The Paris International Short Festival is an online bi-monthly festival whose mission is “to discover and promote talented filmmakers from all over the world.” In each edition of the festival, short films from around the world compete for awards in a variety of categories. The winners are selected by a jury and become eligible for the festival’s annual online screening event. The seven films discussed below were selected as part of the April edition of the festival and consist of different genres, countries of origin, and filmmaking styles.
Humanity Altered: MindGait Review
Written and directed by Canadian filmmaker James Rasile, MindGait is a science fiction thriller about the aftermath of a war between humans and aliens that leaves humans in conflict with each other. Dekkora (Erin Rasile), a young woman with a raised bump on her face, walks alone through the woods while voiceover narration explains the circumstances of the war. Alien creatures abducted humans and experimented on them in an effort to weaponize humans against each other, leaving many with physical reminders of their alterations. A group of human scavengers kidnaps Dekkora with the intention of selling her back to the aliens. Seeing Dekkora’s confusion about her identity, the scavengers explain she’s a mind jumper, someone who is able to enter another human’s subconscious to control them. Dekkora searches for a way out, and help comes from an unlikely source in a narrative twist. Much of the film involves explaining the war and its consequences to get at the heart of the concept, however by the end we are hooked in and keen to see more. The short film almost feels like a teaser for a series or feature film, as its creative concept has the story potential to evolve into a larger project. Cinematography from Sheldon Norton is excellent and elevates the film’s professional aesthetic. MindGait is also a great example of how much you can accomplish on a small budget. The film was a finalist for Best International Narrative Short.
Score: B+
Roommates Clash in the Relatable Would You Like Some Water?
Two old friends move into an apartment together but soon find themselves reaching a breaking point due to their clashing habits and lifestyles in Would You Like Some Water? Written and directed by Italian filmmakers Mary Poltroni and Simona Di Napoli, this short comedy showcases the difficulties of living with a roommate and the toll of everyday annoyances. It’s an experience we’ve all likely encountered in our lives, and Poltroni and Di Napoli approach it in a fun and relatable manner. Poltroni and Di Napoli use the theme of water, specifically filling a drinking glass with water, to convey the cohabit cycle in which problems arise, resolve, and renew until the situation reaches a tipping point. In Gaia and Ludovica’s case, the issues begin immediately. Gaia is a messy musician and Ludovica is a neat financial analyst. Gaia chews with her mouth open, leaves her things all over the apartment, and uses a metal spoon instead of a wooden spoon when cooking. Ludovica is always working and leaves passive aggressive reminders for Gaia around the apartment. Eventually the two become involved in a full-on “war” which culminates in a physical brawl. Realizing they’ve taken things too far, the two friends make up and start fresh—but the film provides a clear indicator the peace won’t last. While the film largely presents from Ludovica’s perspective focusing on Gaia’s annoying habits, the tables turn towards the end in a fun twist. Would You Like Some Water? was a finalist in the Best Women Empowerment Short category.
Score: B+
A Mediocre Run in Hijack: Parkour
A man runs for his life from an unseen threat in this American experimental thriller. Written by Adam Daniel and directed by Jason Snellman, the micro short film begins with a man (Jeremy Adam Rey) standing at the top of a cliff taking in his options as he faces a distant city. Sirens sound and smoke rises in the distance. He runs towards the city, and as he navigates the downtown, he is forced to change directions often as an unseen threat closes in. The empty streets indicate that perhaps this man is one of few humans left in the city, despite the sirens in the distance. The film relies on sound and Rey’s body language to convey an approaching threat that forces Rey to change routes. Rey uses some basic parkour moves, but in a film with “parkour” in its title and in which the man is the only subject of our attention, I was disappointed that the film didn’t use parkour to a greater or more clever extent. The man’s escape attempt would have been far more compelling and tense if the escape itself had been more impressive and if we had a better understanding of the predator closing in. The film was a finalist for Best Experimental Short.
Score: C+
Flicker Review: Lonely Supernatural Thriller Shines
In the short thriller Flicker, a young Latina woman living in London hosts a dinner party with a few friends, but before they’ve even started eating, the friends begin disappearing into thin air. Written by Sebastià Rambla-Vidal and directed by Sebastian Zavala, the film creates a sense of unease and builds suspense right from the beginning. As Andrea (played wonderfully by Pepa Duarte) makes dinner and prepares for her friends’ arrival, the lights flicker, her phone stops working, and her intercom acts up. When her friends arrive, the interactions are fairly awkward and isolate Andrea as different. These feelings are compounded when the dinner guests start disappearing, wiped from existence and everyone’s memories. They simply vanish, along with their belongings, their image in photos, and the place set for them at the dinner table. Andrea is the only one who remembers them, further isolating her from her remaining friends, until they all vanish and Andrea is left completely alone. While at first Andrea thinks her friends are playing a trick, she soon realizes the truth of what’s happening and becomes more frightened and desperate. The film’s final moments are ambiguous, but there is a beacon of hope that perhaps Andrea can rejoin her friends, although whether it’s in this reality or another we’re not sure. In his director’s statement, Zavala comments that he and Rambla-Vidal can relate to the Andrea’s situation as an immigrant in a large city, and that the aim was to reflect aspects of that experience, including the feelings of loneliness. The film is quite effective in using a supernatural element to convey very real and grounded themes about human connection and our desire to belong. Flicker was a finalist for Best International Narrative Short.
Score: A
The Darkness of Alzheimers in Maps
Maps is an experimental short film from Spain about the emotional and psychological consequences of Alzheimers. Written by Alex Barrera and Montse Teixé, and directed by Barrera, the film is a dark, artistic look inside the minds of a woman (Pamela Field) and a man (Patrick Pfister) facing the terrifying ordeal of losing their memories as Alzheimers takes over. The man and woman sit (separately) in a studio, and the camera only ever captures extreme close-ups of parts of their faces/heads. Brief clips of voiceover narration convey their thoughts and experiences while the subjects slowly rotate on camera, like sculptures on display. Interspersed throughout the film, black ink drips onto white canvas, spreading into an intricate network reminiscent of the brain’s neurological pathways. Mystical, suspenseful music creates an extremely eerie sensation that heightens the fear and loneliness of the subjects’ narration. The film received the award for Best Experimental Short.
Score: B
Phoenix Review: Pandemic Amplifies Social Issues
In Phoenix, a woman copes with the challenges of being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic while her fiancé is falsely imprisoned. Written and directed by Calvin Joseph Walker, the black-and-white film touches on themes of social justice and mental health, and the ways the pandemic has negatively impacted both. Walker uses archival footage and FaceTime-like video to convey a strong sense of reality. Lucretia (LaChrisha Brown) video calls her friend Liza (Jasmine Shanise) for a yoga session, but Liza is more concerned with Lucretia’s well-being amidst the pandemic shutdown. Later, Lucretia receives a contraband video call from her fiancé, Ellis (Tracey Dukes), who reveals that his cellmate in Rikers prison has just tested positive for COVID-19. Concerned for Ellis’ safety, Lucretia can’t bring herself to tell him that she’s pregnant, and instead focuses even harder on trying to get him out of prison. As a Black man wrongfully imprisoned, Ellis is another case of the carceral system and institutionalized racism in the justice system; these issues are compounded by the pandemic and the lack of safety protocols put in place to protect inmates. Archival footage shows protests at Rikers prison as an inmate reveals they aren’t kept six feet apart from one another; beds are only twelve inches apart. Lucretia’s frustration grows when her lawyer explains that Ellis’ case is stalled because the pandemic has forced the courts to shut down. Lucretia refuses to give up hope, and leaves us with a message of love and optimism for her unborn child’s future. Phoenix received the award for Best Micro Short.
Score: B+
An Amicable Divorce Hilariously Blows Up in The Divorce
Written and directed by Australian actor and filmmaker Jackson Tozer, The Divorce is a micro short comedy about a couple whose amicable divorce blows up in their faces over the division of one last asset. Janine (Michelle Brasier) and Michael (Jackson Tozer) are in their final meeting with their divorce lawyer (Tegan Higginbotham), who commends them for the refreshingly peaceful divorce proceedings. Janine and Michael are genuinely happy for each other and acknowledge there’s no bad blood between them as they drink tea and eat biscuits in the meeting. Their civility flies out the window when the meeting ends and the lawyer asks who would like the final biscuit. Suddenly, Janine and Michael are are re-hashing their divorce agreement in an effort to win the cookie despite their lawyer insisting she can just get more from the kitchen. It’s an absurdist comedy that works. The actors nail their facial expressions and tones, and the editing nicely captures the rhythm of their banter to excellent comedic effect. The Divorce was a finalist for Best Script in Short.
Score: A