Yohanan Doron’s Artifice is an experimental fashion short set within a woman’s fever dream as she and multiple others wait or prepare for a mysterious ceremony. Four minutes long and totally devoid of dialogues, the film uses editing and elaborate compositions to construct meaning. Luxuriant colour palettes are the first thing one notices about Artifice,… Continue reading Artifice: Luxury and Danger Co-exist in an Ancient Hacienda
Tag: Private
Eureka: The Dragon Comes of Age through Violence
Miida Chu’s Eureka is an intimate journey into the experiences of a young girl straining to rupture the walls that cage her into a life of sex work. Set against the backdrop of anti-Chinese riots of 1885 in California, the film lets itself be completely infused with her tumult as she tries to negotiate with… Continue reading Eureka: The Dragon Comes of Age through Violence
Early Bird: A Treasure Hunt after a Heist
Issack Cintrón’s Early Bird is set in the aftermath of a heist. Following a bounty hunter and the last man standing that he is supposed to get answers from, the film goes on a quest to find missing money and tie up loose ends. Elliot (Bryce Craver) is the typical job done, no questions asked… Continue reading Early Bird: A Treasure Hunt after a Heist
Kintsugi: Change on Incomprehensible Scales Requires Coping in Small Degrees
Cleto Acosta-McKillop’s 8-minute Kintsugi uses the philosophy behind the Japanese practice to craft a film about shifting times. A larger economic change is seen through the eyes of a traditional Japanese good luck cat. What is to become of the old, simple cat at the simple ramen restaurant when a shiny new restaurant with a… Continue reading Kintsugi: Change on Incomprehensible Scales Requires Coping in Small Degrees
On the Third Step: A Call, A Missed Shot, and the Unlikely Arrival of the Cops
Anastasia Norenko’s On the Third Step is a 19-minute Russian crime thriller about a hit gone wrong. Seen in flashbacks, the narrative focus is on finding the rat in the three-member team. The cast is almost exclusively men, and powerful ones at that. It shows in the camerawork; whether they are shot at eye-level or… Continue reading On the Third Step: A Call, A Missed Shot, and the Unlikely Arrival of the Cops
Autumn Never Dies: Love and Heartbreak for a Simple Ostrich
Chris Quick’s 26-minute comedy Autumn Never Dies is the sequel to The Greyness of Autumn, centred on the life and misadventures of Danny the ostrich and Nelson the monkey. In Autumn Never Dies, Danny tries to move past his heartbreak, while Nelson moves deeper into his shenanigans. Co-written by Andy S. McEwan, the film enjoys… Continue reading Autumn Never Dies: Love and Heartbreak for a Simple Ostrich
The Pearl: Greed, Necessity, and Disasters Before and After
Terji Mohr’s The Pearl is a Faroese film that swiftly unfolds the effects of greed clashing with poverty, with the 1992 financial crisis serving as backdrop. Two men on a boat demonstrate this tension and conflict with disastrous results that extend well beyond them. The stage is set with the radio news announcing statistics of… Continue reading The Pearl: Greed, Necessity, and Disasters Before and After
Love is a Fire: Body Horror Through Everyday Things
Sofie Somoroff’s Love is a Fire deals with the horrific body. Following a couple who has just moved into a new place, the film takes great pleasure in using body horror to illustrate larger, overarching problems that plague the two. Olivia (Celina Bernstein) develops a yeast infection just after the two make the move. Parallely,… Continue reading Love is a Fire: Body Horror Through Everyday Things
Grounded: Escaping a Secure Place that is no Longer Secure
Jesse Richards’ Grounded, written by Josephine Croft, is a claustrophobic thriller following a woman who wakes up to find the aeroplane deserted and herself locked in. The question is, is she truly alone? And which is worse? A number of factors are responsible for Anne’s (played by Croft) current predicament. She fell into a deep… Continue reading Grounded: Escaping a Secure Place that is no Longer Secure
Through the Stars: Leaving Homes that are Not
Ariel Danziger’s sci-fi Through the Stars, written by Ryan Marth, is a teenager’s act of self-preservation in the face of a steadily diminishing scope to hold on to her early childhood or live freely in the present. So when Casey begins to slice through time and space, it is in pursuit of the freedom no… Continue reading Through the Stars: Leaving Homes that are Not