Tag: Short Film Spotlight

My thoughts on (some of) the Oscar-nominated shorts | 98th Oscars

Luana Bajrami and Zar Amir Ebrahimi in TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA — PHOTO: The New Yorker (Still image from YouTube).

In the build-up to the 98th Academy Awards, I tried to watch as many of the Oscar-nominated short films that I could. Some were readily available on YouTube, others were readily available on HBO Max, Disney+, or Netflix, and then there were four films that I don’t think I had the opportunity to see, either due to them not being made available or due to me not having the right subscription that would allow me to watch them. In any case, in this article, I have collected my short reactions to the four live-action shorts, four animated shorts, and three documentary shorts that I got the chance to see. And, as luck would have it, that meant I got to see the eventual winners, including in the historic tie category. Let’s get to my reactions.

Continue reading “My thoughts on (some of) the Oscar-nominated shorts | 98th Oscars” →

Nimic (2019) | Short Film Spotlight

Matt Dillon (right) on his daily commute in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Nimic (2019) — PHOTO: MUBI

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things; The Favourite; The Killing of a Sacred Deeer) — Story / Screenplay by David Kolbusz (based on an idea by), Yorgos Lanthimos, and Ethymis Filippou.

Recently, I rewatched Yorgos Lanthimos’ short film Nimic starring Matt Dillon, in which we follow as his character leaves his family to go to work, but then, on his way back, a strange woman stalks him and mimics his every move in an attempt to prove that she is actually his wife’s husband and the father of his children. What follows below are my two first reactions to the film, which were originally posted via my Letterboxd profile.

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Ridder Lykke (2023) | Short Film Spotlight

(L-R) Jens Jørn Spottag and Leif Andrée in RIDDER LYKKE — PHOTO: Jalabert Productions

International Title: Knight of Fortune — Directed by Lasse Lyskjær Noer — Screenplay by Lasse Lyskjær Noer.

Recently, the Academy Awards-shortlisted short film Ridder Lykke from Danish writer-director Lasse Lyskjær Noer was announced as one of the five nominated films in the competitive and coveted Live-Action Short Film category. In a field that included quite a few big-name efforts like Disney’s The Shepherd starring John Travolta and Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, it was quite the surprise that a tiny short film from Denmark made the cut while those other films did not. It’ll still have a steep hill to climb, if it is to ultimately win the Oscar, as it’ll be up against Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which is, undoubtedly, the frontrunner in the category.

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Vertical Cinema: Damien Chazelle and Apple Team Up for Short Film

Odds are that you have probably, at some point in time, had to ask someone to tilt their telephone so that when they take a photo with their smartphone, then the picture will be nice and wide. For Damien Chazelle’s latest short film about a stunt double, the Oscar-winning director has opted against that piece of advice as he strives for Vertical Cinema. Steven Soderbergh, and other notable directors, have already toyed with shooting feature-length films with iPhones, but Chazelle’s film has been shot in portrait mode, thus producing vertical video, in an attempt to showcase the camera features on an iPhone 11 Pro. Continue reading “Vertical Cinema: Damien Chazelle and Apple Team Up for Short Film” →

Short Film Spotlight

I was recently contacted by a short film director who asked me to show his short to my readers, followers, and whatnot. This isn’t the first time that I’ve been contacted. I’ve previously reviewed films made by directors who had approached me online.

But, the thing is, I don’t really review short films on this site. So, instead of reviewing the aforementioned director’s short film, I am here going to recommend two short films made by directors who in some way, shape, or form approached me. Continue reading “Short Film Spotlight” →