Youthful rebellion goes on a road trip in Martin Monk’s short film Favourites, which offers a simple, patient look at how chance encounters can reframe our perspective on life. In an unbroken opening shot, we follow behind teen Sofia (Lia Wilfing) as she strolls determinedly alongside a busy Viennese road, sticking out her thumb and…
Life is difficult and complicated in Dekel Berenson’s intimate short Anna, about a titular single mother (Svetlana Barandich) who longs to provide a better life for herself and her teenage daughter Alina (Anastasia Vyazovskaya). In their little Ukrainian village, Anna works at a meat-processing plant, wiling away the hours and returning home to find her…
The tragic ramifications of rhino poaching are examined in touching detail by writer/director Toby Wosskow, whose 17-minute dramatic short Sides of a Horn looks mournfully at the human players in this horrific conflict that has pushed an ancient species to the brink of extinction. With little time to establish the situation and develop a plot…
The end times are already here in writer/director/co-producer/star Lauren Cooney’s loudly dramatic end-of-the-world short Pendulum, but good luck taking the situation seriously. Something has been lost in translation between concept and execution for this story of a couple grappling with how to spend their final hours on Earth. As explained in a clunky manner via…
The effects of bullying and the pressures to achieve popularity in a high school setting are put under a harsh and unforgiving microscope in director Jonatan Etzler’s dark short Get Ready With Me. Opening with mopey teacher Lukas (Shanti Roney, “Applause”) asking his students to show their video projects to the class, the movie immediately…
From North America to Scandinavia, from southern Europe to the Middle East, from the Himalayas to Australia, local myths are a common cultural feature. From the Jersey Devil to the Loch Ness Monster, from the Bunyip to the Yeti, people in particular areas perpetuate tales of mysterious creatures that appear and disappear. While never fully…
Slice-of-life drama is rarely cut so narrowly as it is in Kelly Fyffe-Marshall’s quietly devastating short Haven, about a mother (Tika Simone) and daughter (D’Evina Chatrie) wiling away the hours until a dark secret is suddenly unearthed. This isn’t even a slice; it’s a sliver. The short clocks in at approximately four minutes in total…
