Arkan Zakharov’s Holy Filament is a sci-fi noir following a humanoid automaton on yet another day out that has brought her very close to her superiors’ ire. But, on the cusp of coming of age, this half-corporate polite half-deadpan toned AI robot can only follow the time-honoured tradition of teenagers around the world to test… Continue reading Holy Filament: Dreaming Alone in the Eclipse of Humanity in AI Sci-Fi
Tag: Private
Distant Memories: Grief and Despair as Life Separates Itself from the Still Living
Chris Esper’s 10-minute Distant Memories is a drama of memories examining the experience of losing them, and through it, losing the feeling of loving and being loved. The first words of the protagonist—an elderly lady grappling with Alzheimer’s—in the present are that she does not have any children. Of course, Anna (Sissy O’Hara) says this… Continue reading Distant Memories: Grief and Despair as Life Separates Itself from the Still Living
The Last Ranger: Terrible Lessons and a Legacy of Steadfast Effort in Poaching Drama
Cindy Lee’s The Last Ranger, loosely adapted from a true story, follows a ranger’s efforts to protect existing life while she also sets off the creation of the heir to her legacy. Carried by the performances of its actors, the film soundly accomplishes being deeply emotional—there will be tears—without being maudlin. The film brings to… Continue reading The Last Ranger: Terrible Lessons and a Legacy of Steadfast Effort in Poaching Drama
Bajo La Tierra: Love Lives on in the Soil and Air in 19th Century Tale of Toil and Loss
Pablo Guillen’s Bajo La Tierra is a 17-minute drama that successfully distils heartbreak onto the screen where others may have chosen horror. There is a certain bravery and restraint to that choice that must be admired. Even elevated horror can become too much of a good thing. Instead, Bajo La Tierra is more focused on… Continue reading Bajo La Tierra: Love Lives on in the Soil and Air in 19th Century Tale of Toil and Loss
Hatirlama: A Moving Tribute To A Stranger’s Kindness
That kind smile from a passerby, that encouraging nudge from a newly made friend, that gentle tap from your favourite teacher–we have all experienced them at least once. Hatirlama presents a cumulative effect of these moments. In less than nine minutes, not only does writer-director (as well as editor and producer) Josh Folan transport you… Continue reading Hatirlama: A Moving Tribute To A Stranger’s Kindness
Empty Your Pockets: Compassion and Rule in Tense Airport Drama
Tara Aghdashloo’s 20-minute Empty Your Pockets is a bleak drama set within the bureaucratic maze of an airport. Set against the backdrop of escalating, large-scale poverty, it sees a day in the life of Hassan, new and eager at his customs job. He balances zealous rigour with the vulnerability of a family in need; the… Continue reading Empty Your Pockets: Compassion and Rule in Tense Airport Drama
Flint: A Narrative of the Tales We Tell Ourselves About Morality
Chris Oz McIntosh’s Flint is a 29-minute psychological thriller surrounding a boy in a group home where his misfortunes are almost comically extreme. Told in a non-linear sequence of events that tries to retrace the conclusion to its origins, the film gives the feeling that something is missing—as if its troubled protagonist had time enough… Continue reading Flint: A Narrative of the Tales We Tell Ourselves About Morality
Lucy the Lion: Single Motherhood and the Proud Children that Come of It
Written by Natalin Avci and directed by Kalman Apple, the 14-minute Lucy the Lion starts out by setting the scene with a recap of the socio-political realities in the US (even if no one is likely to forget it anytime soon, even if they wanted to). The focus is on women workers post-Covid. Specifically, single… Continue reading Lucy the Lion: Single Motherhood and the Proud Children that Come of It
Happy Together: The Transparent View of Dystopias Now Only a Hop, Skip, and a Jump Away
Time to get yellowpilled. Zahier Turner’s Happy Together is well summed up in that line. There is the ancestral debt to The Matrix, the ominous mandate disguised as friendly bracing, and finally, the well-known idea facelifted out of its resting bitch face into happy as a sunflower smile. You can thank corporate for that. The… Continue reading Happy Together: The Transparent View of Dystopias Now Only a Hop, Skip, and a Jump Away
The First: Debut Work Mixing Atmospheric and Body Horror
Debut filmmaker Susan Ruth’s The First is a 15-minute sensuous horror where being turned on, or really feeling anything at all, feels dangerous. One senses the need to stay very still or risk earning the wrath of the mysterious woman at the heart of the story. The film is set in the 1920s. The old… Continue reading The First: Debut Work Mixing Atmospheric and Body Horror