Tag: short film criticism
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Oscar Momentum Builds for Liz Rao’s Unshakable ‘The Truck’
Read More: Oscar Momentum Builds for Liz Rao’s Unshakable ‘The Truck’Oscar-qualified and already decorated on the festival circuit, Liz Rao’s The Truck arrives with the urgency of a headline and the intimacy of a diary entry. Set against the volatile backdrop of post-Roe America, the film follows a Chinese American teen and her boyfriend on a deceptively simple mission to buy the morning-after pill, a task that…
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BAFTA and Oscar Contender The Second Time Around Marks a Poignant Dramatic Debut for Jack Howard
Read More: BAFTA and Oscar Contender The Second Time Around Marks a Poignant Dramatic Debut for Jack HowardFilmmaker Jack Howard, best known for his sharp comedic work as one half of the duo Jack & Dean, makes an assured and quietly haunting leap into drama with The Second Time Around, a fantasy-inflected short that marks his most mature and emotionally resonant work to date. Set over the course of a rainy London night, the film…
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East Greenland’s First Short Film Anngeerdardardor (The Thief) Captivates Berlin, Wins Odense, and Enters the Oscars Race
Read More: East Greenland’s First Short Film Anngeerdardardor (The Thief) Captivates Berlin, Wins Odense, and Enters the Oscars RaceWeShort Original Anngeerdardardor (The Thief) was selected for the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in the Generation Kplus competition, where it electrified audiences with its fresh voice and raw emotional immediacy. Winner of the Best Danish Fiction Award at Odense International Film Festival 2025, the film is now Oscar-qualified—an extraordinary feat for the first short ever produced in East Greenland. Born…
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HOLY CURSE: A Breakthrough in the Making
Read More: HOLY CURSE: A Breakthrough in the MakingThere are films that move you and then there are films like Holy Curse, that reshape the way you see the world. When I first saw Snigdha Kapoor’s Holy Curse at a packed festival screening in Seattle, the theater was silent by the time the credits rolled. Not the kind of silence that follows polite applause. Its one that stunned,…
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Loyalties are Tested in Hedda Mjøen’s Morality Tale MERCY
Read More: Loyalties are Tested in Hedda Mjøen’s Morality Tale MERCYHedda Mjøen’s scintillating debut, MERCY, plunges viewers into the uneasy space where friendship collides with ethics. The story centers on Guro and her estranged friend Petter, who has been accused of multiple counts of rape – charges which he adamantly denies. When Petter invites her to dinner, Guro is forced into a delicate moral crossroads,…
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The Naked Truth: Eirik Tveiten’s CAMPING IN PARASISE Paradise Balances Comedy and Courage
Read More: The Naked Truth: Eirik Tveiten’s CAMPING IN PARASISE Paradise Balances Comedy and CourageFollowing the Oscar-nominated success of Night Ride (2022), Norwegian director Eirik Tveiten returns with Camping in Paradise, a short film that balances humor, discomfort, and tenderness with remarkable precision. Set in a nudist campsite, a setting ripe for both comedy and existential unease, the film unfolds as an unexpectedly moving exploration of vulnerability and the complicated ways we seek to…
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OVARY-ACTING Tackles Parental Choice with Charm
Read More: OVARY-ACTING Tackles Parental Choice with CharmIda Melum’s funny and smartly-observed stop-motion short Ovary-Acting takes on one of the most personal and politically charged subjects of our time: the question of whether or not to have children. Following her BAFTA-nominated Night of the Living Dread, Melum once again demonstrates her flair for blending absurd humour with heartfelt storytelling, crafting a film…
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Oscar® Spotlight: ‘Inside, The Valley Sings’ Delivers a Visually Dazzling, Psychologically Harrowing Portrait of Solitary Confinement”
Read More: Oscar® Spotlight: ‘Inside, The Valley Sings’ Delivers a Visually Dazzling, Psychologically Harrowing Portrait of Solitary Confinement”In this year’s fiercely competitive short documentary category, few films arrive as confidently fully formed as Inside, The Valley Sings. Directed by Irish auteur Nathan Fagan already established with hits like Flicker and Skin to Skin this animated documentary layers aesthetic bravura onto material of brutal urgency: the inner world of those subjected to solitary confinement. Hand‑drawn by animation director…
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WALUD — A Cinematic Triumph of Cultural Resilience and an Oscar®-Qualified Masterpiece
Read More: WALUD — A Cinematic Triumph of Cultural Resilience and an Oscar®-Qualified MasterpieceIn this groundbreaking exploration of tradition and transformation, ‘WALUD’ emerges as a powerful testament to human resilience and the complexity of cultural identity. Now officially Oscar®-qualified, this remarkable film transcends conventional storytelling to deliver an intimate portrait of life in the Syrian desert. At the heart of the narrative is Amuna, whose world shifts dramatically…
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KEY OF GENIUS Tells an Incredible True Story of a Musical Prodigy
Read More: KEY OF GENIUS Tells an Incredible True Story of a Musical ProdigyDaniel Persitz’s Key of Genius tells an inspiring true story of mercurial talent and the transformative power of mentorship. Adapted from Adam Ockelford’s acclaimed biography, the film dramatizes a pivotal chapter in the life of Derek Paravicini, a blind, autistic musical savant, and his teacher (Ockelford) who recognized and nurtured his extraordinary gift. In its relatively brief runtime, Key…
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Tribeca 2026: SELAH Is a Bold and Timely Story of Self-Determination
Sarah Levy 5/5 Lara Everly’s SELAH is a quietly devastating and unexpectedly…
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Elena Parasco Crafts One Of Tribeca’s Most Unforgettable Shorts With I’m Not Home
There are short films that impress technically, and then there…