The logline to Leo Behrens’s Skin describes it as a poetic self-exploration of identity. It does not mention the utter warmth and tenderness that the 7-minute wordless drama is capable of making its viewer feel, and the lion’s share of that credit goes to its sole actor, Lío Mehiel. Opening on a scene of dereliction… Continue reading Skin: The Profundity of Transitioning, Distilled
Tag: Experimental Short Film Review
Silent Sirens: A Visual Meditation on Sound and Silence
Neil Sandhoefner’s Silent Sirens confounds, puzzles, comforts, and then, moves. For a film that does not actually have moving images, the film is memorable. It knows exactly what it is doing. A narrator tells us three old stories along with the story of how he went to a London museum with his friends. The first,… Continue reading Silent Sirens: A Visual Meditation on Sound and Silence
Perspective: Nature: An Experiment in Juxtaposition
Robbie J. Atkinson’s 1-minute Perspective: Nature attempts to trace the likeness of humankind in nature and vice-versa through a wordless juxtaposition of human and wilderness. A single actor features in the film, Crystal Alexis, playing the unnamed woman who serves as the point of comparison with the natural world. Colour plays the most important role… Continue reading Perspective: Nature: An Experiment in Juxtaposition
Backwards: A Wholesome Comedy and its Psychoanalytic Base
Sarah Klearman’s Backwards is an eccentric comedy with just a dash of romance, the narrative moving forward with the latter as its destination. Centred around a man who has a history with kites (strong enough that it is perhaps the reason why he can only walk backwards), the film goes for the cute/strange spectacle in… Continue reading Backwards: A Wholesome Comedy and its Psychoanalytic Base
The Burglary: Entry into a Realm of Nightmares
Michael Richard Houghton’s The Burglary is a trip into the psychological realm of the mind. Confined within a cramped apartment, the Lynchian film explores a specific claustrophobia through the story of a man reacting to a burglary. Played by Tom Rainn, Seth K. (perhaps a reference to Kafka?) walks into his apartment, practically sleepwalking. He… Continue reading The Burglary: Entry into a Realm of Nightmares
Elijah’s Dance: Fragmented Recounting Of The Beginning Of A Dictatorship
Elijah’s Dance explores the consequences of the loss of home primarily through the lens of fear, going one step ahead to depict the resultant loss of mental autonomy. Written, directed and featuring Cooper Wood, the 9-minute film even uses comic-esque illustrations (also done by Wood) to narrate its intergalactic tale of colonisation and collapse. Mainly,… Continue reading Elijah’s Dance: Fragmented Recounting Of The Beginning Of A Dictatorship
Hollow Pond: Globalisation Is A Horror Story
Rolfin Nyhus’s Hollow Pond, written by Adam Anson, narrates a tale that, for reasons, is rather common to far too many peoples, but does so in experimental form, using elements of surrealism and horror. And though it may be rough around the edges, the film can safely boast of its texturized storytelling. It does not become… Continue reading Hollow Pond: Globalisation Is A Horror Story
Lachesis: An Experimental Short Of One Man’s Journey To Self-Actualisation
It’s a lot to pack in an 8:30-minute long narrative. Philosophical, yet pragmatic; reflective, yet pointed, writer-director-editor Gregory Alexander Foltynowicz’s Lachesis is abstract and layered. Shot entirely in the monochromatic undertones of grey across stunning locations of Gainesville in Georgia, the film is a textbook representation of Freudian theory, or better still Ingmar Bergmans’ approach.… Continue reading Lachesis: An Experimental Short Of One Man’s Journey To Self-Actualisation
Alex: Healing Through Dance, And Gentle Confrontation
The music in its title sequence, and the framing of its opening shot serve as immediate evidence that the story that follows is going to be worth your time. Luca Spreafico’s 9-minute short Alex turns out to be a feast for the eyes. Centred on the eponymous Alex (Silvia Bonavigo), the film opens in a… Continue reading Alex: Healing Through Dance, And Gentle Confrontation
Denervation: Visually Stunning Sci-Fi Dealing With An Outbreak
No, before you presume, this is not about COVID-19. It has nothing to do with bats or any other creatures. But in director Joshua Ashish Dawson’s 6-minute, animated world, something even more startling occurs. An airborne outbreak (mind you, a series of it, and not just an isolated case) has been reported from the deadly… Continue reading Denervation: Visually Stunning Sci-Fi Dealing With An Outbreak