HollyShorts Film Festival 2016 Shorts Selections Part 2

QuenottesThe short film festival HollyShorts took place in Hollywood August 11th to 20th, 2016.  It showcased a ton–yes a ton–of short films from the US and around the world.  Here are more short reviews of some of these bite-sized films. This is Part two of the HollyShorts Film Festival Round Up.

The Flesh of my Lovers (USA) (2015)
A man lives a dark, dark life while daydreaming of his beautiful but cold neighbor and fantasizing of violence and murder.  When a cute and bubbly new neighbor moves in across the hall and is friendly to him, he starts to fall for her and wants to better his life.  This dark comedy has talented acting from its leads Aaron Pont and Kristina Pesic.  The film looks and sounds great.  The contrast between the gloomy life in Connor’s apartment and the happy and colorful one in Gracie’s apartment perfectly encapsulates each character.  The sound design, particularly in the fantasy sequences is shiver-inducing and gooey.  It’s a funny short film with lots to love if your sense of humor runs on the dark side.

Quenottes (Pearlies) (France, Luxembourg) (2016)
In some areas of the world, the Tooth Fairy is replaced by “La Petite Souris” or “The Little Mouse” who collects kids’ fallen pearlies or teeth.  When a man returns to his childhood home with his son following his mother’s death, they disturb the mouse who turns out to be more homicidal than whimsical.  This mouse will stop at nothing to get the tooth lost back.  Quenottes is a bloody mix of live action and animation that works.  Writer Pascal Thiebaux co-directed with Gil Pinheiro this violent take on a childhood favorite.  Their take on this contains fantastic animation by Mickael Coedel and Ghayth Chegaar and great special effects by David Scherer.  The small cast of Lionel Abelanski as the father and Matthieu Clement-Lescop as the son with the mouse voiced by Frederique Bel, all do amazingly well, especially Abelanski and Clement-Lescop as they has to act with an animated character.  Quenottes shows amazing talent from the people behind it while building a tension filled take on a childhood tale.

Indigo (Canada) (2016)
This Japanese language Canadian short follows an alien and a small robot waiting to go home.  When the signal comes, Takumi must choose between love and going home.  Written and directed by Jody Wilson, the film poses an interesting choice for its lead but unfortunately it could not keep this reviewers attention.  It’s a beautiful and sad story, yet comes off a bit boring.  The look of the film, its cinematography by Ryan Petey is interesting.  The acting by Kohei Shinozaki as Takumi, Keiko Boxall, Elizabeth Davison, Yumi Nagashima, and the rest of the cast is good.  The small toy robot is adorable.  Yet the film doesn’t hit right with this reviewer even though the story should resonate.

Descry (USA) (2016)
As Clay sits in a dinner at lunch with his experiences and fears come crashing in a series of confrontations that feel all too real.  Descry approaches the subject of racism by showing its blatant forms as well as less obvious ones.  The subject here is very timely considering the racial tensions and issues in the United States and around the world.  Director David Michael Yohe co-writes with Jenna Bleecker and they build a short film that is effective and eye opening.  Their lead actor who supports the bulk of the film being at the center of all the confrontations had to be absolutely perfect for the part and talented.  The lead of Clay is played by Quincy Ndekwe who shows a great connection with his part and a lot of control over his craft.  The other cast members show talent as well.  Descry shows a view of racism from the inside, it shows how it feels to live with it every day.  It also makes the viewer think and hopefully will make some revise how they act and think.

Atis (Poland) (2012)
Director Grzegorz Ziolkowski builds a depressing yet necessary film about homelessness and what some need to do in order to survive.  The leads in this are a mother and her son named Atis forced to live in a building’s ruins and beg for enough money to eat when they cannot find enough in dumpsters and other places.  The film is also completely devoid of dialogue for a lot of its running time yet it grabs the viewer and doesn’t let go.  The film is full of emotions and a very well done without judgment, a lesson in what it really is like to be beyond poor and homeless.  It’s sad, heavy, and depressing to drive its point across.

Break My Bones (USA) (2016)
A 10 year old girl, Violet, fights what looks to be cancer.  Her mother, trying to help, sets up meetings for her with their elderly neighbor who’s also been sick.  During those visits to his home, Violet hears and sees things that would scare most adults.  Co-written by David Graham Haynes and director Anthony Collamati, Break My Bones layers sadness with creepiness until it all culminates in a satisfying ending that may not work for all viewers.  The film’s heavy themes mix well with the creepy house and building vibes throughout.  The lead of Violet is interpreted by a gutsy Eloise Lushina for whom this is a first film.  She shows maturity beyond her years and handles the difficult material beautifully.  She should be able to take this and turn it into a career should she wish to.  Also needing to be brought up is Loretta Higgins as the creeptastic Mrs. Cleveland.  She starts off sweet and switches so easily to evil that her performance small screen time is one of the bests in a film filled with strong performances.  Break My Bones is a creepy film about a sad subject with great performances.

This year’s batch of shorts I was able to see from HollyShorts was well worth the time and I highly recommend Bear Story, Break My Bones, Quenottes, and Disco Inferno.  Shorts may not get all the attention they deserve so if you run across some or can attend a festival playing a selection, do yourself a favor and check them out.