DRAMA SHORT FILMS - 2
Drama short movies are the mainstay of the festival circuit. Here I give you some of the best and more varied shorts that fall into the drama genre.
Friday Tigers by Aidee Walker (2013) (NZ) (17m)
Written and directed by New Zealand filmmaker Aidee Walker, Friday Tigers was the People's Choice and runner-up in the 8th FILMSshort competition. The talented Walker also stars as the single mother trying to combine motherhood with a university degree and a blossoming romance with a fellow student, while also dealing with a complicated and unhappy past. Superbly acted by all, including the young Anysia Davies, it is a subtle, beautifully rendered drama with a dash of animation.
Incognito by Jeremiah Quinn (2015) (UK) (11m)
Incognito was written and directed by the British filmmaker Jeremiah Quinn, a previous competition winner with The Strange Death of Harry Stanley. Incognito is a mysterious drama about two men meeting in a Buenos Aires cafe in 1960. It is an unusual meeting, for they apparently share a dark secret but are also not particularly friendly. I will not tell you too much as that would perhaps ruin the drama....
Bus 44 by Dayyan Eng (2001) (China) (11m)
Written and directed by Dayyan Eng, Bus 44 (Che si shi si, 车四十四 ) is so good I had to add it even though I am as yet to find a very good copy. I also felt a nation of 1 billion souls should appear somewhere in these pages. Bus 44 is one of those dramas that questions the human race. A bus travelling through rural China is boarded by robbers, who then turn their attention on the female driver. But who on the bus will put themselves at risk to help her? Bus 44 won an honourable mention at the Sundance Film Festival.
The Natural Route by Àlex Pastor (2004) (Spain) (11m)
You may have to watch The Natural Route (La Ruta Natural) a couple of times to truly appreciate it - it certainly took me a little while to work out what was going on! With writing partner Martí Roca, Alex Pastor has created a beautiful film with a heart. It won at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and Pastor has since made two thriller feature films. The Natural Route is a little like The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which was turned into a feature film.
