxtaposing Family Squabbles In The Larger Scheme Of Mega Asteroids

Next Post

Chomp: Love Letter To A Good Boy

Sristi Gayen

Sristi Gayen

Related Posts

Fervor - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Fervor: On Being Dazed With Hatred

5th July 2025
The Resonance - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

The Resonance: On Falling Prey, and Our Final Moments As We Do

30th June 2025
Next Post
Chomp - Animated Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Chomp: Love Letter To A Good Boy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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


Sponsored

Featured Post

Announcing Short Of The Year Awards 2023

Announcing Short Of The Year Awards 2023

Latest Podcast

  • Recent Reviews

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: Fervor: What will you do after you win?

Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Mendo’s Carousel: Growing Past Old Patterns in Drama on the Complicated Nature of Grief. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmReview: The Resonance: The night to discover pits, the dawn to sink into them.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: She Follows: A Haunting For His Own Good. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms #HorrorShortFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Bzrk: Curses sometimes double as blessings.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Garbage Rex: A vigilante walks into Wonderland.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Whispers of Freedom: In search of life beyond the wall.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Mary: There’s always a catch.

Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Cycles: The ball of exploitation keeps rolling.

Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Article
  • Write for Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

© 2015-2025 Indie Shorts Mag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2025
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
    • Interview Submission Form

© 2015-2025 Indie Shorts Mag.