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Short Film Program 5

I skipped around! Last year I ended because I got tired and didn't finish out watching the programs, so I figured I'd give this year's #5 slot a shot before I got tuckered out.

Voice Ever dir. Céline Perreard & Pauline Archange

Over the course of an evening, Romane, Sarah, Emmanuel, and Boris connect on Voice Ever, a new dating app where you choose your date based on their voice. Their weaknesses and vulnerabilities will surface in their desire to meet.

The coloration here did a lot of heavy lifting. I do wonder if Emmanuel is a bot, since he was just wave forms. The ending - singing - was touching, and I found the cinematography of the spaces did a lot of heavy lifting in expressing isolation.

Ekbeh dir. Mariah Eli Hernandez-Fitch

While learning to make gumbo, the creator shares personal stories about their grandparents as a way to honor and preserve their Indigenous history and life.

I love to hear stories about language, especially personal ones. This is a dialect I'm not very familiar with and rarely hear. I thought the use of typing was a great medium to evoke what interviewing can feel like.

Shalal dir. Amir Ali Sisipour

Mehran and his mother, Ziba, don’t have shadows, so they use a black fur to catch the shadows of people and drink them. One day, Mehran decides to catch someone’s shadow alone.

This one was scary as shit! What the fuck! The ambiance and pacing are incredibly deliberate, eerie, and stark, and the sense of characters just waiting feels invasive and unnerving. It's creepy as hell, and very effective.

The Looming Cloud dir. Matthew Tyler

Three siblings return home after their mother’s death and face their most daunting task: figuring out how to post about it on social media.

This was phenomenal. Even if I - as a person who is not on social media - can't relate, I remember the feelings that being on social media brought up. The lynchpin of this piece is the final moment with Maya onscreen. I found this build up and scattershot approach to a very specific topic very affecting. Highly recommend.

Bay of Herons dir. Jared James Lank

Calling on the strength of his ancestors, a young Mi’kmaq man reflects on the pain of bearing witness to the destruction of his homelands.

The visuals here are gorgeous. And I like hearing more Native narratives, not just living presently, but how that relates to long-told tales. The nature, the place, is gorgeous. It does make me feel more disconnected from my own ancestors, but that's neither here nor there, and certainly not the same situation. I have a friend who is going to really adore watching this one; hopefully I can show them before the festival is over.

Grace dir. Natalie Jasmine Harris

Sixteen-year-old Grace prepares for her baptism in the rural 1950s South. When she learns she must repent before the ritual, she begins to question the budding romantic feelings she has toward her best friend, Louise.

This one didn't tickle my fancy, for no particular reason. I found the film grain especially interesting, but that sounds like a much more damning version of praise than I intend it to be. I'm glad this story is around, and here, and being shared, even if it's not my thing. (I feel like I recognize the director too... But I can't place why/from where.)

Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy dir. Khozy Rizal

A married couple who own an Odong-Odong spend their days entertaining other people’s children. Between relatives, self-doubt, and an explosive confrontation, they uncover why they have not been blessed with a child.

This transformed in ways I was not expecting, and held a tremendous amount of depth that it explored eagerly. It's funny, it's dramatic, it's a little sexy, it's unexpected... I liked this one. Great acting, specifically, too. How did they run a set with THAT many kids around??

Short Film Program 4

Border Hopper dir. Nico Casavecchia

When a Latinx filmmaker is offered a dream job abroad, she discovers a supernatural way to navigate the U.S. immigration system and get the coveted travel permit she needs. But what seems like a magic solution soon shows unexpected consequences.

The way this film played with screens, and light, and place - all in a very limited space both physically and cinematographically - was great. That descriptor is insufficient. I recently skimmed an article talking about how absolutely, astronomically terrible immigration is in the US right now, and that's what was at the forefront of my mind while I watched this. The blending of languages especially kept me engaged in the tension of each conversation between the couple. And of course the animation was a treat. (Was not surprised to see that this director is working on an animated film!)

Boi de Conchas (The Shell Covered Ox) dir. Daniel Barosa

While mourning her missing sister, Rayane balances helping her fisherman father and practicing for the school's music festival — provided she doesn't become an ox first, a misfortune assailing several teenagers in the area.

This one didn't grab me. I found elements I really latched onto - the long time before we saw her boss's face, the intercut screengrabs, the fast cuts in group conversation, the band rehearsal scene, the many oxen. It built up this little grieving world, but didn't hook me. I'm not sure why.

Didn't Think I'd See You Here dir. Dylan Guerra

Rory thinks there's a ghost haunting his shower and decides to investigate its origin. But when he goes to a party and meets a romantic interest, his spectral mystery begins to unravel.

This tiny, mundane few days of grief resonated with my own experience of grief. It's everyday, pedestrian, and yet colors everything around you. (In this case me.) You just want to be near people, feel them, be close, but it's too much, and it's too soon, and the sensory overload is near-immediate, even for things, or people, you like. I thought this portrayed this very effectively. I too want to sit on my toilet next to a ghost I don't know who is standing in my shower. Sometimes.

It should come as no surprise to me that Dylan Guerra has "received playwriting commissions from Playwrights Horizons and MTC." I always fall for the theatre people. Something about that sensibility is ingrained in my taste, near-intrinsically.

Phoebe dir. Vaggelio Soumeli

Having been recently discharged from rehab, 26-year-old Phoebe takes her young son on a road trip that will determine their future.

I think I missed something in this one that would've made it click. The lead actress gave a great performance, and the dad character's actor was styled perfectly for the role. But overall, wasn't my bag.

Terra Mater dir. Kantarama Gahigiri

Technology and waste in our lands, our systems, our bones. Wandering our spaces, she cannot help but wonder, where is the space for healing?

The amount of time spent in silence at the start of this film was striking. Some of the narration and visuals as well. It slides off my mind though, and becomes more conceptual rather than visceral. I wonder if that's a me thing or the intended effect.

The film Say Hi After You Die, which is the cover image for this program, has been moved the to Award Winner program, so I haven't seen it yet. (Same for The Looming in this next program.) Whatever they do to move those around messes up their land acknowledgement video, which feels like an oversight.

Midnight Short Film Program

Okay so last year the Midnight Short Film Program was the sexy short film program... this was...... not that. This year, the Midnight program was the gross, gory film program. Which is also a thing I like! Though it threw me for a loop when I was expecting like onscreen masturbating like last year.

I guess the Midnight program is really just the "throw me for a loop" program.

The Rainbow Bridge dir. Dimitri Simakis

Tina and her elderly dog MeeMoo discover a clinic promising human-to-pet communication. However, two sinister doctors uncover a bond between them so strong, it transcends time and space. They might be the key to something greater, but at what cost?

I was nervous to watch this because anything with cat death completely throws me over the edge and I get very weepy. Fortunately, no cats died in this one! (There was a dead cat but that's fine.) The goofiness and over the top weirdness and camp of it all let me enjoy it, so thank goodness for that. It felt like it needed juuuuust *that* much more oomph to push it over the edge into something I'd love, but it was a weird fun adventure even as is.

SHÉ (SNAKE) dir. Renee Zhan

Fei is the top violinist in her elite youth orchestra. When another Chinese violinist arrives to challenge her place, Fei’s internal demons take external form. They whisper to her, urging her to be the best, no matter the cost.

This one got nasty in the visuals, which is how I realized where we were (the Gross program). I was so impressed by the nasty animation on the maggot parasite creatures, and I really appreciated that the heightened, hyper reality aspects were used to tell a story that was quite grounded. The over the top-ness extended to the casting (and lighting of that cast) too, which worked wonderfully for the storytelling.

The Bleacher dir. Nicole Daddona

The disappearance of her sock at a local laundromat sends a fragile Rita over the edge. Hellbent on finding it, she searches deep and gets sucked into a washing machine, entering an otherworldly cycle from which she may never escape.

Again, nasty. It wasn't my favorite, but the overwhelming ick-factor still makes this one worth watching. Animated bubbling skin is gnarsty.

Dream Creep dir. Carlos A.F. Lopez

A couple awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice.

I truly have no idea what the hell I would do in this situation. The effects (which I assume were practical) looked great, and heightened the uncanny, but still pretty fun, tension.

I know I keep using the word weird, but that really is an apt descriptor for so many of this year's shorts!

That's plenty for one day! Hopefully I can catch the majority of the rest - I only have a couple from the awards category, Program 3, and the Documentary series left - before I have work in the evening tomorrow. Fingers crossed!