Category: short

This is healthcare. Period. “The Devil Is Busy” (2024)

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directed by Geeta Gandbhir & Christalyn Hampton
© 2024 HBO Documentary Films. All Rights Reserved.

It’s 2025 and we still need to make films to share awareness about basic human rights. Oh well… but if that’s the case, then it’s great people make such productions. Today, I’d like to recommend you a short documentary about one of the most controversial issues nowadays. The person that we mostly follow here is Tracii, the head of security at one abortion clinic. We get to see the daily life of the staff from her perspective. And as you can imagine, it’s not easy. Such places are still not accepted by some groups, so you may not only see them protesting in front of clinics, but also use a variety of things to harm the employees and patients. That is why women have to be protected in order to go through the procedure. Before watching this documentary I was aware of the protests that happen nearby abortion clinics because I live in a country where such things take place as well. The protestants even use toxic substances against the staff or they break windows/doors. However, this short film actually opened my eyes on the level of fear, anxiety and pain that women go through. If a woman decides to have an abortion, she is already under a massive stress. You never know why she makes such decision and, let’s be honest, it’s none of your business, because, in the end, she’s the one who would have to raise this child. So imagine you’re in such situation, you dress up, go to the clinic and you see people willing to hurt you for even being there. It’s insane! Each person may have their own beliefs, but you have no right to traumatise others for making decisions about their own life. That is why I admire people like Tracii, who work everyday in such environment and still give so much support to their patients. They are those superheroes we don’t often hear about, so maybe it’s time to finally talk about them. You may start from this documentary. And I wish you such wonderful people on your path in case you need help.

My rating: 7/10
S.

CAPTCHA will catch ya. “I’m Not a Robot” (“Ik ben geen robot”, 2023)

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directed by Nicola Conversa
© 2023 The New Yorker. All Rights Reserved.

Oscars 2025 are coming soon, so expect a lot of recommendations from me with the nominated titles. This year, again, I have films that I strongly support and at least one film that’s a huge joke to me. What’s more, I’m actually worried that based on the Academy choices, that joke of a film might win the main Oscar… Stay strong, dear filmmakers. I know the Academy rules and restrictions for the nominees are already questionable, but please, keep making good cinema. There are so many horrible productions that have won Oscars and later on they are forgotten. I guess it’s better to do quality and skip the fancy party, right? Okay, enough complaining, because I actually have a wonderful short film to recommend you! It’s a Dutch production about a woman named Lara (Ellen Parren), who’s currently at work and is having some technical issues with her computer. The system update blocks pretty much everything unless she succeeds in a CAPTCHA test. Before you ask uncle Google, let me explain: CAPTCHA – Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. And before you think of using uncle Google again: that’s a series of online tests which most of us have seen at least once. Whenever you have to type the letters or numbers (often written by a 5-year-old with dysgraphia) from a picture, or you need to indicate which parts of a picture contain a certain object (for example a road) – that’s CAPTCHA. We’ve been there, done that. So Lara is asked to do such test and fails, several times. We even see her clicking the correct parts of the picture and still, the test says it’s incorrect. She cannot prove she’s human. Sounds ridiculous, right? She decides to call technical support and the gentleman from the other side says that perhaps Lara is in fact a robot who doesn’t know about it yet. And the rest is for you to see. I was thrilled to watch this short film because it kept me curious and engaged in the story from the beginning till the end. I’m a big fan of sci-fi, especially when it focuses on human/non-human matters. That’s great the filmmakers didn’t decide to make it longer, because those 22 minutes are absolutely enough to present the problem and give us some food for thought. Another brilliant story about people acting like gods and not thinking of the consequences of their actions. To me, that’s this year’s winner, so chapeau bas, my fingers are crossed and good luck!

My rating: 8/10
S.

I choose to be joyful! “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” (2023)

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directed by Sean Wang
© 2023 Even Odd. All Rights Reserved.

Ladies! Today is your day and you deserve all the best that’s on this planet (and beyond). So in order to sweeten your holiday, I’d like to recommend you a short documentary that’s nominated to Oscars, which, in my humble opinion, is a beautiful 22-minute-long wish to you all. It’s a story about two lovely elderly women, who share their everyday life with us. They live together as best friends and their house couldn’t be happier. Despite their age, they know how to have fun and they don’t slow down, oh no. They play, they dance, they fart loud and nobody is allowed to change that. They are a human form of “you only live once” and to me, this short documentary is filled with inspiration, love and warmth. Since the film isn’t long, I won’t keep this post long either. I believe this nominee is a winner (at least my personal), because it’s unique, funny and tells an incredible story, which seems so common, yet eye-opening. I wish you all such friendship and so much joy in life. You already have this joy – all you need is to spot it. Sometimes it’s hidden in your morning coffee or favourite armchair you like to sit in. So it’s time to notice such joy and your life will be sweeter. Stay lovely, stay strong and watch wonderful films!

My rating: 8/10
S.

The purest form of love. “The Elephant Whisperers” (2022)

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directed by Kartiki Gonsalves
© 2022 Netflix. All Rights Reserved.

Before Oscars 2023 happened, this film was my favourite short documentary and during the event I was thrilled they got appreciated. Although I find it ridiculous that the Academy awarded a film about the purest love between humans and animals and in the same evening they forced a poor donkey to be brought onto the stage so a bunch of wealthy and famous people could have a laugh. I wish common sense could be bought with money. Anyway, let’s focus on this beautiful story as it actually brings me lots of joy. In “The Elephant Whisperers” we get to meet Bomman and Bellie – a couple living in South India. They are both indigenous people sharing a rather simple yet happy life together. And just like some of us have different pets such as dogs or cats, Bomman and Bellie have their own baby elephant Raghu. The little-not-so-little fella is a true sunshine that needs a lot of attention from their humans, but also brings a lot of happiness to their family. I was incredibly moved by this film because it shows the purest form of love. Bomman and Bellie didn’t have to accept the elephant – they could have just let the animal be or find someone else to worry about that. Their life is not that easy and they struggle to provide for themselves, so having such a baby pet is a huge challenge. And still, they didn’t give up on Raghu. They live all together and you can’t even imagine any different scenario for this little family. I love how much time and effort they’ve been putting into caring about Raghu and how much they’ve learnt about the animal, as if that was their human baby. This film really reminds us that we don’t have to be able to change the entire world with our actions – it’s enough to make a little step, especially in our surrounding. Besides, we could really live in peace with animals. This cruelty that has become our everyday life is completely unnecessary if you think about it. We really don’t need to hurt animals to have food, clothes or any other products. Just because certain things are common or have become our traditions, doesn’t mean we should be blindly following them. Try to take a break from it all and reflect on the topic yourself. Today’s documentary is full of peace and affection and I hope that by recommending it to you I’m also reminding you to seek for the same in your realities.

My rating: 8/10
S.

This is going to sound weird… “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It” (2021)

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directed by Lachlan Pendragon
© 2021 Griffith Film School. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve been following my blog for quite some time, then I bet you know I’m a big fan of stop motion animation. There’s something fascinating about it that never gets boring to me. Maybe I’m not being objective since I used to play with stop motion animation myself and I know how much effort and creativity it takes to make even the shortest film using thing method. Today I’d like to recommend you “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”, which is a title that definitely catches attention. Before watching this short production with a title of considerable length, I had no idea what to expect. At first, I was thrilled it’s a stop motion animation, obviously, but then, the longer I was watching (funny to say considering it’s only 11 minutes long), the more I was getting excited by the idea. We get to know Neil who is an ordinary office employee. At some point, the man starts questioning whether the world he’s living in is real. And all that thanks to his observations and, yes, you’ve guessed right, an ostrich. An ostrich which told him the world is fake. And Neil thinks he believes it. I have to say I’m thankful to the director for choosing such a title because it saves my time writing this post. Everything you need to know is pretty much explained. But perhaps you’ve already glanced at my rating and if you haven’t – you’ve just done this at this very moment. Indeed, this short has won my heart and I really hope it’ll win an Oscar. The idea is so simple, yet not shallow or disappointing. I honestly had a lot of fun watching it, especially since it’s filled with my kind of humour. If you’d like to get some philosophical messages – I bet you can, even from these 11 minutes. But if I told you what I see hidden in this short story, it would be pointless for you to watch. And since it’s just 11 minutes long, then you have no right to skip it explaining you’ve got no time for films. For this one you do. And you should. And you won’t regret. To me this little animation is a real gem that will hopefully be awarded, because I can tell it was made by a very conscious, imaginative and hard-working filmmaker. Crossing my fingers hoping they won’t fall off and no ostrich comes out of my closet.

My ratings: 9/10
S.

Connection restored. “An Irish Goodbye” (2022)

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directed by Tom Berkeley & Ross White
© 2022 First Flights. All Rights Reserved.

It’s not a long film so my post won’t be such either, yet I hope you’ll feel encouraged to see it because to me – it’s one of the best nominated productions this year. And I swear, it could have been nominated as the Best Picture among all those big titles and I’m guessing that would be my personal winner. We’re moving to Northern Ireland where two brothers – Turlough (Seamus O’Hara) and Lorcan (James Martin) – are trying to manage their new reality after just recently losing their mother. Lorcan wishes to stay at the family farm as he feels home there and cannot imagine leaving it behind, while his brother is not really willing to get back to rural life. Why don’t they just keep on living the way each wants? Well, the thing is that Lorcan has Down syndrome and, despite being very skilful and quite independent, he cannot be left on his own. So the two brothers have to agree on something, whether they want to or not. In the meantime, they get a list of things their mother wished to do before her death, but unfortunately didn’t have enough time for. Lorcan encourages his brother to experience all the things from the list together with the ashes of their mother, and then he’ll agree to follow Turlough wherever he’ll decide to go. This film is only 23 minutes long, yet it managed to melt my heart and put a smile on my face. I honestly wish more films were made so conscientiously. There’s everything there – a good story, great acting, well-written characters, engaging drama mixed with honestly amusing humour, spiced with a bit of sarcasm and with an adorable message coming at the end. Besides, technically it’s just beautiful. Quality editing definitely adds a lot to my experience while watching a film, so whenever there’s a smart camerawork and decent editing, I’m satisfied. And these 23 minutes are just perfect in my eyes. I was enjoying every second and I believe that this short film may have a huge impact on many people. If I was to tell you what it’s about in one word, I’d say “connection”. So no matter at what stage of your life you are right now, I believe you may take a moment after seeing it and reflect on yourself deeply. And if you’re a cinephile who appreciates meticulousness and aesthetic balance – this film will please you for sure. I guess I don’t need to add that it’s my winner as the Best Live Action Short Film? Well, I don’t. But I will. It is my winner. And let’s hope not only mine. I wish you good connections, my dear readers. And more of such perfect productions.

My rating: 9/10
S.

Tomorrow doesn’t exist. “Fursat” (2023)

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directed by Vishal Bhardwaj
© 2023 Absolute Productions. All Rights Reserved.

Call me old-fashioned but I still miss the times when the phone was just for calling. Texting? Writing a letter. Selfie? A photo camera. Music? A walkman/discman. And in case you lost one, you could still enjoy other activities. Now, if someone loses their phone, it’s the end of the world. Apocalypse! Everything’s gone! So this addiction to our smartphones is creeping me out, yet there are moments when I appreciate technological progress. Today, I’d like to recommend you a short film made by Vishal Bhardwaj, which was fully shot using… iPhone 14 Pro. Yes, a phone. And if you’re sceptical about its quality – well… you may be surprised. But hey, every film has a story, so I have to introduce you to the story of “Fursat” as well. We’re following a young man named Nishant (Ishaan Khattar), who’s found some ancient tool that allows him to travel in time. He becomes absolutely obsessed with it, but at some point he realises that the more he plays with time, the less he focuses on his beloved one – Diya (Wamiqa Gabbi). It’s a short film, so I cannot tell you too much not to spoil it entirely, but it’s not a typical Bollywood love story. We get some action, some adventure, some sci-fi – and all that accompanied by marvellous choreographies and music. I’m a Bollywood fan so I’ll always admire their aesthetics, despite often predictable storylines. Yet, what dancers in this film do is a wonderful spectacle, so you shouldn’t be disappointed. And getting back to the iPhone part – I was amazed by some shots and I believe they would be more difficult to organise with a classic video camera. So if we have such technologies, why not using them? I give my thumb up! And I also hope that if you’re an amateur filmmaker with interesting ideas for films but you feel like lack of equipment and money is stopping you – try to get some inspiration from such projects. There are numerous filmmakers who have everything you can think of and yet they end up making rather disappointing films. So if you have a good idea, grab your phone and make it happen. A good idea and a spark of filmmaking talent will always win with any kind of expensive equipment, trust me. And for those who’d like to watch “Fursat”, just click the title – it’s available for free on YouTube. May your day be full of time travel, dancing and iPhones.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Say something nice or keep searching. “The Windshield Wiper” (2021)

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directed by Alberto Mielgo
© 2021 The Animation Showcase. All Rights Reserved.

Firstly, I’m sorry you had to wait a few days for my post after the Oscars, but I guess I needed some peaceful time to reflect on that night. I didn’t watch the ceremony, but somehow I couldn’t stop myself from following the winners on social media. And unlike most influencers and people doing something on the Internet, I wouldn’t like to focus on that obvious incident that took place during the event. I’d definitely prefer to talk about the wonderful films and people who got appreciated. There are very few Oscars that I don’t agree with, so generally I think this year’s winners were on point. Perhaps I feel like “West Side Story” should have been noticed a bit more, but in the end I’m satisfied. Especially about “CODA” winning the main Oscar, as it’s a beautiful story reminding us about the diversity of people and how important inclusiveness is. Bravo! Today, however, I’d like to recommend you a short animation, which won an Oscar those few nights before. It starts with a man in a café asking a rather difficult question: “What is love?”. And for the rest of the film we don’t really get the answer, but a series of visual descriptions. We can reflect on the meaning of relationships, affection, dedication or love generally, as we see and practice it now, in the modern times. Even though the film is rather intimate, I felt so empty watching it. As if I had no emotions to share, which doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate what I saw. It’s a bit harsh production pointing out that love is something mystical and often unobtainable for most of us. Perhaps we may consider some feelings or states as love or being in love, but in real they are nothing like it. So even though I felt slightly overwhelmed by this film, I think it’s great someone has made it. Perhaps we need more of such to realise certain things in our lives. Plus, I really liked the animation style, so it was depressing for my soul, yet pleasant for my eyes. If you feel encouraged by this eccentric recommendation, then I’m glad.

My rating: 7/10
S.

This is the women’s world. “Text Me When You Get Home” (2021)

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directed by Louise Hylland
© 2021 KAKAPO. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re not sure what to do with 6 minutes of your time, then I may have an idea. Have a sit, put your phone away and focus on this short film I’m recommending you today. It’s a Danish production about four friends getting back home from a night out. Before I continue my sharing, let’s do a small test, shall we? I said “four friends”. Now imagine those friends are four grown-up men. Think about their night out, the moment when they split, how they return to their flats/houses, what happens on the way. Just take a moment and imagine. Or maybe you are a man and there’s nothing to imagine because you know exactly how it looked like last weekend? Okay then. Now, imagine that all those four friends are women. How does the story change? If you think there’s no difference, you’re probably a man. And I’m not saying this to offend you, dear male reader. Perhaps you just have no idea how it looks like from a woman’s perspective. This short film may make it a bit clearer. I don’t want to explain what’s happening in it because that would be ridiculous since it’ll take you less time to watch it than to read my description. However, I’m writing about it because I believe it’s an important topic to mention. And mention. And keep mentioning. I found the film simple, yet perfectly on point. I was thinking of what I saw and realised that when I say goodbye to my male friends after an evening/night meeting, I just say “see you later”, but when the friend is a woman, I always say “see you soon, remember to text me when you get home”. I bet no more words are needed. Just take those 6 minutes, watch the film and let’s hope it’ll stay with you. Here’s the link to the film on YouTube.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Let them go. “Ala Kachuu – Take and Run” (2020)

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directed by Maria Brendle
© 2020 Filmgerberei. All Rights Reserved.

Today I’d like you to learn about a very important short film. Why important? Because it presents a practice that in some countries is called a harassment, and in some others – a tradition. We get to meet Sezim (Alina Turdumamatova), a young Kyrgyz woman living in a small village and willing to change her life. She wishes to move to the capital of the country and become a university student there. Before Sezim even begins fulfilling her life dream, she gets kidnapped by a group of villagers and forced to marriage. This is a very common practice and a tradition in several countries – young women are one day kidnapped, either for fun (because they’re already in a relationship with a man and he just does it for the sake of the tradition) or not at all for fun… If you’re from a more developed country or at least bigger city, you might be absolutely surprised about it. Yes, even now this tradition is still on-going and those young women have nothing much to say. In fact, their families support the practice as it’s a blessing when a daughter becomes a wife. If for some reason she declines, the whole family might get a horrible reputation in the village. It’s also very much connected to their religion and a naughty girl (meaning independent and striving for a better quality life) can cause a lot of trouble. The film is less than 40 minutes long, but it presents in a very honest and emotional way what thousands of women go through. Thousands… maybe I’m wrong here, maybe there are even more. I do support following traditions and I do believe we should be proud of where we’re coming from, but there are certain practices that should be rethought, because if your tradition is to hurt someone, then maybe it’s time to reflect and make changes.

My rating: 7/10
S.