
![Tutu & Pointes [Iria Pizania, 2018] /// A Journey to Mother India [Cassie Goodluck-Johnson, 2018]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_aed84b0a1ac541ccae65edd39b1db6ed~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_210,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_aed84b0a1ac541ccae65edd39b1db6ed~mv2.jpg)
Gabriella Florence Kumah
- Mar 25, 2019
Tutu & Pointes [Iria Pizania, 2018] /// A Journey to Mother India [Cassie Goodluck-Johnson, 2018]
As a young child you are told to always 'dream bigā. You are taught in school from a young age to have aspirations and to aim for greatness whilst being told countless times by teachers that the āsky is the limitā. It is drummed into you as a child that with hard work and perseverance your dreams can become a reality. But, in all honesty, things are not always that simple. It is fair to say not everyone has the same opportunities but, nonetheless, there are phenomenal people

![Cherry Colour Buttonholes [Brenda Miller, UK, 2018]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_0645a76da04b441dbe526786eb976cfa~mv2_d_2880_1611_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_177,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_0645a76da04b441dbe526786eb976cfa~mv2_d_2880_1611_s_2.jpg)
Olivia Starr
- Mar 23, 2019
Cherry Colour Buttonholes [Brenda Miller, UK, 2018]
Brenda Millerās filmmaking style is experimental in a social rather than artistic sense. Artistry and craftsmanship are the ostensible preoccupations in her films, but the activities on display here, namely the hand-stitching of buttons, are used more as a vehicle to encourage social interactions. Cherry Colour Buttonholes is just as much a conversational meditation as it is an insight into artisanal practises. The women in the film are never actually identified. To do so wou

![Operation 747 [Mohammad Esmaeili, Iran, 2017]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_681bfd0c80f94b968938e521c11e5c5a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_210,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_681bfd0c80f94b968938e521c11e5c5a~mv2.jpg)
Toby Fisher
- Mar 22, 2019
Operation 747 [Mohammad Esmaeili, Iran, 2017]
The filmās success is largely thanks to Esmaeili and co-writer Mojtaba Esmaelizadehās excellently paced and well written screenplay. Every c

![SHORT FOCUS 2018: Kukukid AW2018 [Adrian Chudek, Poland, 2018]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_51feabe79d504f48b61864778de48909~mv2_d_4096_1920_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_177,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_51feabe79d504f48b61864778de48909~mv2_d_4096_1920_s_2.jpg)
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- Mar 21, 2019
SHORT FOCUS 2018: Kukukid AW2018 [Adrian Chudek, Poland, 2018]
Kukukid AW2018, an advertisement for a Polish brand of childrenās clothing, bursts onto the screen with a bright shot of energy as impossibl

![SHORT FOCUS 2018: Takako vs. Nine Lives [Laura Wolkstein, USA, 2018]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_177cb86f65b14def80dac036cab95956~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_177,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_177cb86f65b14def80dac036cab95956~mv2.jpg)
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- Mar 21, 2019
SHORT FOCUS 2018: Takako vs. Nine Lives [Laura Wolkstein, USA, 2018]
When you hear the word ānutcrackerā what do you think of? An enchanting ballet traditionally performed at Christmas or an excruciating, paternity-threatening wrestling move? While these definitions seem a million miles apart, Takako vs. Nine Lives combines the two opposing forms of dance and fighting in a mesmerising short film that celebrates the potential of the human body. Although the piece is wordless, body language speaks volumes as two masked lucha libre wrestlers batt

![Disruption [Anagha Komalankutty, India/UAE, 2018] /// Bubly: Cheers to Cheer [Rick Peters, USA, 2018](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_ba3baade81094c51a1b542ec21989000~mv2_d_2880_1619_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_177,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_ba3baade81094c51a1b542ec21989000~mv2_d_2880_1619_s_2.jpg)
Grace Higgins
- Mar 20, 2019
Disruption [Anagha Komalankutty, India/UAE, 2018] /// Bubly: Cheers to Cheer [Rick Peters, USA, 2018
Director Anagha Komalankutty attempts to embody the destruction of creativity that is caused by disruption within her one-minute silent short film, Disruption. This is further emphasised by gender roles within the film, with patriarchal intrusions inflicted by actor Methil Komalankutty who takes control of the scene from actor Haniya Shamnad, thereby stifling her power and creativity. The short film opens with an overhead shot of Shamnadās hand drawing lines on a sheet of pap

![SHORT FOCUS 2018 - BEST SHORT: Pa'lante [Kristian Mercado, Puerto Rico/USA, 2018]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_b369bc8d2adf46fc81e8cb0986874091~mv2_d_2880_1605_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_177,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_b369bc8d2adf46fc81e8cb0986874091~mv2_d_2880_1605_s_2.jpg)
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- Mar 20, 2019
SHORT FOCUS 2018 - BEST SHORT: Pa'lante [Kristian Mercado, Puerto Rico/USA, 2018]
Hurricane Maria hit Dominica, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in 2017, devastating the landscape and causing over three thousand deaths. In light of this terrible tragedy, Hurray for the Riff Raffās song āPaālanteā, meaning āonwardsā or āforwardsā, is a cry for hope amongst despair. Kristan Mercadoās award-winning video accompanies the song and successfully unites personal and national crises with an emotional gut punch that is almost impossible to attain with headli

![A White Paper Ship [Keisuke Sagiyama, Japan, 2014]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_eb44a2b5df2242ba8def25de64f00b64~mv2_d_2880_1610_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_177,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_eb44a2b5df2242ba8def25de64f00b64~mv2_d_2880_1610_s_2.jpg)
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- Mar 19, 2019
A White Paper Ship [Keisuke Sagiyama, Japan, 2014]
At first glance, the serene scenes of mountain lakes and the soothing sounds of rushing water in Keisuke Sagiyamaās A White Paper Ship seem like an advertisement for another mindfulness app. Donāt be fooled. As the short film unfolds, tranquillity is replaced with unease as a certain eeriness creeps into the slow, still shots. Deceptively clever and haunting in its mystery, this is not a film to drift off to. The rush of thousands of newspapers in a printing press acts as a k

![For Pepper [Rebecca Singleton, Ireland, 2018] /// Purgatorium [Kamil Iwanowicz, UK, 2018]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_35a607ed027a4e6fbff59897d2ef9752~mv2_d_2797_1575_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_177,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_35a607ed027a4e6fbff59897d2ef9752~mv2_d_2797_1575_s_2.jpg)
Vincent Dolan
- Mar 17, 2019
For Pepper [Rebecca Singleton, Ireland, 2018] /// Purgatorium [Kamil Iwanowicz, UK, 2018]
Explaining the concept of death to a child can be incredibly challenging, since we can never know how that child will react. They might be sad, confused or, as demonstrated in For Pepper, angry. A delightfully funny black comedy, For Pepper examines the concept of death and vengeance through the eyes a young girl. The short follows Anna, distraught and confused after learning that her pet budgie Pepper has died. As this is Annaās first experience of mortal loss, her mother at

![Goddess [Tiara Luten, USA, 2018] /// Lovesick [Andrew Hamblin, UK, 2018]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9b7dde_77afa61b083942bf8f274e1205b7a945~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_315,h_177,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/9b7dde_77afa61b083942bf8f274e1205b7a945~mv2.jpg)
Gabriella Florence Kumah
- Mar 17, 2019
Goddess [Tiara Luten, USA, 2018] /// Lovesick [Andrew Hamblin, UK, 2018]
Imagine a world where a patriarchal society ceases to exist ā a world in which femininity and the role of womanhood itself excel as superior essences of existence; a world where women flourish, dominate and thrive at the expense of men that tailor to their every need; a world where women quite literally ārun the worldā. Independent African-American filmmaker Tiara Lutenās Goddess pays ode to womanhood in this short film, and embarks upon an exploration and celebration of them