Tag: Drama Short Film Review

One can safely theorize that after a global trauma that has already lasted one and a half years—and is still ongoing—there will be a plethora of art that will spring from it. While there is zero reference to the pandemic in Mason Thorne’s Away From It All, there is still to the story and its tone… Continue reading Away From It All: Rage And Chaotic Comedy To Soothe It

Elina Sahlin’s Department Of Detachment feels like many things at once. An ode to Yorgos Lanthimos’s work, a distinct reminiscence to the Bergman-style delivery, and a wonderfully scripted short (all of 7-minute) on a topic that has been painted in more or less the same colours. What Sahlin, however, does is, subvert the usual and… Continue reading Department Of Detachment: An Intellectual Satire For The Lovesick

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

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

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

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

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

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