ONLY THE BEST SHORT FILMS
Film Of The Week: Instruments Of A Beating Heart
Instruments Of A Beating Heart by Ema Ryan Yamazaki (2024) (Japan) (23m)
Nominated for an Oscar, Instruments Of A Beating Heart presents a microcosm of Japanese society by taking an intimate look at a class of young children preparing to perform a musical welcome for new students. Ryan Yamazaki writes that she wanted to showcase the sense of community that is instilled, but I found it hard to watch a male music teacher berating a crying 6-year-old girl, and encouraging the rest of the class to denounce her...
I'm Not A Robot by Victoria Warmerdam (2023) (Holland) (23m)
The winner of the 2025 Best Short Film Oscar, this black comedy has a Black Mirror feel to it, and centres around Lara, a music creative who is unable to pass a Captcha to update her audio software, which suggests she could in fact a robot (she apparently lives in a Blade Runner-type world where robots are unaware they are robots). Surely her husband can reassure her?
Love, Dad by Diana Cam Van Nguyen (2022) (Czech) (13m)
The exceptionally well-crafted animated documentary Love, Dad was a hit on the festival circuit. It explores the relationship between a daughter (Cam Van Nguyen) and her somewhat estranged father, who apparently left her mother because she failed to give him a son in an act of almost unimaginable selfishness. Mixing live-action imagery with a variety of animation techniques, there are some very impressive sequences that help propel the viewer through the story of a broken family.
7:35 In The Morning by Nacho Vigalondo (2003) (Spain) (8m)
Deliving into the archive because I'm struggling to find new films I don't find pretentious. Nominated for an Oscar in 2005, it's impossible not to like 7:35 In The Morning (7:35 De La Mañana), written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo. It starts off in a slightly eerie fashion, with a woman entering a cafe for her normal morning cup of coffee but with no-one speaking or, indeed, moving. It seems she has a secret admirer who has come up with an unusal way of approaching his intended...
A Lien by Sam & David Cutler-Kreutz (2023) (USA) (15m)
Now nominated for an Oscar, short drama/thriller A Lien is a stressful and brilliantly made film. Knowing nothing about it, I thought the "alien" was going to be literal but maybe I'm just an idiot and the word is used more in the States. It follows an immigrant going for his right-to-remain interview with his American wife and daughter. For some reason, they are running late for the most important interview of their lives...
The Duel At Blood Creek by Leo Burton (2010) (UK) (14m)
The fabulous comedy, The Duel At Blood Creek, was a winner in the 4th FILMSshort Competition. Blood Creek is the name of a popular site where men settle matters of honour with an old-fashioned duel. Unfortunately, it is proving rather too popular today as several would-be duellers arrive at the same time. The bickering and posturing builds up until the fighting begins. But who will survive in such a bloodthirsty age as this?
Positive Reinforcement by Gustavo Astudillo (2024) (USA) (16m)
This black comedy presents a world where negative thoughts - that nagging self-doubt that most of us suffer from - are manifest in the form of masked doppelgangers, whose sole purpose is to inflict physical injury on their original self. Ronald, a struggling musician, is in a bad place and particularly liable to negativity, which means he is getting repeatedly attacked by his doppelganger
The Naughty List by Paul Campion (2016) (USA) (9m)
A competition finalist, The Naughty List reminds us that Santa Claus will visit all the world's children on Christmas Eve, even if the child in question - Vince - is an adult mobster hiding out with his partner-in-crime in a secluded cabin. The problem is that Vince's partner does not believe in Santa Claus and, fearing the stranger could be a hitman, is tempted to put a slug in him. For his part, Santa Claus is no saint, but how will this unusual situation end, and will the rest of the world's children get their presents tonight?
Claudia by Ed Wiles (2024) (UK) (2m)
A bedtime chat descend into acrimony when a woman casually seeks to draw out the sordid truth from her partner. The conversation reveals both a supreme level of passive-aggression within their dysfunctional relationship as well as the identity of the eponymous Claudia. As with his other work, like Coffee Name, the humour is quite British, being both dry and somewhat dark.
The Bloody Olive by Vincent Bal (1996) (Belgium) (10m)
The Bloody Olive is a slick, funny spoof from Belgium, where the comedy deepens as things go from crazy to crazier and then up a notch. Don't try to follow the details of the ever-changing plot too closely - just sit back and enjoy one stupid twist after another! Bal went on to make the succesful TV animated series, Kirka & Bob, while the ending of Community episode Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design closely resembles this film.
