★★★★ Directed by: #AbigailParmenter Written by: Abigail Parmenter Starring: #ChrisReilly, #CharlyBurridgeJones Short Film Review by: Corey Bulloch The screen cuts to black and the credits roll at the 3:30 mark, in the short runtime of What we say, What we mean writer-director Abigail Parmenter delivers a potent and realistic depiction of a strained relationship reaching the last straw. The audience watches a woman throwing a man’s clothing out a window, that classic image of relationship troubles on display as she begins arguing with her spouse arriving back from a night out. As their fight plays out Parmenter cuts to these characters speaking in monologues, now separated as they reveal their true feelings about one another. A literal visual analogy of the title, Parmenter has the volatility of the street row juxtaposed with more emotional and sombre reflection as both characters lament on their mistakes. Whether they are speaking to each other or just to themselves is never made clear but it’s impressive how rich and detailed the script makes both characters in such a short amount of time. It’s a strong showcase of scripting and acting as both Parmenter’s words and the performances of Chris Reilly and Charly Burridge-Jones bring the character’s to life so well. Subtle hints in dialogue and body language suggest clues behind the strained relationship such as the man having issues with infidelity or alcoholism. The faint cries of a child in the background over the shouting suggest deeper ties at risk from the fallout, a family breaking apart. You can feel the history of the relationship in these performances, the frustration and the pain in the street and the regret and care in the monologues. That there was love between them and what has destroyed them can’t be undone, both Reilly and Burridge-Jones complement each other beautifully in unveiling these pieces to the audience. There’s not a lot of time to What we say, What we mean Parmenter only focuses on what’s important, not allowing melodrama or convolution to drag out the conflict and maintain the defining realism which makes the film work so well. This outcome to their relationship has been building for a while but just like reality it only takes a few minutes for it all to come crumbling down. Joao Da Silva’s cinematography does fine work in expressing the nuances in Reilly and Burridge-Jones’s performances especially during the static closeups of the monologues. Combined with Parmenter’s editing, the distance between the two characters is presented in visually interesting ways but Nick Parmenter’s ambient score gives that sense that their connection can’t be fully dissolved. Powerful and to the point, What we say, What we mean doesn’t waste its time or it’s meaning. Parmenter’s vision is direct and empathetic bolstered by an excellent script and performances. #CoreyBulloch #shortfilm

★★★ Directed by #CatherineEaton Written by #Catherine Eaton #BryanDelaney Starring #CatherineEaton #Teddy Sears Film Review by Cat McAlpine Liv suddenly stopped speaking when she was young, and no one could determine why, not even her psychologist grandfather Lionel. Now Lionel (Harris Yulin) is at the end of his life, and he has invited fellow doctor Michael (Teddy Sears) to their small island to continue his work with Liv (Catherine Eaton). And then suddenly, Liv begins to speak again. Instead of circling relevant lines of Shakespeare on a page, she quotes him out loud. What follows is an exploration of language, human connection, and grief. The harder the world tries to understand Liv, the more alternately chaotic and despondent she becomes. The Sounding is both frustrating and beautiful, much like Liv herself. Eaton and co-writer Bryan Delaney do a lovely job showcasing the flexibility of Shakespeare’s language. Their script depends on a patchwork of his quotes to achieve any depth of emotion Liv needs. Directed by Eaton, the film has a wild quality often showing a moody sea or softly lit rooms. Yes, Eaton co-wrote, directed, and played the lead in The Sounding. And she’s a true triple-threat, delivering a fantastic performance. As impressive as Eaton’s dedication to the project is, it’s worth asking if we need another woman who doesn’t or can’t use her own voice. Although it pulls from many of Shakespeare’s works – quoting everything from Julius Caesar to Midsummer’s play within a play – The Sounding most prominently mirrors The Tempest. In The Tempest, Prospero and his daughter Miranda flee political persecution to a wild island. There, Prospero discovers Caliban, a native of the island, and he attempts to teach Caliban his ways. But Caliban is wild and cannot control his animalistic tendencies. Caliban spits back at his teacher, “You taught me language; and my profit on’t Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you For learning me your language!” Liv parrots the same at Michael, furious that he accuses her of not having language. Through her grandfather she’s been taught to use Shakespeare to see the world. In his absence, she uses Shakespeare as much to talk to his memory as she does to speak to the world. As an attractive white woman stepping into the shoes of a native man who was demonized by his conquerors, the beauty of Liv finding her voice is a little obscured by her parallels with Caliban. How does her damnation or freedom reflect on Caliban’s fate? Likely, viewers won’t worry themselves with the comparison. And, ultimately, it’s up to us to decide if Liv’s unique language is a triumph of a life best lived or a quirky trait that shackles her agency. Either way, she seems happy enough just being herself. #CatMcAlpine

★★★★★ Directed by: #MattMacedo Written by: #MattMacedo Starring: #AndrikOchoa, #SamiLeeRobbins Short Film Review by: Anna Martin Our Oceans, the multi-award-winning short from Writer and Director Matt Macedo, is a film of great depth. It could comfortably fill a feature-length film but is instead a striking exploration of a family’s past through an 11-minute interaction in the present. The film opens with the sound of the ocean, followed by a rose-tinted scene of children playing happily at sunset by the seashore. That early evening warmth slips off quickly as we cut to a funeral. In the church there is tension. Two young men are our focus and whilst one of them is comforted by a companion, the other is alone and visibly distressed. They are brothers, Sean (Andrik Ochoa) and Chris (Sami Lee Robbins), and this is the funeral of their foster mother. There is not a spare word in this whole script, as the older brother’s eulogy - which will gather profundity as the film progresses - shows. Recalling his foster mother’s words when he was a child, he says, “Baby boy, do you know who you are? Do you have any idea what you are capable of? You are capable of achieving greatness beyond your wildest imagination”. He concludes, “We owe her everything.” This is a family in turmoil, and as the relationship between the two brothers is laid out before us in the following scenes, it is clear that they are at an impasse. One wants to reconnect, the other does not, and these roles are by no means fixed. Moments of connection are thwarted, pain gets in the way of progress and the assumptions of both understanding and misunderstanding are frustrating to watch. “I think I know.” “You think you know?” “No, I know.” “You don’t know shit.” There are moments of reprieve from the tension: the glowing shots of the family on the beach, the mournful original music (Jamie Murgatroyd) and a scene where Sean tenderly picks through the objects of family life, memories and home in his foster mother’s garage. These all lend the piece a layer of serenity and remind us that there is love here beneath the conflict. Writer and Director Matt Macedo has said that casting this film was particularly difficult, but as the six awards and a further four award nominations prove, this is a job very well done. Of note is the exquisite performance of non-binary actor Andrik Ochoa who plays Sean, a transgender character, a casting choice that elevates Our Oceans to a work of real integrity. Our Oceans is a story of a family coming to terms with both a little sister becoming a little brother, and the death of the mother, but it is at its heart the exploration of any family’s attempts at crossing the oceans that keep us apart – oceans of hurt and ignorance, oceans of our own unique experience.

Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson We recently reviewed an episode of your show, PN & Friends. For those who don't know, how would you describe the show? PN & Friends is about a “Man-Child who’s trying to be ‘A Man’…” it can be taken at face value (about growing up and maturity, being your best self) and also has a creepy literal meaning (think Pinocchio wanting to be “REAL”) it’s a fun sit-com that incorporates everyday relatable elements with the fantastical and each episode builds on that into its own weirdo universe. What made you want to make PN & Friends? I’ve been having this idea for this show in my back pocket for a while (sort of a post-modern Charlie Brown character, but in a sitcom setting: How would that character react within a Seinfeld type landscape?) I also wanted to create a story based on my life and upbringing. I feel like television doesn’t show “Real-New York” or Native New Yorkers, as much as they show a tiny subset of creatives (mostly white, young & affluent) from Bushwick, Williamsburg etc. What about the salt of the earth people who aren’t working in cool jobs and have exotic adventures with quirky love lives? So when I appeared in Judd Apatow’s CRASHING (the HBO US series), I was using that momentum to pitch this project around, but to deaf ears. (One manager remarked: “I don’t get it, why is this PN character living with his grandmother in his 30’s? Did he just get a divorce?” They couldn’t fathom a character so poor that he never moved out of his childhood apartment. America has blindspots when it comes to classism.) It got to the point where I said "screw it" and just started producing it myself. The “vlogcast” style became prominent on YouTube so I adopted some of those elements with traditional sitcom structure and we’ve come to develop a solid formula for the show. And now, we crank out (just about) an episode a month, building the mythology of the show, like a dope mixtape. Where do you plan to take it next? I’m pushing this to get it on a major platform (HBO, Netflix, Amazon, etc.) but in the meantime, we’re plunging the story to a darker/cerebral place. It’s still dumb and goofy but things are going to get more “Nietzchean” lol. You've done some short films in the past. How does the process compare with a web series? I feel “webseries” is an outmoded term in 2020 since technically all series/tv shows are on the web now, in some form or the other. This show differs from my past short films in the fact that I’m worried less about how pretty it looks and more focused on cranking them out. We shoot with smartphones and have adopted a lo-fi aesthetic in order to crank episodes out in a regular fashion. Once it gets on a bigger platform and we get a budget, we can indulge in making it look “pretty”, but for now it’s more focusing on keeping the story tight and as funny as possible. Any plans to dabble in films again? Perhaps a feature? Yeah, I definitely have some projects in my back pocket (especially in drama) but right now I’m focusing on “PN & FRIENDS” since this is my first priority. Who would you love to work with and why? I like working with performers who can “instantly conjure up a world” where they just take a character and run with it. I wouldn’t mind having Nicholas Cage in a project, maybe throw in Jim Carey, DMX & Sandra Bernhard in there, now THAT would be a movie! What's next for you? Right now just setting up the next episodes of PN & Friends coming out in Nov & Dec. If you were a dolphin, what would you say? “Wanna blow my hole?”, how many people have done that joke? None - which is a shame in my opinion. Also: “Hi I’m a dolphin and you should watch Todd Montesi’s PN & FRIENDS on WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/MONTIKILLAVISION, now wanna blow my hole?” #ChrisOlson

★★★ Directed by #BenWheatley Written by #JaneGoldman #JoeShrapnel Starring #LilyJames #ArmieHammer #KristinScottThomas Film Review by George Wolf Let’s give credit where it’s due. Remaking a Hitchcock classic takes some stones. Beyond putting aside the inevitable comparisons, you’ve got to find a way to follow your own vision while honoring the elements that make the film worth revisiting. A look at Ben Wheatley’s resume (Kill List, A Field in England, Sightseers, High Rise, Free Fire) suggests the promise of edge and/or sly wit. But Wheatley’s update of Hitch’s 1940 gothic potboiler Rebecca can never quite fulfill that promise. Things start well enough. Armie Hammer cuts a detached and dashing figure as wealthy heir Maxim de Winter. Surrounded by luxury on a Monte Carlo holiday in the late 1930s, he still struggles to recover from the sudden death of his wife, Rebecca. Max’s mood improves when he meets a young ladies’ maid (Lily James), who must sneak away from her employer Mrs. Van Hopper (Ann Dowd) each time Max sends handwritten invitations for increasingly intimate meetups. The whirlwind courtship leads to an impulsive marriage, with Max taking the new Mrs. de Winter back to Manderlay, his family’s sprawling estate on the windswept English coast. The new bride’s welcome, led by Manderlay’s imposing head servant Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott-Thomas, icy perfection), is less than warm. The memory of Rebecca permeates the house and haunts the new wife. But even as she struggles to compete with the ghost of a seemingly perfect woman, the second Mrs. de Winter is drawn into a growing mystery of what really happened to the first. James is a natural at delivering the innocence and naïveté of the never-named proletarian suddenly thrust into aristocracy. Likewise, Hammer’s chisled handsomeness and graceful manner make Max’s required mix of societal etiquette and subtle condescension instantly identifiable. But their character arcs – like much of Rebecca‘s stylish narrative – begin to crumble with each new breadcrumb. Wheatley, going bigger than ever with a veteran writing trio’s new adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s celebrated novel, checks off the revelations in a workmanlike succession that’s almost completely devoid of the suspense and sexual anxiety that propel the original film. So when the seismic power shift strikes the de Winter’s marriage, it lands as a turn less earned and more like a matter of melodramatic convenience. It’s all perfectly grand and respectable, but never memorable. And by the time Wheatley’s final shot suggests a haphazard attempt to re-frame all of it, this Rebecca, like the young Mrs. de Winter, has a tough time measuring up. #GeorgeWolf

★★★★★ Directed by: Brad Anderson Written by: Brad Anderson, Stephen Gevedon Starring: Peter Mullan, David Caruso, Josh Lucas, Brendon Sexton III, Paul Guilfoyle Film Review by: Rachel Pullen Session 9 Movie Review I am a mental person...shocked I know? I'm so sane and in control, my film reviews ooze professionalism and logical thinking right? How could I have possibly been in a mental ward? How could I have possibly lost my grip on reality? Well, the jokes on you. I never had a grip on reality, and for that, I'm actually pleased because when I do slip into the dark bleak (and sometimes fun) insanity that my brain likes to produce, no one is surprised...but what must it be like to witness the sanest person you know, the one who has it seemingly all together...suddenly snap? Well obviously you would have that person taken to a mental hospital and provide them with the adequate health care, but conveniently Session 9 covers the concept of losing your mind when you’re just an average fellow, already in an abandoned mental hospital, how convenient...cut out the commute, just lose it in the asylum and save on cab fare, I have been doing it wrong all these years. Session 9 takes place in Danver State Hospital, a place that has sat abandoned for quite some time - fun movie fact, it’s an actual real place which they just dumped themselves in and did no set dressing, just used what the building gave them - a team of young men are brought in to remove the asbestos in an incredibly short amount of time, the pressure is on to get the job done. Gord (played by Peter Mullan) is the man in charge, a man weighed down by external stresses, who decides to add to his weight by claiming they can get a 3-week job done in only 1 week...silly Gord, don't you know stress is the number 1 killer? As the team push themselves to the limit, each member seems to fall deeper and deeper into their own personal mental hole, slowly but surely their personal demons seem to bubble to the surface, as their time in the hospital drags on and it’s not long before one of them completely loses it...but the question is who? Session 9 likes to make you feel like you’re going crazy, for this film is a constant whodunnit, a constant finger-pointer, a film where power struggles are an everyday thing within the crew, they all have secrets, they all have lies that they are hiding...some have hurt others, some have hurt their loved ones, but which of them is coming unglued first? Do you like tension? Sure, if you didn't you wouldn't be watching Session 9, because this film sweats tension like me checking my bank account...with its constant slow pace throughout the start of the film, we are already living in a world of suspicion and a feeling of unrest, we know something is afoot, foul in the air, but can’t quite figure out who, or what it is. The build-up is solid and consistent and so when we come to the final half of the movie, all that tension is about to overflow with a climatic and compelling finale, one that spills over making an asbestos-based mess on the lino flooring. Now I don't want to give the ending away, because I want you to go away and watch this, I want you to feel the unease that comes with every watch of Session 9, I want you to question every motive and movement of each character, for that's what Session 9 wants as well. This movie gives you everything and so much more, if you’re a fan of slow-burning suspense thrillers then get your mitts on this gem, wrap them around it and fall in love with the 24fps, the amazing cast, location, script and red herrings, the way the film makes you question yourself, and your sanity and become one of the crew. With shots and lighting effects that create such an atmosphere that it feels like you can smell the building, that you can feel the damp on your skin, there is no way you can overlook the attention to detail that has gone into every shot, into every introduction to the different areas of the hospital. There are very few films in the world that can create such atmosphere but Session 9 will take you right to the front door of Danvers State Hospital and let you make yourself at home...if you can handle it that is. #RachelPullen

★★★★ Written and Directed by: #StefanGeorgiou Starring: #MatLaroche, #HannahEmanuel, #SarahNiles, #HelenaBanerjee #WillKenning and #ComfortFabian Short film review by: Brian Penn Loneliness and isolation are two of the greatest enemies we face in life. The notion is all too real for those who choose to simply exist without joy or purpose. The fundamental basis on which we lead our lives is explored in this remarkably moving film by Stefan Georgiou. The story of David (Mat Laroche) gently unfolds as the London skyline provides a typically compelling backdrop. Life busily goes on while David watches and listens; occasionally surveying the streets from his bike. His bolthole in a tower block gives him a bird’s eye view of a great city below. But what’s his story; what pain is he trying to leave behind? There are subtle hints and nods to the life he once had. We sense a deep seated desire to be normal once again. He attempts to woo local pharmacist Saanvi (Helena Banerjee) but can he cope with the thought of rejection. His sister Eve (Hannah Emmanuel) teases out David’s story with a brutally honest sometimes remorseful truth. Simple visuals complement the narrative perfectly as a concise script exposes the frailty of human relationships. But where exactly is home for David; can he find peace in solitude and was it really his choice. It’s wonderfully clear storytelling allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the central character. The back story isn’t particularly difficult to fill as we feel some familiarity even sympathy for David’s plight. We’ve all come across somebody like him on our travels. Privately we find them troubling, but quickly dismiss our concerns because it’s more convenient to assume they’re ok. We exchange pleasantries with the woman next door or man down the pub; but do we ever wonder what lies beneath – maybe we should?

★★★★ Directed by: #ThomasBurke & #DavidEimer Written by: #ThomasBurke & #DavidEimer Starring: #HaileyMarmolejo, #BonnieSturdivant, #ThomasBurke Film review by: Patrick Foley Short films feel like the natural home for the ‘found-footage’ genre. An idea that once seemed borderline revolutionary has become repetitive, cliché-filled and still unable to address stylistic quirks that detract from the viewer’s enjoyment. Nausea-inducing camera-shaking or eye-rollingly awkward conversations taking place after characters forget to turn off the camera, purely for exposition-dumps, are nowhere near as much of an issue when they aren’t called upon on countless occasions over a 90-minute runtime. Camping Fun is an example of the genre done right. We are introduced to 4 friends – Thomas, Lauren, Jamie and David embarking on a camping trip at an abandoned family ranch. Documenting the old house, and drinking themselves silly is the plan. But upon arrival, they suspect that they may not be alone. When David goes missing, the remaining friends document their attempt to find him. Camping Fun packs a surprising amount of ingenuity into it’s short runtime. The use of 2 cameras – and 2 perspectives of the events – is a welcome shift from the singular view we often get with found-footage movies. This coupled with a non-linear story structure gives the film an originality that stands out amongst the sea of traditional camera-horror flicks, and gives the audience a greater insight into what may be happening at the farm than a movie twice its length would otherwise accomplish. The performances are strong, with directors Thomas Burke and David Eimer starring appropriately as the 2 filmmakers whose lens we see through. The ill-fated David is particularly unsympathetic – his disruptive presence a classic staple of horror and great contrast with the rest of the group. The stand-out performances however are those of Bonnie Sturdivant as Jamie, and Hailey Marmolejo as Lauren. It is Lauren’s ranch that the group is visiting – and her menacing shift in personality is one of our first clues that something is afoot. It is Jamie who we empathise with the most. Already struggling with an abusive boyfriend before the horror show starts, she truly feels undeserving of the peril. Primarily, the dynamic of the group is convincing, and authenticity is essential in what is billed to be ‘real’ footage. The very best horror films are not really about demons, monsters or murder cults – but are allegorical insights into our real, deep-rooted fears as a culture. Camping Fun may feature the classic jump-scares and body-horror, but it engages with deeper societal issues underneath the surface. The rage of have-not, rural America against the liberal suburban youth can be easily inferred (plenty of references to life being different outside of the city, and Thomas mentions being a Californian in Texas). This engagement layers the horror we see on screen, and channels the occult and outlandish elements into something uncomfortably relevant for American viewers in 2020. Camping Fun is an accomplished, short thriller that nails what a modern, found-footage horror should be. It achieves something original in a tired genre, and takes the audience on a tightly-knit and disturbing story that crescendos perfectly. The directors should be applauded for realising that less-is-more.

★★★ Directed by: Brandon Cronenberg Written by: Brandon Cronenberg Starring: Andrea Risborough, Christopher Abbott, Sean Bean, Film Review by Robert Stayte Nepotism is often seen in an overly negative light, even though it is often the case that the relatives of talented individuals are talented themselves. The reason why I mention this is because body horror enthusiast David Cronenberg’s son Brandon has gotten into filmmaking himself and with Possessor shows that he does have some of his father’s talents. In an unspecified near future, technology has been invented that allows someone to enter another person’s mind and control their body. An unknown government entity has been using it to carry out assassinations, with Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) being their main employee. She is tasked with a mission to take out corporate head John Parse (Sean Bean) by going into the body of Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott), one of his employees. Whilst on this mission, Tasya starts to lose her mind, especially once the mission takes a unique turn. Possessor drips with atmosphere. One could even call it style over substance, as there is more focus on that than there is a complex narrative. The story itself is simple and straightforward, only towards the end are there any surprise turns and there is also not a lot of characterisation, as only Tasya and Colin by extension feel developed. Whilst it does sustain it’s short runtime, the simple story and slow pacing do make one feel a bit of thinness overall. But the story itself does have a strong through line, that being Tasya’s degrading morality and mental state. Both make for some very trippy and disturbing sequences, with the finale in particularly being both weird and incredibly depressing. The focus on bodies and the mind also lends itself to some horrific violence that does not hold back and will leave viewers cringing or shocked. It is rare to see such a bleak and slow-paced sci-fi thriller, but the bleakness and slow pacing are both effectively justified. The acting from Riseborough and Abbott is excellent, with Abbott especially being great at playing Tasya pretending to be Colin and Riseborough managing to make the almost sociopathic Tasya human and sympathetic. Brandon Cronenberg’s direction is the real star though, as the aforementioned atmosphere makes for a film that pulls you into it’s world, despite the emotional distance. Also, the camerawork and effects are both mesmerizing and extremely well polished for a film that presumably did not have a high budget. Possessor could have benefitted from a more complex script, but overall, it is a disturbing look at dehumanisation and one of the more unique sci-fi thrillers I’ve seen. Time will tell if Brandon measures up to his father, but he is on his way there.

★★★★ Directed by: Faraaz Husain Rahman Written by: Faraaz Husain Rahman Starring: Mathilde Anglade, Lachlan Ingham Film Review by: Rochelle McLaren A Momentary Yearning Movie Review Directed by Faraaz H Rahman, A Momentary Yearning is a short film that tells the story about a young man named Francis (Lachlan Ingham) who reunites with his ex -lover Nadine, (Mathilde Anglade) after 10 years to discover a heart-breaking secret. A Momentary Yearning begins at an airport this is where the audience are first introduced to Francis. When the audience members first meet Francis, they may wonder if he is on business trip, this is due to the way he is dressed and the fact that he just came from an airport. When the audience are introduced to Nadine, they see her learning how to ride a bike in a park. This would give an impression that Nadine is an adventurous, energetic and a fun young lady. However, some audience members may wonder why she is learning how to ride a bike at her age which would make them question her childhood. As the audience briefly learns about Francis and Nadine’s relationship, they may wonder how they met and how long they had been together. When both characters first meet up, the audience finally discovers how much life has changed for them since they had last seen each other, this is where Francis learns about Nadine’s big secret. Nadine’s big secret would leave the audience with many questions as her secret is revealed as a cliff hanger. This is a brilliant way for the director to interact with his audience members. Performance-wise both characters worked well and with the use of strong facial expressions enhanced their performance. A Momentary Yearning includes a few interesting film techniques that help interact with the audience. The first technique used is speech balloons. After Francis exits the airport he sits outside on a bench, where he looks at his messages on his phone where the audience gets to see the messages as speech balloons. This is important because the messages being shown let the audience know of Francis’ job role. The second technique used is flashbacks, this is used when Francis is sitting on the bench as he thinks back to when he and Nadine were happily together. This flashback is important because this is where the audience learns about their relationship. The last technique used subtitles, there were a few words that Nadine said in another language however the director added in subtitles to convert it into English this shows that the director doesn’t forget about his audience. The use of instrumental music enhances the effect throughout the film. Overall, the film flows well, from the beginning the audience learns about Francis’ job and it leads straight into his and Nadine’s relationship. The audience also learns about Francis’ childhood, which will make the audience understand him more. This film is recommended to the audience members who are a lover for cliff hangers.

★★★★ Directed by: Shira Haimovici Written by: Shira Haimovici Starring: Netta Roe, Mandi Bar Film review by: Joseph Rodgers Netta Roe as Gal in Summer Shade The sensuality of a rural idyll courses through Shira Haimovici’s Summer Shade, creating an intoxicating aesthetic for audiences to get absorbed in. An Israeli tale of one girl’s loss of innocence and test of trust, this short film is successful primarily through the force of its stunning visuals and beguiling tone. The plot of Summer Shade (which premieres at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival) unfolds languidly, as befitting its seasonal setting. Young teenager Gal and her slightly older friends are lapping up the freedom of summer in their pastoral retreat, going to a nearby pool in the woods to refresh themselves and soak up the sun. A divide in interests soon develops between Gal and the older girls – now caught up in a world of drinking, boys and card-playing – motivating her to cut loose for her own summer fun at the pool. Gal’s solo tranquillity is soon cut short, however, by a group of Hasidic teenage boys, leading to a traumatic awakening to the threat of others. Lead actress Netta Roe capably displays Gal’s journey from stubbornly carefree at the beginning, to emotionally shaken and insecure following the film’s distressing central sequence. All in all, she gives the right levels of innocence and wildness to her character. Beyond her performance, the Hasidic boys start off as a homogenous group, yet key differences emerge in their reactions to Gal’s presence at the pool, meaning their performances and characterisations are thankfully not overly one-dimensional or reductive. The key presence in this short film, though, is the rural setting in its summer glory, which engulfs the actors and immerses the viewer in its heady atmosphere. The effect of this environment on the film’s texture is maximised by writer-director Haimovici. She is intent on absorbing the natural world within the frame, often catching drops of pool-water or flares of sunlight on the camera lens. We also get a strong sense of the teeming wildlife: crickets hum around the characters as they walk through the landscape’s footpaths, there are close-ups of bugs, and Gal even pauses at one moment to tenderly stroke a passing tortoise. As the girls luxuriate in the water spring, so too does the film slow down (with an appealing ambient score) and linger in those blissful experiences. That peaceful basking is, however, very much the calm before the storm. The central rude awakening is nuanced and multi-faceted: it is a coming-of-age to the struggles of sharing public spaces, the threat of male sexuality and the potential toxicity of masculine fraternities. Gal’s distress is also neatly contrasted with her elders’ entry into sexual relations and the tourist wedding taking place in her back-garden. Importantly, though, Gal’s broken faith is in turn balanced with a glimmer of hope that others can be trusted, culminating in a perfect final shot that represents her young soul in flux. Summer Shade captures the titular season like few other films in recent memory, to create a beautiful and atmospheric coming-of-age tale.

★★★★ Stars Directed by: #GabrielOliva Written by: #TorreyRichardson Starring: #TorreyRichardson, #ValentinaGuerra, #ChineduOji, #AmirMo, #JeremiahBenjamin Film Review by: Alicia Moore “An amateur comedian, Nan, deals with some of the worst types of comedy personalities: a hipster bartender, a bitter host, an angry audience, and friends that don't get her humour. On top of her awkward encounters, she's facing a major crisis in her career… does she create what the status quo wants or to stay true to her own voice?” Ladies and Gentlemen is a short, comedy film that will have audiences from all walks of life squirming and chuckling in their bar stools. Nan (Torrey Richardson) has a vibrant exterior; a beautiful, bright dress and long, blonde hair. Her personality and sense of humour is even more vibrant — just not in the same way. One can label her struggles as a newcomer to stand-up comedy as a ‘creative block,’ but it is rather that her distinctive comedic style is not embraced. “Each to their own” as some might say. Nan lives in her own hilarious bubble. She wants to share that joy through comedy, but is unable to do so effectively because of the individuals she is surrounded by the night she takes to the stage. The entirety of this film’s storyline is versatile and projects such a unique brightness that all viewers can drink energy and inspiration from. A story of how one should stay true to themselves, even if others look at them through their own narrowed perspective. Sharing joy that is personal to you can be extremely difficult due to the judgemental stances growing around us, however it is of upmost importance to do so and fight against the current. Emerging as an idiosyncratic figure in any situation is what keeps the world interesting; it is what keeps hearts beating with musical rhythm and what keeps the meaning of creativity afloat. As humans, we can all learn from Nan and the confidence she embodies to spread her form of happiness, in hopes that she can connect to someone – even if its just one other person… or a sheep! As well as the story itself giving its audience easy access to relatability and connection, the portrayal of the characters strengthens the frame of easy access. Torrey Richardson’s natural acting talent can be clearly seen through her presence as Nan. The awkwardness radiating from the character can be felt miles away from the scene and, in her more calm state while preparing herself to go onstage, that serenity can be felt from the same lengthy distance. Richardson’s approach to the character makes the unfolding plot feel real, as if the audience is watching it live or it has been recorded and uploaded to a social media site instead of being a wider production. I absolutely love the immersive atmosphere that has been effortlessly created. This immersive aspect is enhanced by the cinematography, by Eric Wann. It is smooth and captivating throughout the short film’s entire duration and remains lively until its finishing point as Wann showcases amazing visual understanding of settings and angles that match each scene’s energy. I highly recommend Ladies and Gentleman to anyone who craves a few minutes of verve and pure effervescence in their daily lives; especially if you feel quite isolated in your individualism. It is time to follow in Nan’s footsteps and collectively bleat in the face of other’s judgement and tension.