July - 2019

REVIEWS

Jul 31, 2019

Tutu and Pointes [Irina Pizania, UK, 2018]

In present circumstances, London seems an unlikely setting for fairy godmothers and last-minute miracles. Irina Pizania’s film Tutu and Poin

Jul 31, 2019

Rose [Edwin Miles, UK, 2018]

Rose is unlike the vast majority of short films that reach the festival screens. It does not have a particular plot, it is not heavily styli

Jul 31, 2019

Cadair Y Fampir [Liam A. Matthews, UK, 2018]

Since Twilight’s [Catherine Hardwicke, USA, 2008] pasty heartthrob, vampires have been synonymous with sexuality. It comes as little surprise then, that Liam A. Matthews and his team chose this particular ghoul to explore erotic themes in this short Welsh horror. As with most scary films, this short is all about nice people making stupid decisions. If a mysterious figure suddenly appears in the woods, it’s probably not the wisest thing to follow her unquestioningly. Nor is it

Jul 31, 2019

Collision [Jonell Rowe, UK, 2018]

Driving tests and the breakneck advance of invasive technologies are two very reasonable things to feel anxious about. Combine the two and it’s more of a nightmare than reverse bay parking in a Halfords car park. Collision is the story of a malignant satnav out to settle past debts. Facing issues of justice and artificial intelligence, it is a disturbing warning against both technology and dangerous driving. The hypothetical ethical issues of artificial intelligence have been

Jul 31, 2019

I Miss the War [Andrew Walsh, Australia, 2018]

Family reunions are not always joyous occasions. Throw in your dead mother’s ashes, an unexpected husband and a broken down fridge, and things just go from bad to worse. I Miss the War shows three sisters meeting up nine years after their mother’s death, and predictable tensions ensue as the awkwardness unfolds. If this film aims to capture the excruciating atmosphere of horrendous family dinners, it certainly succeeds. Surprise step-brother Adrian, played by James Barr, is w

Jul 31, 2019

Collector’s Protocol [Fay Beck, UK, 2018]

Collector’s Protocol is set in a dystopian world where the wealthy one per cent live in a protected city, while the remaining ninety-nine per cent are categorised into labour, organisation or, most disturbingly, food. Victims of the cannibalistic collectors are branded as ‘delicates’ and live under the constant threat of having their heart torn out by a brutal machine. The storyline follows Daniel Spence, a delicate who seems to have escaped to an underground bunker. Armed on

Jul 31, 2019

anexperimentalviralvlog - the movie remix # ! [Vasco Diogo, Portugal, 2016]

Vasco Diogo’s experimental compilation of vlogs pertains to be an exploration of audiovisual language, self-representation, manipulation and communication. In twelve minutes we see him in a variety of positions and backgrounds, from a choir of monastic mumbling to a blurred face slowly pulled from the screen. While some of these images work well to convey his main ideas, the film falls flat in its prioritising of style over substance. The opening image of a mirrored fraction

Jul 31, 2019

Lemons [Simon Werdmüller von Elgg, USA, 2018]

The word ‘lemons’ is one letter away from ‘demons’, as the clever artwork for this film reminds us. When Edwin, a missionary from Knoxville, is invited into the home of a strange older woman, past trauma bleeds into the house as both characters confront their own elusive pain. As the characters talk, uneasiness gradually builds up until Edwin discovers boxes of drawings abandoned in the attic. After he confronts Deborah, it becomes clear that there is a deep connection betwee

Jul 31, 2019

SHORT FOCUS 2019: The Ride [Kacper Anuszewski, Poland, 2017]

It’s late, it’s cold and the bar has closed. You’re standing alone in an empty street when a car pulls up, winds down the window and a stranger says your name. Your Uber has arrived. While many people can probably relate to the slight feeling of unease when stepping into an unknown person’s car, we probably rarely think about the driver. Yet we too are strangers and could be just as threatening to them as they sometimes are to us. The Ride highlights this mutual vulnerability

Jul 31, 2019

Tomorrow [Guvernor Sanchez, Ireland, 2018]

Photography has long been a favourite subject of filmmakers. From Hitchcock’s iconic Rear Window [USA, 1954] to the modern classic City of God [Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002, USA] cameras have featured heavily in cinematic history. Tomorrow is a worthy addition to this tradition. Following two photographers on a trip through rural Ireland, Guvernor Sanchez’s (the directorial duo of Eoin McGovern and Mark McAuley) film provides a delicate look at the complex relationsh