Short Film Program 3

When You Left Me On That Boulevard – Dir. Kayla Abuda Galang

Teenager Ly and her cousins get high before a boisterous family Thanksgiving at their auntie’s house in southeast San Diego in 2006.

The visuals of this one were what really drew me in; the shot composition was fantastic, as well as the colors. I didn’t completely click with the story, but the setting of a huge family party in a not huge family house was an extremely familiar feeling.

Walk of Shame – Dir. Dane Ray

A mourning widow suspects a stranger in town is wearing her late husband's Army jacket. She cautiously stalks the man into the night in an attempt to find closure.

This one wasn’t my bag. Well done, but the feeling it was evoking was not something I really related to. It did give me an idea for a short from the first scene though! (That distracted me through the rest of the run time oops)

Bigger on the Inside – Dir. Angelo Madsen Minax

Through snowy stargazing, flirting with guys on dating apps, taking ketamine (or not), and watching YouTube lecture videos, outer and inner space collapse – to draw a warped cartography of desire and distance.

This film made me want to make something like it. The collage and cacophony was excellent, and made me miss the weird experimental theatre I watched so much of in college. Want to make some more of this kind of thing. a grindr text that reads: 'No, it's better that we don't meet. I just want your eyelids to crave my pores in such a way that you become senseless, crazed, fanatical.'

It also had this metal as hell text:

Quick break time!

White Ant – Dir. Shalini Adnani

A man is summoned from Mumbai to his village to deal with a termite infestation threatening to destroy his childhood home.

Another one that was good but didn’t click with me. I liked the aspect ratio – I know that sounds like I’m reaching but it really was an interesting element. The performances were good but I almost wish they pushed the concept a little further, either towards the fantastical or the horrific.

Pro Pool (Piscine Pro) – Dir. Alec Pronovost

Newly graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and civilization, Charles-Olivier struggles to find a job in his field and must rely on a clerk position in a pool shop. Feeling down, he navigates his gig as best he can.

I really liked this one. It was fast, it had a great rhythm, the acting and the editing worked in tandem to create this great rhythm that said a lot without stating it verbally. It was great! And made me laugh!

Hawaiki – Dir. Nova Paul

At the edge of the playground close to the forest, the children of Okiwi School made a refuge they call Hawaiki. Hawaiki has spiritual and metaphysical connections for Māori as the children create a space for their self-determination.

This one just completely slid off my brain. Not sure why. Don’t know if it was the natural soundscape or the dreamy lighting or what. But it made me zone right out. The composition was lovely.

I watched an indie film earlier today that was… Well it wasn’t bad but it definitely wasn’t good either. You don’t realize how important shot composition is until you see something with bad composition.

God! Why do they keep hiding these long ass shorts right at the end! I’ve been played for a fool, again!

Nocturnal Burger – Dir. Reema Maya

Somewhere between fantasy, trauma, paranoia, precaution, and the promise of a burger, a night gets catapulted into an investigation of child abuse at a dysfunctional police station in Mumbai.

This one hit so, so hard. First thing I noticed was the incredible use of depth throughout. Second thing I noticed is how everything was so intricately layered together; it painted a painfully real world where all of the women (and girls) had this quiet, furious camaraderie, and all the men – normal looking men – were full of violence waiting to be (and constantly being) enacted upon those women. This work was delicate and furious and heart-wrenching and quiet. Highly recommend you watch it for yourself.

Sundance tried to crash Firefox again. lordy

…wow it’s still going…

Documentary Short Film Program

Shirampari: Legacies of the River – Dir. Lucia Flórez

In one of the most remote places in the Peruvian Amazon, an Ashéninka boy must overcome his fears and catch a giant catfish using only a hook to begin his adult journey.

I’m realizing I don’t really know how to talk critically about documentaries. And I’m also realizing that I don’t think I’ve ever seen an animal be alive and then cut open before. Like obviously that happens but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.