Tag: Grief Retreat
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HOLLYSHORTS FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT: Michael Yuchen Lei on MUSHROOM DAD, Fatherhood and Surrealism
Read More: HOLLYSHORTS FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT: Michael Yuchen Lei on MUSHROOM DAD, Fatherhood and SurrealismMushroom Dad is both surreal and deeply personal. What was the first spark of the idea, and how did it grow into the story we see today? The initial spark for the film was both the very silly, but also deeply poignant idea of “what would it be like if you had to take care of…
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Interview with HollyShorts Filmmaker Dylan Trupiano on RECESSES
Read More: Interview with HollyShorts Filmmaker Dylan Trupiano on RECESSESWhat was your inspiration behind Recesses? The film was almost built completely as a memory piece around my childhood. We shot this film at my old elementary school in Metro Detroit, the same where my father taught third grade. After dismissal, I would wander the empty halls as he worked tirelessly into the night. Through…
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Interview: Beneath the Layers: The Filmmaker Behind “Skin” Talks Beauty, Bias, and Identity
Read More: Interview: Beneath the Layers: The Filmmaker Behind “Skin” Talks Beauty, Bias, and IdentityGrowing up Indian in America, I was very aware of my skin tone from a young age. Especially as a teenager, I hated what I saw in the mirror. I had a visceral desire to rip my body apart and cobble together something whiter. The violence of that feeling combined with the genuine bodily harm…
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From Tribeca to HollyShorts: The Emotional High of Michael Yuchen Lei’s Mushroom Dad
Read More: From Tribeca to HollyShorts: The Emotional High of Michael Yuchen Lei’s Mushroom DadMichael Yuchen Lei’s Mushroom Dad is an inventive, heartfelt short that blends surreal comedy with raw emotional truth. Backed by Lena Waithe and developed through the Indeed Rising Voices program, it’s a festival gem that premiered at Tribeca before heading to HollyShorts, earning praise for both its humor and poignancy. The story follows Julian, a rising chef…
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PLASTIC SURGERY Tackles Environmental Pollution with Startling Urgency
Read More: PLASTIC SURGERY Tackles Environmental Pollution with Startling UrgencyIn Plastic Surgery, director Guy Trevellyan delivers a gripping environmental thriller that transforms a sterile hospital ward into a pressure chamber of ecological dread. Premiering at the 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival, this bold, atmospheric short reimagines plastic pollution not as a distant catastrophe, but as an insidious threat already flowing through our bloodstreams. Set during…
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Hannah Rose Ammon Delivers a Poignant Mother-Daughter Story in WE DO OUR BEST
Read More: Hannah Rose Ammon Delivers a Poignant Mother-Daughter Story in WE DO OUR BESTIn We Do Our Best, writer-director Hannah Rose Ammon crafts a tender, perceptive coming-of-age story set over the course of one unforgettable night in New York City. The film follows a single mother (Jennifer Esposito) who sneaks her teenage daughter (Madalynn Mathews) into a Manhattan cocktail lounge, a playful act that cracks opens a space for deeper reflection,…
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HollyShorts Filmmaker Spotlight: Interview with Rachid Sabitri, Producer of LARGO
Read More: HollyShorts Filmmaker Spotlight: Interview with Rachid Sabitri, Producer of LARGOWhat drew you to LARGO as a producer, and why did this story resonate with you personally? I was first attached to the project in 2018, when it was a very different story set in Sardinia. For better or worse, we weren’t able to raise the funds at the time. Fast forward to 2022, the…
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Interview with HollyShorts Filmmakers Salvatore Scarpa & Max Burgoyne-Moore
Read More: Interview with HollyShorts Filmmakers Salvatore Scarpa & Max Burgoyne-MooreLARGO is told entirely through the eyes of a child. What challenges and opportunities did that unique perspective present in terms of storytelling and filmmaking? We’re both big fans of films that tell stories from a child’s perspective. It’s a way of looking at the world that everyone can relate to and empathise with, especially…
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HOLLYSHORTS Review – Sunday Sauce – Cathy Moriarty Anchors a Bold, Surreal Portrait of Family, Faith, and Repressed Identity
Read More: HOLLYSHORTS Review – Sunday Sauce – Cathy Moriarty Anchors a Bold, Surreal Portrait of Family, Faith, and Repressed IdentityOfficial Selection: HollyShorts Film Festival 2025 In Sunday Sauce, a 14-minute cinematic fever dream from writer-director-producer Matt Campanella and his production company C4MP Films, the family dinner table becomes an emotional battleground—where tradition collides with desire, and Catholic guilt bubbles over like a pot of overboiled pasta. With a sharp eye and a deeply personal voice, Campanella…
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HollyShorts – Review: Julia Weisberg Cortés’ Boyfighter – A Potent Contender for Oscar Gold
Read More: HollyShorts – Review: Julia Weisberg Cortés’ Boyfighter – A Potent Contender for Oscar GoldAt the intersection of bruised masculinity and aching vulnerability lies Boyfighter, a stunning short film that marks a vital new voice in cinema. Directed by Julia Weisberg Cortés and featuring a searing performance by Michael Mando (Better Call Saul, Orphan Black), Boyfighter is not just a film, it’s an emotional reckoning. With its world premiere at the Oscar®-qualifying HollyShorts…
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Miriam Margolyes Leads a Must-Watch Oscar Short A FRIEND OF DOROTHY — Now Streaming Free
For two weeks only, audiences around the world can watch…
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MAGID / ZAFAR, Reframing South Asian Masculinity on Screen
Winner at the British Independent Film Awards and nominated for a BAFTA, MAGID /…
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Two Standout Animated Shorts Go Head-to-Head for the 2026 Oscars®
As the Academy Award® race for Best Animated Short Film…