Festival Coverage by Jessica Carr
Y’know, 2020 seemed like a promising year at first. It feels like years ago I was chanting “Bong Hive” at the TV as Parasite won Best Picture at the Oscars. Cinephiles were soaring high….and then the pandemic hit. I’m not trying to be dramatic here, but shit got bad quickly. I had no idea Portrait of a Lady on Fire was going to be the last film I saw in theaters for a while. It was a huge blow to all of us and I don’t think I’ve ever missed a movie theater more. I miss the smell of overpriced popcorn, musty theater carpet, and even, the cheesy Regal student short films (I’M SERIOUS). But luckily, people have found a way to allow some film traditions to live on – including film festivals. Amazon Prime Video & SXSW came together to showcase a small portion of the films that were going to screen at the festival. The filmmakers who opted to participate had their shorts streamed on Amazon Prime from April 27 to May 6. I was able to catch 6 short films that were featured in the program. Although I thought the overall lineup was pretty limited, I tried to watch the short films that I found most appealing. It was nice to see fresh films from upcoming filmmakers even at a limited capacity. Here’s what I saw:
The Voice in Your Head by Graham Parkes
Woo, this is a silly short for sure. It opens with a guy getting ready for work with another guy making fun of him and bullying him the entire time. From the title, you’re thinking this is obviously supposed to represent the voice inside his head. With a twist, things become not exactly what they seem. It was a very fun film to watch; I think the writing and the acting were really on point. I was not a huge fan of the ending, but it doesn’t take away from how solid the rest of the short was for me.
Face to Face Time by Isabel Shill
This one is gonna be a big *eye-roll* from me. I guess that sounds harsh, but Face to Face Time fell pretty flat. It tried to be a cheeky attempt at exploring the troubles of intimacy through technology. However, I’m not really sure had much to say. The main problem for me was that the characters were blah. The girl in the short is face-timing a guy she is dating; she is dressed up and is trying to be sexy for him. He comes off as an asshole immediately, but, in the end, we are supposed to sympathize with him because he possibly has erectile dysfunction??? I’m not sure what to do with this so I’m just gonna say it was FINE.
Mizuko by Kira Dane and Katelyn Rebelo
Mizuko is a poetic short about a Japanese-American woman who is inspired by a Buddhist ritual for grieving abortions while contemplating what it meant to end her own pregnancy. The narration switches between English and Japanese, showing a link between the two cultures. It is comprised of a mixture of animation, film, and watercolor sequences. I loved what this film was doing: it was a nice meditation on being a part of two cultures as well as the conception of life and what it means to be a woman. There were parts of the film that almost lulled me to a sleep-like state, but as most poetic cinema goes, I think that was the vibe it was going for.
Single by Ashley Eakin
Readers, you might want to buckle up because I am about to rant. (But before I began my rant, I would like to say that I enjoyed watching this film.) Single is about a woman born with one arm who gets set up on a blind date with a guy that has one hand. She gets very angry at this setup because she thinks the only reason they were set up is that they are both disabled. The female lead has a HUGE chip on her shoulder because of how people treat her and I think that’s her right to feel that way. The short is somewhat mean spirited, but it is clearly anger felt by some disabled people when they are treated differently. The filmmaker was trying to say something about ableism, but chose to do it in a not so nice way. I had no qualms with this approach, even though it is quite off-putting for viewers to watch. I don’t think the main character seemed like a real person, but rather the manifestation of the anger that was trying to be communicated. After I saw the film, I went on Letterboxd and saw a review of a guy calling the female lead fat and also a c*nt. I can’t find the review anymore, so I think Letterboxd probably took it down. For some reason, women aren’t allowed to be angry. I can’t help but think that if this film was about a guy, then I would not have seen a review like the one I saw. NEWS FLASH: Women are allowed to be angry. So ultimately, I appreciate a short that features a woman that is unapologetically angry.
Basic by Chelsea Devantez
Short and sweet is the best way I can describe Basic by Chelsea Devantez. The film is 3 minutes of comedic gold. There is no wasted space here; it feels like the perfect bite of cheesecake to me. It’s satisfying and delightful while exploring the feelings of insecurity that we all have, specifically while in a relationship. Out of all the shorts, I felt like this was the one that knew exactly what it wanted to say and how to say it. I would like to see more from Chelsea Devantez in the future, please.
Reminiscences of the Green Revolution by Dean Colin Marcial
Last, but certainly not least, is Reminiscences of the Green Revolution. This short has to be the one that was the hardest to execute and still the most impressive out of the shorts I saw. It had the look and feel of an early 2000s documentary film. The film is about Filipino eco-activists as they plan a series of protests in 2001. With the lush jungle of the Phillippines featured in nearly every shot, I was transported to a place that I’d never been to. Even though I’m Filipino, I’ve never stepped foot in the Philippines, let alone seen a Filipino film. As the main characters of the film speak Tagalog and joke around with each other, I felt a sense of pride swell up in my chest. Dean Colin Marcial did a brilliant job of creating an atmosphere and a group of characters that viewers wanted to be around. Add in the themes of political revolution and eco-activism and you have a bold short film. I would watch a feature by this director in a heartbeat. It lit a fire in me to seek out other pieces of Filipino cinema and I hope there are features made in the Phillippines in our near future.
