By: Henry J. Fromage –
The penultimate batch of HollyShorts sees another nice mix of live action, animation, and documentary in a variety of genres.
564. Aurora
This strikingly shot sci-fi short puts us in the rattled mind of the only survivor of a space exploration mission, who is haunted by figures of his past that may or may not be there with him, or may be a projection of some kind of presence that could be the source of the signal the crew was searching for. The black and white cinematography and effects are among the best of the festival so far, and the music is just as impressive. Two Beers.
565. Fjallferð
The title here means ‘mountain trek’ in Icelandic, which is what the shepherds there have done for generations in search of their free-range herds of sheep in order to round them up and bring them back home. It’s a rugged affair, requiring a lot of logistical coordination and then mental and physical toughness to pull off. The photographer who’s followed them into the mountains for 30 years has captured some truly incredible shots which are interspersed throughout this short. Two Beers.
568. One Last Order
After 37 years of staffing the window at Mac’s Drive-Thru, Sighle Williams is retiring, and today is her last day. This sweetly affirmational documentary short shows just what a impact she’s had on her community, as a line of cars snake around to get that one last order with her to hand it to them. She grew up without electricity in a shack outside of Gainesville, and Mac’s owner is giving her every dollar they earn today as a retirement gift. A testament to maintaining positivity day in and day out, and the legacy that can create. A Toast.
567. Hector and Cheo
Let’s keep the work/life stories going, eh? Hector Sanchez, Sr. has been in the cobbler business for years, but he’s losing most of his employees due to common reasons like retirement, and more sadly au courant ones like self-deportation. Enter Hector “Cheo” Sanchez, Jr., his son who’s not terribly interested in the family business, and who’s lost his father’s confidence as a result, but he may not have many more options. A frank look at the generational and immigrant/first generation American divide. Two Beers.
568. Hunting
This stop-animated short is part of a documentary short collection, which is unfortunate because it means this largely happened. A young female filmmaker likens her search for subjects to hunting, but after asking one man if he’d consent to being filmed, she finds she’s the prey here. I suspect the audio that ensues after the setup is all real, and if so, the sexual harassment on a public bus it captures is some gross, yet disturbingly all to commonplace, stuff indeed. Two Beers.
569. Pale Sun
This dramatic short follows a young teen boy, who like many or perhaps most teens is preoccupied with his body image, as he goes to the beach with his recently long-hospitalized father, replete with pale skin, hairless head, and massive scar across his torso. A group of boys he starts playing volleyball with call him Gollum, exacerbated by the boy telling them he’s just “a local crazy” when he starts calling to him. A short but impactful story of . Two Beers.
570. Saba
This largely wordless animated short is set on an upside down floating sky ship of some sort, populated by a (very spry) old man called Saba and presumably his grandson. The physics of what is upside down and what is right side up, and what is above and below the waterline that bifurcates things, are fun to witness the characters navigate, and there’s an undercurrent of melancholy throughout as it’s clearly a metaphor for growing up and losing those you love. Two Beers.
571. The Impression
This action short about a Ukrainian woman who has to rescue her kidnapped son after he’s taken at a station by a charismatic stranger they met on the train is pretty simplistic and even a bit silly in its story, dialogue, and acting. A final bumper/visual punchline betrays what this is really about, though- professional stuntpeople showing off their skills. As such, it’s hard not to appreciate the well-choreographed fight scenes and bruising stunt falls. These folks are pros. Three Beers.
572. Alberta and the Possum
Alberta is a Venezuelan seeking asylum in the U.S. who is a bit perturbed by all the news in the air and housesitting for her sister. She decides to get out and take a walk, and ends up in a botanical garden, but her peace is punctured when she notices a possum hissing around her. Asking nearby workers, she learns they come there to die sometimes- it’s a peaceful and quiet place to do so, so she brings it a pillow and sits with it while it does. A lovely little story of human & animal connection, with the world’s sweetest (clearly quite domesticated) opossum actor. Now I want one. Two Beers.
573. Creators
This short follows a pretty lame-looking YouTube content creator who largely seems intent on aping whatever’s currently going viral. When a video about an influencer pulling a suicidal man off a bridge notorious for people jumping off it, he decides he’s going to try and replicate it. That doesn’t go exactly as he planned, and that’s just the start of the seesawing shifts and twists. A satirical short with a particularly dim view of online content creation culture. Two Beers.
574. A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching
This love letter to New York City pigeons juxtaposes footage of the ever-present winged beasts with interview snippets of residents extolling their virtues and drawbacks. Perhaps surprisingly, . Two Beers.
575. Supper
If you’re anything like me, this will be the most triggering short of the festival. It literally opens on a dude beating off to an ASMR mukbang video (is there anything worse to listen to than another person chewing?) It’s well-produced and as fucked up as you can ask for- on levels you wouldn’t ever anticipate from the outset, but it was an absolute chore to sit through at times despite a story with satirical heft and superb acting. How does one rate “achieves exactly what it’s going for, but what it’s going for is literal torture?” Jayme Lawson is so great in this. Three Beers.
576. Make Sense
This horror short follows a Michelin Star chef who is losing his sense of taste, and that may just be the start of things. He’s also an asshole with everyone we see him interact with to start the film. It’s a well-acted small morality tale of sorts that reflects his descent through smart aesthetic choices. Two Beers.
577. BRUVVAS
Ben Whishaw and Katie McGuinness (who also writes and directs) play a couple of siblings with a bit of an eccentric relationship (possibly in response to his clear eccentricities). It’s all a bit loose and goofy as they dance about their living room after he announces he’s going to have his own radio DJ show. That’s until the tragic twist, but even that had me questioning what of what we see and what we don’t is real. Three Beers.
578. cowgirl
This dramatic short is in the Coming of Age section of the festival, which is fitting as it follows a teenage girl who gets a summer job at an Oregon lake resort, perhaps her first. Another likely first, but unfortunately unlikely to be her last, is her interactions with local boys, who see her hat and ask if she knows what “cowgirl” is. The internet will fill in that kind of knowledge of course, providing one of those jarring and unwelcome introductions to adulthood. Two Beers.
579. Baggage
A man’s day goes some crazy places after he shows up to work to see his cubicle completely emptied out. His coworkers are all acting incredibly squirrely, particularly Apple, who has a bag emitting human moans underneath her desk. It just gets weirder from there, enjoyably so. You’re not going to predict where this one is going. Two Beers.
580. Bloom
HollyShorts has both Horror and Midnight Madness sections- perhaps because there’s just too many quality horror shorts to program only a couple of midnight showings, or maybe because they needed a section for the really crazy shit. This story of a woman recovering from the removal of a tumor in her leg has some gnarly body horror. Her exercise fiend boyfriend’s pithy “I’d give you mine if I could” starts her obsessing, and all those plant grafting scenes early on give you a horrible idea of where this is headed. Midnight Madness, indeed. Two Beers.
581. Swim Sistas
This documentary short is about black women who swim at every age and level of skill and experience. Many were told they can’t or shouldn’t swing when young and only came to it later in life, while others are Olympic-level competitors who started young, but all are united in acknowledging barriers they’ve encountered, but encouraging their peers to go supersede them and get in that water. Everyone everywhere should- it’s one of life’s basic pleasures. Two Beers.
582. Toy Gun
A couple of siblings and their father meet up for a rather janky-looking quick birthday celebration at his apartment while the world seems to be falling apart outside around them, with fighter jets flying overhead and explosions and gunshots in the distance. They’re a bit more fixated on whether their divorced parents are hooking up now while Chekhov’s toy gun lighter hangs around in the background. An odd but never boring comedy/thriller short. Two Beers.
583. Never Tonight
This stylish horror short sees a couple of brothers face off in Purgatory for the right to take the last slot in Heaven. A no holds barred recounting of past sins and shocking secrets ensues. This may all be occurring in the mind of the clearly guilty older brother, who also hallucinates a particularly demonic version of his father at times. It’s all laudably Freudian. Two Beers.
