Harrison J. Bahe’s 32-minute Nobody’s Boy is a bitter tale of adjusting to life at rock bottom until it is no longer possible. Featuring Daniel Estrada as the protagonist Oscar, the film chronicles a downward spiral that threatens to stop at a violent end. Oscar is homeless, and coping with alcoholism and prostitution. The cruelty… Continue reading Nobody’s Boy: Desperation and Its Sometimes Deadly Ends
Tag: Private
Mijo: A Celebration Of Identity And Fashion
Mazdey’s Mijo is an unrestrained celebration of fashion, colour and vibrancy. With its extensive use of jump cuts, it picks up a playful momentum, which further highlights its flirtation with colour and an authentic celebration of self. The titular character, Mijo (Gerardo Rocha) works as a mascot, not appearing to particularly enjoy handing out pamphlets… Continue reading Mijo: A Celebration Of Identity And Fashion
Hostile Architecture: The Horror of Built-in Cruelty
Robb Jayne’s Hostile Architecture approaches the menace of its titular subject through the character of its suddenly homeless protagonist, Kirsty. Short as it is, the film accomplishes a lot and with admirable empathy. The opening scene establishes Kirsty’s (Lisa Eaglesham) situation and sets up the timeline of the story. She is to be appointed a… Continue reading Hostile Architecture: The Horror of Built-in Cruelty
Misfits: A Labyrinth of Prejudice
Varun Chopra’s 6-minute documentary Misfits buzzes with righteous anger. Yet the anger is restrained, almost choosing to laugh at the absurdity of things than let bare its teeth. For its relatively short duration, it tells rounded stories of four different people who are forced to fight against the unjust boxes into which a prejudicial society… Continue reading Misfits: A Labyrinth of Prejudice
Cha: A Tragedy Shown Through Contrasts
Xiwen Miao’s Cha explores the life and struggles of two Korean-Americans in an America crippled by COVID and marred by racism. Living a sweetly domestic life on a fruit farm, a woman and her grandson find themselves increasingly faced with hateful comments and acts, with it all culminating in a tragedy. Jiho (Thomas B. Tran)… Continue reading Cha: A Tragedy Shown Through Contrasts
SfTK (Service for the King): Comedy, Music and Politics In Part Fiction Part Music Video
Ray Knowledge’s 10-minute short Service for The King is essentially a music video with a barebones plot thrown in. What keeps it going as a fiction narrative is its humour content. Focused on the day of a man’s trial on charges of service to the king, the film springs into music like a piece of… Continue reading SfTK (Service for the King): Comedy, Music and Politics In Part Fiction Part Music Video
The Ogress: Mythicising A True Tale Of Horror
Based on the serial killer Amelia Dyer, nicknamed the Ogress of Reading, Jon Kent’s short The Ogress forays into the realm of the supernatural. Following a number of linked cases of missing children, the story is set in modern times where a detective is confronted with an oddity in the case: a missing woman. Two… Continue reading The Ogress: Mythicising A True Tale Of Horror
The Misanthrope: Warring Against Bereavement
Having now seen Andy Kastelic’s The Misanthrope, one wonders what else could describe grief as well as the destruction of flowers. The film, all of fifteen minutes, thrusts upon the viewer a heart-wrenching story of widespread, ceaseless loss. And just as it is gutting, it leaves the viewer with the grace of warmth. The protagonist… Continue reading The Misanthrope: Warring Against Bereavement
Blue Boy: A Boxer Returns To The Fray
An unmistakable neon-noir, Andy Kastelic’s Blue Boy is stylish and gritty. The 21-minute film sees its titular character, a retired boxer, confronted with ghosts of the past and a choice that could irrevocably change more than just his own life. Jack Forcinito plays Blue Boy, a legendary, gruff ex-boxer who now owns a diner in… Continue reading Blue Boy: A Boxer Returns To The Fray
St. Augustine: The Sorrow Of Living Forever
Andy Kastelic’s St. Augustine follows in his usual fashion of sumptuous visuals and stories treated with melancholic grandeur. This one fully immerses itself into those themes with its very subject: vampires. A story spanning decades, it follows two vampires through their fated meeting and the journey through solitary years, laced with horrors and loneliness. Kastelic… Continue reading St. Augustine: The Sorrow Of Living Forever