As it opens, Benjamin South’s The ARK, written by A.M. Khalifa (and based on his short story), presents itself as a crime thriller, only set in the future. To unlock car doors, you need palm prints, that sort of thing. Futuristic, but still very much a credible, familiar world. It opens with the two main characters, Herbert… Continue reading The Ark: Tense Sci-Fi Thriller Grounded In Humanity
Tag: Private
A Father’s Job: Highlighting The Psychological Horror Of The Holocaust
The sheer number of holocaust films speaks directly to the magnitude of the atrocity. The purposes have varied, from expression of deep rage, or wanting to honour the victims, or to heal wounds that have taken root. Frank Christian Wagner’s A Father’s Job honours a particular subset of victims, and in doing so, exposes just… Continue reading A Father’s Job: Highlighting The Psychological Horror Of The Holocaust
Sleepwalker: A Documentary Of Regret
Sleepwalker, Andrea Yu-Chieh Chung’s 9-minute documentary on the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, is a very personal essay that examines the fear and grief of having a home in turmoil. But what makes it particularly personal and specific is Chung’s regret at having sleepwalked through the period, thriving in the safety of her insulated world. This regret becomes the… Continue reading Sleepwalker: A Documentary Of Regret
Cuello: A Slice Of Perilous Life
Sebastian Ortiz Wilkins’s Cuello, co-written with Moheb Jindran, witnesses a chain reaction that is set off with one man’s impulsive acts of empathy and mercy. There are no heroes painted here, yet the effects of those impulses ripple through the lives of many and for years. The story, based on true events, runs on three threads. Ricardo’s neat… Continue reading Cuello: A Slice Of Perilous Life
Forty Years From Now: The Perils (And Possible Perks) Of Indulging In Nostalgia
All romanticisms and cynicisms aside, what significance does the possibility of a do-over have? The former is usually drenched in unbearable saccharinity, and the latter thrives on nay-saying every grain of hope. But reality demands balance. Mundanity even, one could argue. So what does that in-between scenario look like? John Manna’s 19-minute Forty Years From Now offers… Continue reading Forty Years From Now: The Perils (And Possible Perks) Of Indulging In Nostalgia
He Comes At Night: A Shift Of The Expectations From Horror
Joseph Covello’s 10-minute horror, He Comes At Night is bleak. At its centre is an 8-year-old girl, about to be burdened with the isolating discovery that there are in fact, such things as monsters. Her parents have a strained marriage. Alexa, played by Georgia Rickerby, soothes herself by grooming her doll. Even then, slamming doors… Continue reading He Comes At Night: A Shift Of The Expectations From Horror
Next of Kin: A Taut Drama About Death And Identity
Next of Kin, Marissa Vonn’s 10-minute drama, has two things right off the bat that makes it so compelling: its protagonist, and the relationship they share with their colleague, the only other character in the plot. Helena, played by Jamie Morrow, keeps to herself for most of the workday at her newspaper office, typing obituaries… Continue reading Next of Kin: A Taut Drama About Death And Identity
Longest Day Of The Year: An Antidote To Emptiness
And they take a walk.” Thus ends Lauren Hoover’s pandemic comedy, Longest Day Of The Year. Simple though that statement is, it is heavy with significance, accumulated over a long 18 months when taking a walk was often impossible, or the most anyone was allowed to socialise. Longest Day Of The Year, a chipper 10-minute film, takes… Continue reading Longest Day Of The Year: An Antidote To Emptiness
Hell In A Handbasket: It Could Get Much Worse, Apparently
The pandemic has been a dumpster fire. And it keeps getting worse. Writer and director Lee Chambers gets straight to it. His 5-minute comedy, Hell In A Handbasket zooms straight to the people who could potentially make it better: scientists. At the centre of the plot is Dale Borger (Robert Bryn Mann), a scientist deep in his… Continue reading Hell In A Handbasket: It Could Get Much Worse, Apparently
Trick Shot: An All Or Nothing Shot That Ends The Game
Christopher Deans’s Trick Shot is a suspenseful, taut drama that also manages to weave the subtlest strains of humour into its narrative. Set on the eve of the Good Friday agreement, the story follows three men and a pool table. The men in question, rogue IRA volunteers, are not in favour of a ceasefire, and the table… Continue reading Trick Shot: An All Or Nothing Shot That Ends The Game