★★ Directed by #MarcoPontecorvo Written by #ValerioDAnnunzio #BarbaraNicolosi #MarcoPontecorvo Starring #StephanieGil #HarveyKeitel #SoniaBraga Film Review by Rachel Willis Director Marco Pontecorvo (Pa-ra-da) seeks to bring the “Miracle of the Sun” (also known as the “Miracle of Fatima”) to life with his newest film, Fatima. In 1917, in the midst of World War I, ten-year-old Lucia (Stephanie Gil) has a vision of the Virgin Mary. Along with her two young cousins, Lucia is asked by the Virgin to return to the same spot every month to pray for peace. When word of this vision spreads, people from all over flock to the small village of Fatima, Portugal to receive the message each month from the Virgin. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a lot of conflict in a film about a miracle. Young Lucia faces skepticism from those around her. The local mayor (Goran Visnjic) is man of science and fears the influence of a young girl on the religious population. The area priest doubts her. Even Lucia’s mother (Lúcia Moniz), a humble believer, thinks her daughter is lying. Why would the Virgin Mary bestow this message on Lucia? It’s a question posed to the adult Lucia (Sonia Braga), a nun, when a professor (Harvey Keitel) visits her at her convent to ask about the events of 1917. A nonbeliever, Professor Nichols listens to the story as Sister Lucia relives it. The audience is privy to the conversations between Professor Nichols and Sister Lucia, as well as the Sister’s reminiscence on the past. The film is primarily concerned with the events of 1917. The few moments between Sister Lucia and Professor Nichols are shallow question-and-answer sessions in which neither convinces the other of their position. This is a movie for believers, to reward their devotion with a “faithful” portrayal of the events in Fatima. There is some neat imagery during some of Lucia’s visions, but most of the moments are unbelievably cheesy. Pontecorvo’s effortis a messy, one-dimensional film. Characters, particularly the nonbelievers, are stereotypes portrayed in the simplest terms. Lucia’s family members pop in and out of the film at convenient moments to voice concern or disbelief. It’s unclear how many sisters Lucia has. If their names are given in the film, it doesn’t really matter since they don’t really matter. Though Lucia’s cousins are also witness to the Virgin, they’re not interrogated the same way as Lucia who, for some unexplained reason, is the instigator. Strong acting, particularly from Lúcia Moniz, keeps the movie watchable, but it’s not enough to save it from poor writing. I don’t doubt this latest retelling of the “Miracle of Fatima” will be held in high regard by many, even though, at best, it’s a mediocre movie. #RachelWillis

★★ Directed by: #JenniferGelfer Written by: #JohnBuffaloMailer Starring: #ClaudiaMareeMailer, #ThomasQJones, #KeishaCastle-Hughes, #CiaranByrne, #PhilipAlexander Film Review by: Darren Tilby As far as psychological thrillers go, this is a peculiar one. An odd concoction of glaringly obvious plot twists and contrived diegesis; of excellent performances but inconsistent characters; of an implied take on influencer culture leading, bizarrely, into The Manchurian Candidate territory, Diery can be best described as—a bit of a mess. Marie (Claudia Maree Mailer), a popular Instagram model with over one million followers, is well on her way to getting her masters degree in comparative religion, leaving an abusive relationship and moving on from childhood trauma that saw her hospitalised. She seems to have a perfect life. As, indeed, everyone keeps telling her. However, Marie is haunted still by the events of her past, and when her cherished diary goes missing and letters, seemingly from an obsessed fan, begin turning up at her apartment, things take an extraordinary and deadly turn. My chief complaint here is the writing: there’s a lot of ideas floating around, too many in fact, and nothing comes of any of them. Is this a cautionary tale about the dangers of sharing our lives on social media? Is it a tension-filled spy thriller? There’s even a suggestion of witchcraft at one point. The answer is that it’s all of those things and none of them. To be honest, I’m not overly convinced the filmmakers themselves know. This feels like a committee has put it together; several different concepts mashed together to form some semblance of a complete narrative. It fails. And it’s a real shame, too. Performances are pretty good across the board, even if the characters are a little generic - with standout displays from Claudia Mailer, Ciaran Byrne and Philip Alexander. But very little here occurs naturally. Almost everything feels manufactured, except, maybe, for the chemistry between the central cast, which is wholly organic. Diery certainly isn’t without its charms: the characters are likeable, the performances are solid, and Julia Swain’s cinematography exudes atmosphere. But it’s let down, badly, by several plot contrivances and its inability to stay on the rails for more than 20 minutes. And when it ended with an enormous Sleepy Hollow-like exposition dump, I was done.

★★★★ Directed: Matt Nye Written by: Matt Nye Starring: Natalia Antas, Agatha Aramayo, Gary Dixon, Ia Ioannidou, Kazi Jones, Saleh Karaman, Ed Klein Film Review by: Darren Tilby If the last few years have shown anything, it’s that being the president, seemingly, allows a person to get away with all manner of evils. Whether it’s insulting the disabled, pigeonholing an entire country as murderers and rapists, giving out some of the dodgiest scientific advice you’ll ever hear or flat out breaking the law; you can get away with it if you’re president. But in filmmaker Matt Nye’s fantastically concise political-takedown, Anyone for President (a title posed as both a question and a plea for help), we ponder whether this level of deceit is indeed a new phenomenon (it isn’t) and whether any of the alternatives are any better (they are). Filmed to look like a news piece or political communiqué, twelve vastly different presidential candidates make a bid for your vote as they lay out their presidential pledges, albeit in a more frank and open manner. And, as is often the case with politics, it’s a case of picking the best of a bad bunch, as none of them seems desirable. And yet, they’re all immeasurably better than the incumbent leader. It may be a fictional setting, but it perfectly parallels the US’ current political situation: Biden might not be everyone’s first choice, but Trump’s term has been a mess, and almost anyone would be preferable. Political satire is nothing new. It’s been around since at least the times of the ancient Greeks when Aristophanes used his writings to ridicule religion and top politicians. But it’s as pertinent now as it ever was, and Nye wields it brilliantly. With a firm understanding of the subject at hand (both historically and presently) and a shrewd and incisive script, delivered by an outstanding and diverse cast, Nye offers in four minutes what many filmmakers fail to deliver in two hours. I really enjoyed Anyone for President. It’s short, biting, to-the-point and straightforward. Moreover, it’s a great example of a filmmaker utilising the unique selling point of the short film to its advantage, and making the most of current events - in this case, Trump’s presidency, the upcoming election and the need for social distancing due to Covid-19. This superb piece of political commentary is available on Amazon Prime in both the US and UK...get it watched!

★★★ Written and Directed by: #SaurabhArora Starring: #PuranPanth and #SubhranshuMohanty Short film review by: Brian Penn Most people will do anything to avoid the gym; but like being forced to eat Brussels Sprouts as a child we do it because it’s good for us. The end product induces a state of elation but the journey is littered with half-baked excuses and broken promises. The pursuit of physical perfection doesn’t always deliver the rewards we seek and rarely feel as good as we might look. The Apt Protege is a salutary lesson that a healthy body will not necessarily guarantee a healthy mind. Paying in sweat and going for the burn are clichés we can all do without. Arun (Subhranshu Mohanty) is a personal trainer hooked on past glories as a champion power lifter. He hears the adulation from a previous life in his head and longs for a champion he can nurture and train. He surveys a plump figure in the mirror and a body that has lost definition and gained bulk in all the wrong places. Puneet (Puran Panth) could well be the new guy on the block that Arun can mould in his former image. But does he have the application to build the body beautiful; can he focus without distractions that are only a text message away? Arun adopts the proverbial sergeant major persona as Puneet pumps iron with sweat jumping off a furrowed brow. He punishes him with additional press ups at the first sign of concentration slipping. Their alliance is sorely tested when a reminder from the past comes back to haunt them. The film makes its point with reasonable clarity and leaves unspoken dialogue in the mind of the characters. There’s certainly enough here to complete the story with an end-to-end feel which is vital for a short feature. Now where on earth did I leave those dumb bells?

★★ Directed by: #BrandonSlagle Written by: #BrandonSlagle #MichaelMahal #SonnyMahal Starring: #RichardGrieco #JoleneAndersen #RobertLaSardo #DouglasTait #TaraReid Film Review by: #ChrisBuick After finally apprehending infamous drug-lord Hades (LaSardo), LA SWAT team leader Vernon (Grieco) and the rest of his crew can finally celebrate to a job well done, while also raising a solemn glass to a lost brother-in-arms. And where better to hold an impromptu celebration/wake than a strip-club right? All that is left is to transport Hades to his future permanent residence, and close the barred door on him for good. But of course, it’s never that simple, especially when an alien invasion gets in the way. Brothers Sonny and Michael Mahal have made quite a name for themselves delivering a slew of high-concept, low-budget projects such as Art of the Dead and Party Bus to Hell that despite lacking in fiscal terms, go insanely big on imagination and quite frankly, ridiculousness. With seemingly no signs of slowing down, Mahal Empire Films now brings us Attack of the Unknown, a film that sadly doesn’t go big enough on memorable insanity to allow itself to become “so bad it's good”, instead finding itself stranded amongst the mediocre. Attack of the Unknown has pretty much a little bit of everything you would expect (and want) going in to a movie like this, questionable performances of well-worn stereotypes, huge gaping plot holes, hilariously ridiculous dialogue and plenty of “really?” moments, all the things fans of this type of film (myself very much included) crave and love about such films. The problem is, while its clear the filmmakers are trying to do something a bit different with the genre, Attack of the Unknown spends too much of its overlong runtime taking itself a bit too seriously when it should have been throwing everything at the wall, the film never truly unleashes itself and its potential for delightfully batshit entertainment until the last twenty minutes. Of course, there are obvious budget restrictions which the film for the most part succeeds in masking, but there is also a lot of unnecessary time and money misplaced in inconsequential stretches of drawn-out exposition and dialogue, which could have easily been trimmed and repurposed into creating more streamlined, gung-ho eighty-minute thrill-ride. The fair-size cast is built up by a smorgasbord of B movie veterans as well as a few recurring faces from previous Mahal films such as LaSardo and Grieco, as well as a cameo from low-budget hall-of-famer and Mahal favourite Tara Reid. Performances are as expected, commitment levels fluctuate but ultimately, they deliver what they need to and Grieco tries his best to inject some heart and gravitas into his role, while LaSardo seems right at home in his typical bad guy space. Attack of the Unknown deserves credit for thinking and aiming as big as it can, as well as trying to do something a bit different with the well-worn alien invasion trope, but rather than swinging for the fences in terms of stupid fun and ludicrousness like it perhaps should, it takes itself a little too seriously and waits a little too long to deliver the goods. Die-hard fans of the kinds of movies the Mahals create might eat this up, but for most it's probably not going to cut it. #ChrisBuick Watch the trailer for Attack of the Unknown:

★★★★ Directed by #PulomaBasu #RobHatchMiller Film Review by George Wolf The store was called Other Music because it was directly across the street from a Tower Records in the East Village of Manhattan. So from day one, the message was clear: if you’re looking for other music, come in here. For twenty years, they did. And they often came in droves, trusting recommendations from the eclectic staff, seeing great new bands such as Vampire Weekend perform live in-store, and coming to feel like they had “found their people.” But like so many other parts of society, “the way people consume music changed,” and Other Music closed up shop in 2016. The first directing feature from music video vets Puloma Basu and Rob Hatch-Miller is a bittersweet ode not just to a beloved record store, but to a type of community that now seems longer gone than it actually is. This film is funny (notables such as Jason Schwartzman and Regina Specktor speak on the staff’s intimidation factor), it’s touching, and it has a good handle on how to rise above the field of similar “last day” docs by not forgetting the valuable context available outside the actual store. You can file it under “music nerdery,” but spend some time with Other Music and you’ll find a mix of celebration and eulogy. Both are worthy, for a small business in NYC and the similar culture of community disappearing from just about everywhere else. #GeorgeWolf

★★★ Directed by #JimmyHenderson Written by #JimmyHenderson #MichaelHodgson #KaiMiller Starring #GuShangwei Film Review by Brandon Thomas Co-writer/director Jimmy Henderson’s The Prey doesn’t waste any time giving action fans what they want. Fight sequences that are plentiful and inventive. A hero who cuts through adversaries with brutal punches and kicks. Villains that chew the scenery with otherworldly malice. It’s everything we’ve seen dozens of times before, but that doesn’t stop The Prey from being a fun 90 minutes. Xin (Gu Shangwei) is an undercover Interpol agent who finds himself arrested in a police raid. Thrown into a particularly dangerous prison, Xin catches the eye of a group of murderous hunters who use the jail to select their stock. Released into the nearby jungle, Xin has to rely on his training to evade the heavily armed pursuers. The “Humans Hunting Other Humans” genre is a well-worn path. From The Most Dangerous Game to Hard Target and The Hunt, the idea that we’re the deer is something that seems to never get old. With The Prey, Henderson delivers a film that doesn’t really offer anything new to the genre, but it does gleefully revel in it. The action sequences have a nimbleness that allows each fight to remain fresh. Along with exciting fight choreography, Henderson keeps the camera constantly moving during these scenes. While not reaching John Wick level heights of technical prowess, Henderson creates sequences infused with passion, wit and contagious energy. The winking at the audience doesn’t stop with the action. The Prey’s villains are gloriously over the top. From the sadistic music-loving Warden to the compensating youngster who doesn’t quite have the stomach for killing, our bad guys check certain archetype boxes. Watching these characters ooze a kind of comic sadism helps solidify the film’s playful tone. Shangwei as Xin doesn’t fare as well as the villains. Like many action stars before him, Shangwei was obviously hired for his martial arts skills, not his acting skills. He delivers in the film’s long fight takes, but struggles to muster much charisma when focusing exclusively on dialogue. While not breaking any kind of cinematic new ground, The Prey celebrates a decades old genre through technical prowess and excitement. #BrandonThomas

★★★★ Directed by: Tushar Tyagi Written by: Corey Wright and Sanyam Kumar Starring: Sachin Bhatt, Edward Sonnenblick, Dipannita Sharma Film Review by: Annie Bennett In the UK in 2005, it became legal for LGBTQ+ people to adopt. Today, in 2020, this is only legal in 14% of countries worldwide. In the moving and vitally important short Saving Chintu, Tushar Tyagi (multiple award-winning filmmaker) and Ritika Jayaswal explore issues of acceptance and the power of boundless love. Jayaswal states that the, ‘2018 ruling by the Supreme Court where they decriminalised homosexuality’ in India was a breakthrough moment yet it is still, ‘difficult’ for LGBTQ+ people ‘to build a family or adopt… Apart from legal acceptance’ she feels ‘cultural acceptance is a far bigger challenge’. Saving Chintu also illuminates continuing prejudice against HIV+ children and adults. Tyagi’s former projects focussed on raising social awareness on issues such as celibacy, prostitution, poverty and abusive relationships. Always engaging and thought-provoking, his work typically presents individuals who are both flawed and hopeful, who make mistakes yet also make brave choices. Saving Chintu is no exception. By interconnecting and interweaving two narratives about adoption, Tyagi and Jayaswal expose problems faced by LGBTQ+ and HIV+ people around the world. Two sets of potential adoptive parents – a heterosexual Indian couple and gay American couple Sam (Sachin Bhatt) and Oliver (Edward Sonnenblick) – are contrasted. All four potential parents are warm, loving and eagerly anticipating adopting. Sam and Oliver return to Sam’s birth country, India, to adopt aptly named Chintu (meaning love to all, sweetness and sun) who is HIV+. Sam is assisted by college friend Mira (Dipannita Sharma). But whilst naïve American Oliver worries about what to pack, Indian-born Sam is all too aware of the potential homophobic prejudice that could stand in their way. When they reach the orphanage, Sam tells the manager that Oliver is his ‘friend who came to show support’ and pretends Mira is his wife. During impassioned discussions back at the hotel room, Sam reveals he planned this all along to ensure he got the child he’d ‘loved [his] ‘whole life before [he] even knew he existed’. His angry outburst to Oliver that ‘[we] were not good. What we were was gay’ is extremely powerful and vividly portrayed the suffering of LGBTQ+ couples. By contrast, the heterosexual couple eat dinner, drink wine and decide whether to adopt a boy or girl. The lack of barriers for them is significant. The authorities and status quo are personified in the form of the orphanage manager, who is primarily concerned with money and Sam’s conformity to social norms. He also states adopting ‘the AIDs patient’ is ‘brave’ showing abhorrent yet inherent societal prejudice. In addition, his repeated references to the money makes us question what ‘price’ Sam will ultimately have to pay (and what he’s willing to sacrifice) to adopt Chintu. Tension is successfully created and maintained as the illegal fake marriage certificate is examined and the manager’s questions lead to a strange request for Sam to ‘kiss’ Mira. Significantly, young Chintu remains off-screen for the majority of the short but the toll the adoption process takes on Sam and Oliver is shown in detail. The ever-present surgeries, medicines and references to sickness imply that not only are the population struggling to remain healthy, but are sick of discrimination and prejudice. Recurring motifs of cars, buses and journeys illustrate the progress that needs to be made in attitudes to HIV+ and LGBTQ+ people. The banner on the bus reads, ‘Together we fight HIV’. Saving Chintu shows love and bravery ultimately leads to transformation at a personal but potentially societal level. This film reminds us that what we have in common with each other is always more significant than our differences.

Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Your latest short film Greykey just won International Documentary at the Cheap Cuts Documentary Film Festival! Congratulations. What does this award mean to you? It is always a pleasant surprise that your work is liked and rewarded, especially because the Cheap Cuts selection it’s really powerful and we are proud that the jury gave us this recognition. Why did you want to make this film? With this Documentary, I wanted to show two thematic lines, first of all paying tribute to the more than 9000 Spanish republicans deportees in concentration camps (a fact even now little known by the new generations of the country) and the other, self-acceptance, resilience and difficult family transmission of the horror that each of the deportees spent in those Nazi hells. Bringing these two lines together with poetry and sensitivity is what we try with Greykey. What have the challenges been getting it made? When telling a story like this I think you have to have the utmost respect and dedication, families open their hearts, they put on the table their most suffered experiences but also some the most beautiful once. The documentation process and the interviews with deportees of advanced age and with their families was hard and enriching. And those moments are going to always be with you regardless of film work. What's next for you? I am currently in the final pre-production phase of my next project, it is a hybrid film that mixes reality and fiction, which has as its starting point a short film I made three years ago, Singing from the rooftops. https://vimeo.com/205021741 Who are your filmmaking influences and why? Difficult question, I have a lot of influences, I find it very difficult to make a selection, but I would mention 3 film movements that I think are still very current today due to the form and themes: Neorealism, Nouvelle vague and Free cinema. An honest, pure cinema, mirror and reflection of realities that often go unnoticed or that we do not want to see. What would be your advice for new filmmakers? For me, cinema is a mix of passion, dreams and dedication, the humble recommendation would be to think that we are in a long marathon, not a fast race or 100m, this profession is a long-distance race with a lot of pain and some moments of glory, making a simile with the film of the maestro Pedro Almodóvar, Pain and Glory. Where can people see Greykey? Now we are in a festivals route, we are very proud with the reception that Greykey is having. What would you say if you were a dolphin? They say that the dolphin is one of the most intelligent mammals that exist, I think it would not say anything and would continue to swim "less talk and more swim" can be applied to everything... #ChrisOlson #Interviews

★★★★ Directed by: #RahulNath Written by: #KshitijSalve & #RahulNath Starring: #YogitaChavan, #ArjunShrivasttav, #ManojMatthew, #PrernaGandhi, #RajendraJadav Short Film Review by Taryll Baker A gifted cop tracks down two killers: one who kills for pleasure and the other who kills for need as the lines between reality and the supernatural blur. Rahul Nath’s exciting mystery/thriller, Monster, tackles the grim subject of murder. This slow burning pilot for a future feature length film is a stunningly simple yet affective and entertaining piece. Opening with a great monologue from our first killer, the steady camerawork pulls us in and reveals his identity, backed by a suspenseful and eerie score by Rajesh Ravi. The flashy and artful intro credits are just as fun to watch as the film itself, and display several key scenes that will follow. Soon after, as the short ticks along, the second killer is revealed and it’s handled in such a way that there is a little more fleshy texture to it, as if to depart from its noticeably predictable nature. Nath’s direction is exceptional, giving clear example of his skill behind the camera. Monster is the pilot for a feature length, but it works as its own short film as well. Not only that, it has the bones of a TV show, which is evident in the general layout and pacing of the film. Regardless of which route the filmmakers go down for Monster, whether it’s TV or film, I’m certain it will be well executed and appropriately received by audiences. The acting from the two leads (both killers with different motives) is fantastic, lending the film a realistic tone and keeping the dialogue natural. Supporting them are a collection of vibrant characters, performed delightfully. Everything about this short excels, including the technical aspects. A key thing I always listen out for when watching anything is the sound. Recording, design, editing. Sound is in most cases MORE important than the visual. It helps with attachment to characters, scenes, locations, worlds. The sound design by Sarit Chatterjee is stellar. Every scene is complemented well not only by this, but the atmosphere created in Ravi’s music score. They both provide the aural experience that is absolutely essential. As the film creeped up on its cliff hanger ending, I found myself wanting for more. If there’s one thing I can fault Monster on, it’s the short run time. But, thankfully, Nath plans to do more with the story and hopefully soon we will see the feature length version of this strangely inviting tale. Monster is ambitious, entertaining, and especially well crafted and I look forward to seeing more. #TaryllBaker

★★★ Stars Directed by: #ShyamNarayananTK Written by: #ShyamNarayananTK Starring: #TharunParameswaran, #VineethVasudevan, #AnusreeMadhavan Film Review by: Alicia Moore Makaram 20, 1194 is a short film set in the 1940s, presenting a slightly unusual but very intriguing idea of time travel. The title matches a date in the Malayalam calendar, which in the Gregorian calendar is February 3, 2019. This short is centred around a young couple, Sreedharan (Vineeth Vasudevan) and Savithri (Anusree Madhavan,) who are struggling to take care of their troublesome nephew (Tharun Parameswaran;) they find it difficult to discipline him appropriately and calm him down as he runs around the home breaking almost everything that can be broken. The film travels with this aunt and uncle on their journey of discovery surrounding time travel, how they can use it and what they can accomplish through the act. The concept is incredibly interesting, possessing many small details throughout to keep the plot lively. An example of this can be seen through Sreedharan as he carries home a wide range of different books linked to the concept of time travel, planting a visual of where the film may take its audience from an early stage. Within the array of texts, he mentions an article by a ‘young person called VN Thekkeppattu’ which I thought was a beautiful touch within the writing. VN Thekkeppattu was the pen name of a young M. T. Vasudevan Nair, an Indian author who is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature and is one of the masters of post-independence Indian literature. This was not only a beautiful addition to the script, but it is also an important one as it helps to solidify the time period that the characters are set in at the beginning of the film. The writing, by Shyam Narayanan TK, is overall really well presented. The audience is entirely gripped by a script that isn’t specific on what the film is trying to reveal. The language used isn’t forward or defined – the characters speak to each other as individuals would do outside of the realm of film, they speak freely and without a large contextual meaning to their sentences. This can be perfectly seen through the line “it’s only the small Kunchunni that we can’t punish, right?” At this point in the film, viewers have been given enough clues to grasp the idea of time travel that may be carried forward and this line brilliantly confirms any suspicions of the plot without stating it directly. The writing of this short film is definitely its most praiseworthy element and worth watching for. MT Vineeth Bhaskar’s cinematography is captivating to watch. Each scene is clear to the eye and each component within the frame can be seen without any struggle or confusion, everything is precise in its own way. It is quite a simple style of cinematography but the simplicity matches the film completely. I also wanted to comment on the use of different camera perspectives throughout the short – one moment viewers can be gazing upon the situation unfolding from their own ‘audience member perspective’ and then the point of view smoothly changes to that of the characters, pushing viewers into the character’s shoes. This aspect adds to the excitement felt as the plot progresses. Makaram 20, 1194 is a great watch; a thoroughly enjoyable experience with an immersive atmosphere. The characters present a wonderful sense of thrill with a few laughs to be had throughout as well.

★★★★★ Directed by: #EnricRibes Written by: #OriolMartinez, #EnricRibes Starring: #MurielGreyMolay Film Review by Lucy Clarke “Auschwitz is outside of us, but it is all around us, in the air. The plague has died away, but the infection still lingers and it would be foolish to deny it.” That’s a quote from the writer, scientist and Holocaust survivor, Primo Levi. The Nazi regime murdered millions of people and left the survivors so traumatised, they would never be able to mentally escape the camps, even if they had been freed from the concentration camps years before. Greykey wrestles with this trauma and explores its effects on interfamilial relationships. This is the story of Muriel Grey Molay and her relationship with her father, José Carlos Grey. Grey was from Equatorial Guinea, and as a young man, he lived in Barcelona. When the Spanish Civil war broke out, he became a soldier. Later, he was a prisoner in Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. But the first memory Muriel recalls isn’t her father’s suffering. She talks about family holidays on the coast. The water laps against the shore and she recalls asking her father why he didn’t wear swimming trunks to go into the water, but instead kept his shirt and trousers on. He replies that he’s the dad, and if something comes up, he needs to be ready to sort it out. This documentary is far from an analytical exploration of the after-effects of the Holocaust; instead, Greykey records a daughter’s love for her father. Rather than copying the stale documentary trope of filming someone speaking directly into the camera, Enric Ribes’ film is gloriously innovative. Armed with Muriel’s photo album, her voiceover, and a little bit of footage, Ribes does something magical. He does not merely project her photos as if they were slides, but hovers above them with his camera, allowing the sides of the pictures to subtly move, giving the images an animated quality. Like Chris Marker’s La Jetée, which is a film made entirely up of photos, in Greykey you quickly forget that the pictures are frozen in time, and it’s easy to believe that they move even when they don’t. Without music, these images may seem static. Guillermo Irriguible’s music choice is impactful and immersive. When we see pictures of José playing the guitar, we hear soft guitar music. When we see a baby being changed, we hear the sounds of water splashing. At the beach, water laps against the shore and people chat. Irriguible immerses us in Muriel’s memories, and through the music, these static images do come alive. Squashed between the images of childhood holidays, dancing and visits to the Luxembourg Gardens, something far darker lurks below the surface. Flickering images of Nazi SS guards, men firing rifles during a war and emancipated prisoners are sandwiched between photos of happy childhood moments. Blink, and you will miss them, but scratch beneath the surface and there they are. Muriel talks about a Guinean coming-of-age ritual, but the images that flash on screen are of warfare and Nazi violence. It’s absolutely shocking. This short film fascinatingly juxtaposes José’s horrific wartime experiences with Muriel’s happier childhood, and it’s clear that José cannot put the trauma behind him. The atrocities of the Holocaust are difficult to comprehend; never mind to film. Yet, director Enric Ribes’ film succeeds brilliantly. With the combination of Irriguible’s music and editing, Molay’s voiceover, and Ribes intelligent directorial choices, Greykey profoundly impacts the viewer. This project was incredibly personal. This film is powerfully candid, and it allows you to understand that trauma can fix you to the same spot all your life, but, even so, hope is still possible.