ONLY THE BEST SHORT FILMS
Film of the Week: Backseat Driver
Backseat Driver by Rich Peppiatt (2018) (UK) (8m)
Backseat Driver is a very well-written, dramatic short film from UK production company Naughty Step. It takes place over the course of an early morning drive into the City of London. But the chauffeur does not intend to drive the banker to his work place quietly. Instead, the banker becomes the target of the chauffer's fury. It seems the increasingly angry chauffer is keen to vent his rage over how the bankers live in a vacuous, gilded tower. But there seems to be something a little odd about their relationship.
Love by Reka Bucsi (2016) (Hungary/France) (14m)
Love was in competition at both Berlin and Sundance, and won several awards at other festivals. Its arcane nature is not necessarily to my taste, but it is certainly engaging and I think it is important to see what kind of animations are being selected for - and winning awards at - prestigious short film festivals. Set on an alien world adorned with a smiley face and with creatures similar to those found on Earth, the animation is broken into three parts (though there is a narrative running through all three): Longing, Love and Solitude.
It Crawled In Through The Window by Ruth & Petre (2019) (USA) (2m)
The horror short film It Crawled In Through The Window has been selected as a finalist in the 14th FILMSshort Competition. Nicole and Mark are asleep when something crawls in through their bedroom window. It is now apparently in their living room. But what is it and what does it want? Mark glimpsed it but struggles to put it into words what he saw. As their fear grows, the unknown entity comes closer... but how will this nightmare end?
Ouija Sex by Mondo Ghulam (2017) (UK) (4m)
Ouija Sex was a success on the short film festival circuit, picking up several awards, before being selected for the 14th FILMSshort Competition. It tells the story Ryan, who is heart-broken after his girlfriend dies. He manages to make contact with her using an ouija board and things soon turn rather saucy. But there's a time and place for such things. By day, Ghulam works as an animation director in the video games industry.
Don't Be A Hero by Peter Lee (2018) (USA) (15m)
Don't Be A Hero, shown in Sundance (and thus SXSW), is a drama streaked with black comedy. It tells the story of a lonely and bored, middle-aged woman stuck in a menial job who robs banks dressed as a cowboy during her lunch breaks. When she sees the cashier from her last heist in a local bar, she sees a chance to relieve her loneliness through a personal relationship. However, it seems unlikely that she escape the reality of her life unless she dresses up as a cowboy.
Locked In by Gioacchino Petronicce (2018) (Italy) (8m)
Locked In is a nightmarish piece with compelling visuals and an arresting soundtrack. It tells the simple story of a man waking in his car in an underground car park and discovering he is locked inside it. When he sees a little girl at a vending machine not far from him he sees an opportunity to be rescued. However, even if he escapes his car, can he really escape what put him there in the first place? Locked In offers no reason as to why the man is trapped but that was a deliberate choice by the filmmaker.
Lost & Found by Slabe and Goldsmith ('18) (Australia) (8m) *
Lost & Found follows two knitted toys, a dragon and a fox, who have built a life for themselves after being left behind in a Japanese restaurant. However, when the female fox falls into a barrel of water, the only way the dragon can save is apparently through an act of suicide. The fox is determined not to let the dragon sacrifice himself for her. What will be the outcome in this high-stakes story?
I Am An Actress by Benoit Lach (2014) (France) (8m)
Written by Frenchmen Benoit Lach and Vincent Lafortune, and directed by the former, I Am An Actress (Je Suis Une Actrice) is a simple but thought-provoking black comedy about a wannabe actress desperate to impress a director when she goes to what she thinks is an audition in ther latter's Paris apartment. Made in 2014, this is not a #metoo film. Rather, the director is a woman who appears to be more interested in demeaning the actress than abusing her.
Hedgehog's Home by Eva Cvijanovic (2017) (Canada) (10m)
Hedgehog's Home tells the story of a hedgehog who is invited to dinner by a fox. However, it is not the fox's intent to eat the hedgehog. Instead, the fox wants to know what makes the hedgehog's home so appealing to the hedgehog. He thus follows the hedgehog home, picking up a wolf, a bear and a hog along the way. When they find the hedgehog's home is nothing more than a hole under a tree, the wolf, bear and hog are quick to ridicule the spiky creature.
8 by Acim Vasic (2010) (Serbia/ Swiss) (9m) *
Two soldiers from opposing armies (the naughts and the crosses) find themselves alone in a snowy forest. A game of cat and mouse ensues as the pendulum swings between them - but there are ultimately few winners in the game of war! Written and directed by Acim Vasic, 8 was the winner of the fourth FILMSshort competition and is a masterful example of how to create a film with no dialogue.
