Don’t Try This Alone, warns the title of Artii Smith’s 28-minute comedy, but as it turns out, trying it with a companion does not yield its characters very many great results either. Over the course of the film, Kevin (Ryan Keem) and Benny (Nobuaki Shimamoto) try and fail on a loop to give up smoking… Continue reading Don’t Try This Alone: A Comedy On Quitting
Tag: Private
Breaking The Silence: Forty Years Of Unacknowledged Trauma
Whether it was the second world war, or the wars raging on today, wartime sexual violence has always been perpetrated. Yet, as Breaking The Silence shows, sometimes — too often — as much as forty years go by before victims get so much as recognition. Seayoon Jeong’s 27-minute short, co-written by Sandra Philip, tells the… Continue reading Breaking The Silence: Forty Years Of Unacknowledged Trauma
Wine Night: Greek Mythology, Wine And A Whole Barrel Of Laughs
Most, if not all, have had the singular misfortune of having had once or more to associate with the obnoxiously self-obsessed gossip. Characterised by a messy life and a decidedly indecisive nature, this is a character who never wants to be that person who makes everything about themselves, and yet this is simply one line… Continue reading Wine Night: Greek Mythology, Wine And A Whole Barrel Of Laughs
The Dark Web: An Internet Era Thriller
When his 10-year-old son is diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, the calm of Leo Demarco’s comfortable life is threatened in every way. Over 27 minutes, director and co-writer Andrés Di Bono constructs and derails his protagonist’s life and principles, with his son’s life as the prize. The film (co-written by Rachel Hemsley and Ervin Musabelliu) wastes no… Continue reading The Dark Web: An Internet Era Thriller
Blood Bond: A Revenge Thriller About Family
Written by Peter Koevari, Greg Powell’s 14-minute Blood Bond is a thriller following a seemingly regular woman who sets on a quest for bloody revenge from the mafia for her brother’s killing. Although Karen (Nicole Payten-Betts) is regular, she is not a stranger to her brother’s ties with the underworld. Therefore, when the time comes,… Continue reading Blood Bond: A Revenge Thriller About Family
Bubble: Gorgeous, Horrifying Story Of Love
Haonan Wang’s Bubble is a new species of culinary horror, mixing love and sacrifice into the recipe. With its strong editing style, the film unfolds its story almost without dialogues, and the relentlessly escalating narrative threatens to take the wind out of you. It is remarkable how much Haonan Wang conveys through visuals without dialogues.… Continue reading Bubble: Gorgeous, Horrifying Story Of Love
Big Touch: Connection As The Defining Human Need
Big Touch, Chris Tenzis’ 3-minute surrealist film about being big and being Afro, is brimming with the joy — both euphoric and soft — of being alive, of connection, of finding respite from the pain of being alive. An already short runtime feels even shorter due to the musical quality and hypnotic pace. There is… Continue reading Big Touch: Connection As The Defining Human Need
Distressed: A Meditation On Loss And Grief
A film focusing on a man’s lone journey of processing the grief of losing his little daughter, Martin Sandin’s 15-minute Distressed understands grief, and often gets it right gut-wrenchingly well. But the film surprises. Despite resonant cinematography and Carl Ingemarsson Stjernlöf’s brilliant, carefully measured performance, Distressed takes a toll on its audience’s patience. Nathan, to… Continue reading Distressed: A Meditation On Loss And Grief
Titus & Mirabella: Return To Ye Olde Days Of Rom-Coms
Melania Crisan’s romantic comedy Titus & Mirabella travels the well-known paths of its genre, from slapstick comedy, to awkward gaffes played for laughs, to first date fumblings and every now and then, hints of a blossoming romance. The story is told through flashbacks. In the ‘now’, Mirabella (played by Crisan herself) wakes up in a… Continue reading Titus & Mirabella: Return To Ye Olde Days Of Rom-Coms
Falafel Cart: Cute Animation And A Tale Of Trauma
Falafel Cart tricks you into a false sense of security with its claymation style (instant nostalgia trigger) and light, hopeful music. Until it pulls the rug from under you. Abdullah Al-Wazzan’s 14-minute animated short continues this trend through the film. One minute you are skipping along to its happy tunes in its make-believe, safe world,… Continue reading Falafel Cart: Cute Animation And A Tale Of Trauma