Riley Lynch’s Hardcore Halbert (written by Craig Lief) brings together two discordant ideas that fall into place with ease. Halbert has a ficus and his new neighbour has an unconventional solution. When the two come together, it is more than the plant that finds hope. This is a coming of age story. Halbert (Jack Kilmer)… Continue reading Hardcore Halbert: A Boy And His Plant Come Of Age
Tag: Private
Bottom Of The Night: A Comedy Of Failed And Successful Revenge Missions
Joe Mitchell’s Bottom Of The Night is a 15-minute comedy featuring the director as a cop pulling a revenge prank on his colleague. Of course, things go wrong. A child has gone missing. Detective Campanella (DeMorge Brown) has received a tip. The film opens on him in his car with the parents of the child,… Continue reading Bottom Of The Night: A Comedy Of Failed And Successful Revenge Missions
Shutter the Doors: Grieving The Loss Of A Meaningful Place
Sheri Sussman’s Shutter the Doors is keenly poignant in a post-COVID world. A 14-minute proof-of-concept about the shutting down of a decades-old bar, the drama follows its owner as he struggles to come to terms with his loss. The film dwells in the few minutes of shared mourning between the owner, Sam (Ian Buchanan), and… Continue reading Shutter the Doors: Grieving The Loss Of A Meaningful Place
Lifeblood: A River, And The God And Land It Sustains
Nicholas Tory’s animated short Lifeblood pays tribute to Bourke shire, a New South Wales town with centuries of Aboriginal history. Set against the backdrop of the Darling River, the landscape contains stories upon stories, layered and overlapping, an intricate ecosystem that is governed by each element of the land. The 19-minute film—written in collaboration between… Continue reading Lifeblood: A River, And The God And Land It Sustains
Remind Me in an Hour: The Mechanics Of Comfortable Relationships
Raphael Frost Gonzalez’s Remind Me in an Hour is a surprisingly complex examination of romantic relationships for a premise as simple. A woman finds a breakup reminder on her (rather inattentive) boyfriend’s phone. Yet, in 9 minutes the film dissects relationships and audience expectations with deftness. The narrative sets up a deceptively simple chain of… Continue reading Remind Me in an Hour: The Mechanics Of Comfortable Relationships
Kaiketsu: A Tribute Rooted In Admiration
Joseph Kusic’s Kaiketsu, co-written with Ryan Thie,is a revenge drama, following a samurai disciple who travels across continents to avenge the death of his master at the hands of an American officer. Its 10-minute duration is divided in half, the first narrating the murder, and the second its revenge. The opening sequence shows glimpses of… Continue reading Kaiketsu: A Tribute Rooted In Admiration
Borrowed Time: A Portrait Of Familial Grief
Ginevra Gentili’s 19-minute Borrowed Time is a visually beautiful drama about three generations of women faced with grief while older tensions simmer beneath the surface. It follows Olivia, and through her eyes, we view her overly critical mother and her grandmother. When Olivia (Olivia Clarke) is first introduced, nothing about her is known to the… Continue reading Borrowed Time: A Portrait Of Familial Grief
Life 72: Adding A Weightlessness To Life And Death
Life 72 is as eccentric as it is oddly comforting. Josh Wann’s 7-minute film follows its protagonist Kurt through lifetimes and the times in between, and in doing so offers soothing explanations for those things about living that unsettle or frighten us. Kurt (Denver Taylor) falls off a ladder. He dies. After launching a tirade… Continue reading Life 72: Adding A Weightlessness To Life And Death
Faces of Dead Women: Revenge, Trauma’s Offspring
Joshua Nelson’s Faces of Dead Women is a 40-minute rape-revenge drama with a collective of survivors instead of a singular protagonist. Gathering at a therapy group for rape survivors, the unnamed women’s journey towards healing takes an unexpected turn at the behest of their leader. When the film begins, it could almost be mistaken for… Continue reading Faces of Dead Women: Revenge, Trauma’s Offspring
Love, Laugh, Doom, Tears: A Memoir Of Violence And Trauma
Nhung Nguyen’s 25-minute Love, Laugh, Doom, Tears is a reenacted documentary that chronicles the events leading up to and after a traumatic experience. Nguyen has created the narrative using a form of emotional realism, where her internal world is brought out and made the lens through which her experience is depicted and understood. The film… Continue reading Love, Laugh, Doom, Tears: A Memoir Of Violence And Trauma