March - 2019

REVIEWS

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 big’. 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 ‘sky is the limit’. 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]

Olivia Starr

Mar 23, 2019

Cherry Colour Buttonholes [Brenda Miller, UK, 2018]

Brenda Miller’s 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]

Toby Fisher

Mar 22, 2019

Operation 747 [Mohammad Esmaeili, Iran, 2017]

The film’s success is largely thanks to Esmaeili and co-writer Mojtaba Esmaelizadeh’s excellently paced and well written screenplay. Every c

Mar 21, 2019

SHORT FOCUS 2018: Kukukid AW2018 [Adrian Chudek, Poland, 2018]

Kukukid AW2018, an advertisement for a Polish brand of children’s clothing, bursts onto the screen with a bright shot of energy as impossibl

Mar 21, 2019

SHORT FOCUS 2018: Takako vs. Nine Lives [Laura Wolkstein, USA, 2018]

When you hear the word “nutcracker” 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

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 Shamnad’s hand drawing lines on a sheet of pap

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 Raff’s song ‘Pa’lante’, meaning ‘onwards’ or ‘forwards’, is a cry for hope amongst despair. Kristan Mercado’s 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

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 Sagiyama’s A White Paper Ship seem like an advertisement for another mindfulness app. Don’t 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]

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 Anna’s first experience of mortal loss, her mother at

Goddess [Tiara Luten, USA, 2018] /// Lovesick [Andrew Hamblin, UK, 2018]

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 – 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 ‘run the world’. Independent African-American filmmaker Tiara Luten’s Goddess pays ode to womanhood in this short film, and embarks upon an exploration and celebration of them

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