★ Directed by: #NebulousState Written by: Nebulous State Starring: #WilliamTimberlake, Nebulous State, #RichardChapman Short Film Review by: Corey Bulloch A Grindhouse sendup of little talent or style, Punished Liver III is an incomprehensible mess of tropes, inferior filmmaking and waste of time as Nebulous State delivers a thirty-minute video equivalent of playing make-believe in the backyard. Following the story of secret agent Octopus, the film charts his quest to find the assassin of President Oneman and clear his name of his murder but there is no sincerity to any element of this journey, just poor unengaging absurdity and an excuse for these people to wear funny costumes and get very liberal with the blood spatter plugins. Utilising a lot of clichés from Grindhouse, 80’s B-movies, and possibly the Metal Gear Solid Series, Punished Liver III wants to present itself as an irreverent action romp of gaudy violence and bizarre characters as both Jesus Christ, aliens and a wizard appear in its nonsensical narrative. It’s all a juvenile approach though as if Nebulous State is deliberately trying to make the film as “bad” as possible to earn cult status, no one on-screen takes anything seriously making the delivery of action and comedy feel half-assed. You can’t engineer terrible movie perfection like Samurai Cop or The Room, it’s lightning in a bottle achieved through sheer misfortune and ignorance from the filmmakers. At every step in the process, Nebulous State presents Punished Liver III in its worst form, from the distracting visual filters to replicate film grain, misused slow motion, terrible dubbing of dialogue and again overly distracting use of digital plugins. It’s a nonsensical mess of mediums as Timberlake’s performance as Octopus can deliver one or two amusing quips but the film overcompensates in its attempts to be edgy and berserk, leaving no room for any tangible reality for the insanity to jump out from. Leaving the film reeking of desperation to be a tongue-in-cheek action comedy when it can never break free from its shortcomings. There’s nothing wrong with the idea of making dumb films with your friends, hell that’s how all movies are made just with various degrees of money pumped into the idea. Punished Liver III’s issue isn’t its budget but the tone on how it handles its genre and material, there’s no bite to the satire or coherency to its story making its parody fall flat at every turn. Performances consist mostly of impressions or embarrassments and the atmosphere of the story can never evolve past the low budget milieu of friends running in the woods with toy guns, robbing it of any danger or intrigue. #CoreyBulloch #shortfilms

★ Directed by: #PaulPeters Written by: Paul Peters Starring: Paul Peters Short Film Review by: Corey Bulloch Well, the central question to Paul Peter’s short film Why is it so Cold? is never directly answered but I’m going to assume it would have something to do with the nonsensical and overly pretentious experience of trying to make sense from any of it. Peter’s film leaves the audience completely frigid as Lynchian backwards speak, tarot cards and random clips of “South Carolina” scenery that could just be anywhere has no tangible artistic or narrative cohesion. Barely running at two minutes, you have no idea what any of what you have just watched means as Peters vision for his film is to apply meaning to nothing as his attempts to make the film have “depth” or seem “artistic” completely fall flat. With only one credit at the end of the film and lack of IMDB page, I’m assuming that Paul Peters is the sole craftsman of the piece using what appears to be a smartphone to capture these mundane shots. The opening narration tries to give that impression of introspection but there’s nothing for anyone to sink their teeth into. Perhaps Why is it so Cold? Is exploring disassociation or mental illness but Peters shot composition and use of surreal elements are so banal it comes across as hollow sincerity. That the strange speech patterns and tarot cards are just there to make the film seem “artsy” rather than any thematic connection. Shots of empty swings or candid footage of a squirrel invoke nothing like Peters is trying to show the beauty in life’s small spaces but is just filming his backyard and adding a strange voiceover. I am unfamiliar with Tarot card imagery and lore, the specific cards Peters draw could be the key to unlock the hidden meaning but it is highly unlikely. Just like every other piece, the cards feel more like overbearing desperate “arthouse” ploy to make the film seem intelligent or spiritual when the opposite effect is achieved and just makes it all the more off-putting. The film is extremely low budget but that’s not the issue, it’s that there is nothing to grasp on to, it is a physical struggle to write about this film because it is just a void with nothing inside. Peters direction and voiceover seem wants to tap into our subconscious and have the audience question something but if Peters had a deeper intention to any of this it is never made apparent. The film is short, boring, uneventful and feels like a literal blink and you’ll miss it, there is nothing to gain nor nothing to lose from Why is it so Cold? It just nothing, a creation of no consequence that cannot create any form of artistic response. #CoreyBulloch #shortfilm

★★★★★ Directed by: #MartinSandin Written by: #MartinSandin Starring: #FilipBerg, #AlidaMorberg Film Review by: Darren Tilby Social media has had an enormous effect on our lives, and, in particular, our perception of how life should be. When we look online and see our friends starting families, or buying a new car, or starting a new job, or jetting off to some exotic locale on holiday, it’s hard not to feel a little inferior. But of course, anyone’s life can look perfect when viewed only through short interludes or on social media in general. In reality, we’re all of us hypocrites, and our leads are no different. It’s this thoroughly modern, technology-infused hypocrisy that Writer/Director, Martin Sandin, so expertly picks apart in his superb Swedish-language short film, Foggy Days (Dimmiga Dar). Peter (Filip Berg) and Clara’s (Alida Morberg) long-standing, casual relationship seems to be based around little more than their recurring sexual encounters. The two obviously enjoy this type of relationship and have been used to it for quite some time. For the usually confident Peter, however, this particular relationship brings a stark dynamic shift; he’s no longer in control. Indeed, Peter is entirely subservient to the wholly charismatic Clara: she messages—and he reports for duty. For Peter, this feels special, he’s finally found an equal; somebody he actually enjoys spending time with - “You know what happiness is for me? It’s being here with you. Listening to you when you speak.” But does Clara, who covets her friends “incredible” social media fronted lives, feel the same way? Sandin’s superlative writing and direction take centre stage in a movie that gets practically everything right. The characters are rich and exciting – with wholly believable performances from Berg and Morberg – and the character development, particularly for a 17-minute long film, is fantastic. The dialogue, too, glows with naturalistic vigour, and always drives the story and/or characters forward with depth and potency. While small, seemingly inconsequential lines of dialogue (“I don’t want to be one in the crowd”) carry great weight and pack a real punch once their significance has become manifest. Indeed, at differing points during the film, both leads assuredly give relationship advice to a friend, only to realise it’s also relevant to themselves. These are fantastic and pertinent moments of drama which are easy to miss if you’re not fully engaged. But you will be. Because, as well as being utterly compelling, Foggy Days is a gorgeously shot movie. Cinematographer Zoe Que nails every aspect of the visuals here and is unrelenting with the unalloyed beauty she puts to screen. Whether it’s the framing, lighting, the movements of the camera itself, or the way all these different elements come together, it’s stunning. In fact, Foggy Days is just a superbly well-put-together film...full stop. Everything works in tandem to create something thoroughly enthralling and unreservedly unique. A will they, won’t they for the modern age—one the filmmakers should be enormously proud of.

★★★ Directed by: #KCSchrimpl Written by: #KCSchrimpl Starring: #AaronFarb, #RobertoMedina, #RandyVasquez, #PhilMiler, #JoeConnolleyJr, #JeremySless, #EvanJudson Film Review by: Darren Tilby There’s no honour among thieves...or so goes the old adage. But in heist thriller, Among Thieves, that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case. Here, as the title itself tells us, K.C. Schrimpl explores the oft blurred lines of morality between criminality and justice. We all know the story: criminals on the run from the law, counterfeit money, and a heist gone wrong. It’s a tried-and-tested formula made eminently famous by Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. And here, it’s no different. When getaway driver, Rafael (Michael Gonzales), is killed during a “rough start” to a heist, Arthur (Aaron Farb) and his team find themselves holed up in the back of a truck that none of them can drive. With desperation setting in and tempers beginning to flare, the mismatched group must learn to work together if they’re to survive both the police and drug cartels. Aaron Farb heads the film with a solid performance as the leader of the ragtag group, Arthur. The rest of the group comprises of Bruce (Phil Miler), Gil (Joe Connolley Jr.), Wes (Jeremy Sless) and Jimmy (Evan Hudson), all of whom give more than capable displays of likeable and interesting, albeit ill-defined, characters. The two characters that really stand out for me, however, are Roberto Medina’s good cop, Alonso, and Randy Vasquez’s (ex) bad cop, Hector. There’s a fantastic dynamic at play between these two, one of mutual respect but also distrust and uncertainty at each other’s methods that’s symbolic for the movie as a whole. Within the first 15-minutes of the film, it’s clear that Schrimpl has taken inspiration from Tarantino: both in the method of his filmmaking and narrative tricks employed. Some of it doesn’t quite work. For example, it’s never clear which niche the other members of Arthur’s team fill; we know Arthur is the leader, and Rafael was the getaway driver, but that’s about it. This is an essential facet of the heist film and a big part of character understanding/development to leave out. This, along with some overly safe plot writing, means the film lacks much in the way of tension. However, and despite this being his first feature as writer and director, Schrimpl has done an excellent job here, and has crafted a well-made and interesting, if unoriginal, robbers-on-the-run tale. Indeed, and despite any issues the movie has, there’s a lot of fun to be had with Among Thieves. The film’s exploration of criminal morality is superb and well put across, and, had it been supported by more well-defined characters and daring writing (the stalemate towards the end of the film feels a little anticlimactic) this could have been a better piece overall. And, although heist movie veterans aren’t likely to find anything hugely exciting here, for general audiences at least, this is an entertaining enough romp.

★★★★ Directed by: #EurosLyn Written by: #NeilMcKay Starring: #ToniCollette, #DamianLewis, #OwenTeale, #JoannaPage, #KarlJohnson, #SteffanRhodri, #NicholasFarrell, #SiânPhillips, #PeterDavison Film Review by: Corey Bulloch We all need something to believe in. Dream Horse from director Euros Lyn doesn’t reinvent the formula or achieve anything narratively groundbreaking with the true story of racehorse Dream Alliance and its syndicate of small-town owners following the sports underdog story to a tee. From humble origins to mighty victories, the audience has always found joy in the tales of the sporting dark horses such as Jamaican Bobsledders or Philadelphia Boxers. That inspiring dream that the downtrodden can become triumphant, making the world feel a little brighter against life’s hardships as a Welsh racehorse becomes that beacon for the characters. It’s a monotonous life for Toni Collete’s Jan Vokes, an empty nest mother and wife who spends her days scanning groceries at the local co-op in her small Welsh village. Extended to the rest of the residents subconscious yearning for an escape from the predictability of their small lives. Jan, with life experience training animals alongside her husband Brian, overhears Howard Davies (Damian Lewis) one-night bragging of former glory with his wealthy racing syndicate and takes the initiative to begin breeding her very own racehorse. Using her savings to purchase a mare, Jan, Howard and Brian recruit their own modest organisation of locals to pony up the costs of ten pounds a week to raise, train and manage their foal in the long shot it could ever actually race. Though no one in the syndicate invests in Dream for riches or glory as Howard makes clear the low odds of possible success, they are all driven by the “hwyl” a Welsh feeling of emotional motivation and energy. Lyn’s direction and Neil McKay’s screenplay follows the predictable beats of the feel-good film but with their own flair of the ‘hwyl’ beating through. It’s the impassioned down-to-earth performances from the ensemble which gives an infectious pride to the whole affair. Collette focusing on Jan’s connection with Dream, regarding the animal with a mother’s love, heavily invested in his wellbeing. Lewis’ Howard reflecting on his own legacy as a cog in a corporate machine, inspired by Dream to pursue a more soulful existence. Owen Teale’s authentic emotion as Brian feeling his best days are behind him as an arthritic unemployed farmer. The characters share that insecurity of letting life pass them by, submitting to their depressing routines and how Dream becomes their motivation to seek self-betterment. The drama is balanced well with the supporting syndicate members delivering lighthearted comedic moments especially Karl Johnson as local drunk Kirby. Dream Horse feels safe in execution with minor conflicts trickling throughout concerning the horse’s ability or tension within the syndicate. These struggles either being resolved quickly within the scene or extended briefly in a trivial fashion. Every step of the way Jan and the syndicate are sneered upon for daring to try and be a part of an exclusive club usually reserved for “wealthy professionals” with the minor exploration of themes of wealth inequality and classism. The racing itself is exhilarating yet lacks intrigue, as the formulaic underdog structure makes it obvious that Dream has to be successful, Lyn focusing more on the camaraderie of the group overcoming these stigmas and obstacles through shared love and belief in Dream. Bolstered by the stirring folky score from Benjamin Woodgates and the odd belting out of a Tom Jones song. The “hywl” pays off in the end as Dream Horse is an uplifting, charming true story filled with inspirational warmth for all the dark horses and dreamers out there, wonderfully told through the heartwarming performances from Collette, Lewis and Teale. #CoreyBulloch #FilmReview

★★★★ Directed by #MarkBozek Written by #MarkBozek Starring #BillCunningham Film Review by Brandon Thomas In 1994, rookie producer Mark Bozek sat down with New York Times fashion and street photographer, Bill Cunningham. The casual chat about an award Cunningham was receiving was supposed to only be a quick 10-minute in and out. The interview didn’t end until the tape in Bozek’s camera ran out. Twenty-five years after conducting this interview, Bozek makes his feature documentary debut with The Times of Bill Cunningham. Less a look or critique of the New York fashion scene, Bozek’s interest is sharply focused on the unassuming Cunningham. Bozek uses the ample footage at his disposal to let Cunningham share his thoughts and insights about his life and career. Cunningham’s almost child-like zeal for his work comes across as both disarming and curious all at once. From his beyond-modest “apartment” in the old Carnegie Hall Studios building, to his uniquely un-chic wardrobe consisting mainly of hand-me-downs, Cunningham wasn’t your typical New York fashion figure. As the layers peel back more and more, Bezok is able to capture and celebrate Cunningham’s genuine kindness -- whether that be his enthusiasm for catching people “as they are” on the street, or the financial support he showed a friend who was fighting a losing battle with the AIDS virus. Peppered throughout the film are many of Cunningham’s photos. The juxtaposition of these wonderful photographs with his animated interview makes for an appreciative experience. Many of these photos were splashed across Cunningham’s weekly spread in the New York Times. A few gems, however, were never published during Cunningham’s storied career. Sparse narration by Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) provides needed connective tissue and contex. It’s one thing to take Cunningham’s word for it, but highlighting his accomplishments in the broader fashion world is a poignant statement on how important he was to the fashion industry and to New York City itself. Documentaries focused on one individual aren’t new. Specific filmmakers, politicians, and athletes have all received this treatment. What’s so different, and enthralling about The Times of Bill Cunningham is how much Cunningham gets to speak for himself. It’s an honest, unfiltered look at a man that did what he loved -- and did it well. #BrandonThomas

★★★ Directed by #DanScanlon Written by #DanScanlon #JasonHeadley #KeithBunin Starring #TomHolland #ChrisPratt #JuliaLouisDreyfus #OctaviaSpencer Film Review by Hope Madden Dan Scanlon’s been kicking around Pixar for a while. He’s been part of the “Senior Creative Team” for some of the greatest animated films of the last decade: Toy Story 4, Coco, Inside Out. He also wrote and directed Monsters University—his only w/d credits with the animation giant—and that movie is one of Pixar's rare missteps. Can he right his footing with a fraternal quest, a hero’s journey, a nerdy road trip? Not quite. Onward, Scanlon’s first directing effort since that monstrous 2013 Revenge of the Nerdsriff, opens where many a hero’s journey begins: a birthday. Shy elf Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland) is turning 16. He’s a little awkward, and maybe even slightly embarrassed by his magic and folklore obsessed older brother, Barley (Chris Pratt). Ian never met his dad, but his mom’s been saving a gift for just this occasion. It will set a series of actions in motion that will show the town how cool (and destructive) magic can be. But will it turn meek Ian into a hero? Scanlon sets up a funny if slight near-satire of the mythical hero’s quest, and the most enjoyable sight gags in the film come from his eye for other (better) films in this vein: all things Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones. There’s even a bit of Guardians of the Galaxy (which feels a little too on-the-nose) and maybe just a touch of Weekend at Bernie’s. Plus feral unicorns. I will be honest, he had me at feral unicorns. And it is these little flourishes that Onward gets right, but that’s just not enough to carry the film. Pratt and especially Holland - who continues a run of solid voice work (even if no one saw Dolittle or Spies in Disguise) - both find a rapport that feels honest enough to give the emotional climax a little punch. But there’s just nothing particularly magical about this movie. The core story is paint by numbers obvious and the nods to other epic adventures become so frequent and so brazen that it’s hard to find a single inspired or original thought in the entire film. It’s nice. It garners an amused chuckle or too, maybe even a sniffle, but you’ll be hard pressed to remember anything about it besides those unicorns, and there was no real point to those. #HopeMadden

★★★★ Directed by: #PhilipVickery Written by: Philip Vickery Starring: #SergioCastillo, #KatPena, #RonOrlovsky, #TravisMitchell and #WoodrowProctor Short Film Review by: #RachelPullen You can’t see my dog right now but I can. He is small and gross and smells like the ocean, despite never going in it, he is old and shedding and likes to follow me everywhere, causing me to often trip over him and stumble into a dark void of probable death. Sometimes I’m holding soup, but this aside, I love him, I like to feed him a selection of meats, it makes him happy. People really love dogs, like really love them. If you know someone who has a dog, they don’t just like them...they god damn love them, making little personalities for them and even just the idea of the loss of their dogs can bring them to tears. Dogs connect people, we meet in the park, pet strangers pooches and strike up conversations, we connect, we know the love they feel. Reina is the story of a young man (played by Sergio Castillo) who has recently had his dog stolen by a wicked witch of an ex-girlfriend (something I don’t have to worry about, no one would take my stinky ocean dog) and on a date with a new gal, can’t help but go on and on about the loss he has suffered. His new lady (played by Kat Pena) is quick to get annoyed at this and tries to leave, but after much apologising from our leading man she agrees to one more chance, and one more drink. Soon they find a bar, but on the rollercoaster ride of the most rubbish date ever, this bar is run by some super cool Russian gangsters in Adidas jackets who hold them hostage to ensure they don’t get loose lipped about what they have seen. It’s not long until the story of our leading man’s dog loss gets told again, accompanied by rolling eyes from his date, but she shouldn’t, for its this tale that brings these hardened gangsters to tears, for they too are lovers of the four legged beasts, and the leader has recently lost his little poodle too. They cry together, they hug, they bond, they rub the photo of the dead dog, they are brought together by their common interest. What you would think is a sad tale, Renia is actually a very funny short movie, witty and compelling, this is a very enjoyable watch. At no point is this laugh out loud #comedy, but you can see the fun they are making of the typical #gangster scene we have been exposed to time and time again in cinema, to the point where their grief at the death of a dog can be a laughable moment within the film. Everyone who is cast is excellent within their performance, each person brings their own talent and skill, giving 110% but never overshadowing anyone else on screen. The Russian gangsters understand the fun they are poking at their type cast character, but pull it of respectfully with excellent comedic execution and timing. [SPOILER ALERT] One thing I really enjoyed about this #shortfilm was the predictable ending that I didn’t roll my eyes at, the gangsters obviously retrieve the stolen dog for our leading man, returning him while he is asleep in bed with his date, who of course fell for him in the end, and even though this all seems a little contrived, a little sappy, how can you hate it, he got his doggie back!!! [SPOILER END] And that’s the point of this film; we all at the end of the day want to see people happy with their pets, enjoying the bond that is formed between man and dog, and if you don’t want to see that then you are clearly a cat person. Enjoyable, witty and emotional, a must see for any lovers of dogs...and Adidas tracksuits.

★★ Directed by: #BrettHaley Written by: #LizHannah, #JenniferNiven Starring: #ElleFanning, #JusticeSmith, #AlexandraShipp Film Review by Amber Jackson This review is being prefaced with a trigger warning because the film in discussion focuses on some serious themes including mental illness and suicidal thoughts. Would also advise viewer discretion if you are affected by these topics. Based on the best-selling novel of the same title, All the Bright Places struggles to live up to its reputation. The film is falsely framed like a teenage romantic-comedy or a ‘coming-of-age’ film, but Violet (Elle Fanning) and Finch’s (Justice Smith) story is something a lot darker. Their story explores some very intense themes and follows both characters as they are governed by their mental health struggles. Violet is having a difficult time in the aftermath of her sister’s death and is pushing everybody in her life away as a consequence. She no longer socialises, cannot get into a car and thinks there is no way out of feeling like this. Finch is apparently her salvation, meeting her at a crucial moment and making life-saving conversation with her. Usually stereotypically labelled as the school ‘freak,’ the audience learns that Finch is angry with the injustice that he has faced and wants to be seen. When their Geography teacher sets a project about places in Indiana as homework, Finch uses the task to help get Violet back out into the world. Along the way, Violet helps Finch with this, too. The film has all the rom-com tropes and stereotypes that audiences have sat through over the years, but it doesn’t even use them ironically, making parts of the plot feel unoriginal. The story itself is cruel to Violet. Under a backdrop of impressive camera shots and colourful cinematography, the audience is permitted to feel some empathy for her and Finch. However, this tone is pushed aside at times by the basic and predictable structure that the film demonstrates. The script falls flat with cringey dialogue, providing a fantastic example of how adults believe modern-day teenagers talk to each other. And why on earth do boys think that the way to win a girl over is by sending her Virginia Woolf quotes? And why does this seem to work? Perhaps the back-and-forth of quotes to each other is now a profound declaration of teenage love, but All the Bright Places allows the building of romance to fall flat over than this – so any obvious sign of love appears completely out of nowhere. After a few short-lived comical moments, the film gets serious and a bit more interesting. The audience is made to overlook important plot points, but can see that Finch is not always doing ok within himself. A real downside was that his narrative lacks depth and the complexity of his character is completely overlooked, making the film suffer because of it. Although Fanning provides an excellent performance in more tragic moments, the acting of the rest of the cast is awkward at times. No one character stands out as uniquely written and All the Bright Placesis made to feel like any other teen film with limited substance, rather than a film that is based on a best-selling novel. Suicidal thoughts and mental health struggles are romanticised in the dialogue, making for a problematic narrative. The morbid motif is set by both Violet and Finch, as they both try to speak about death, but their discussions end up being jarring. It was a real shame, as these scenes really had the potential to spark a real dialogue and allow the characters to open up to the audience. The film does have an important message. If you are a teenager, a young person, or indeed anyone that is struggling with their mental health – seek help. There are more people around you than you realise that will be able to understand and support you through the difficult times. It also lays emphasis on how two people, especially within a relationship, cannot fix each other, as this mentality can be toxic. However, these themes are washed over by a basic script, jarring attempts at comedy and flat performances. In the past, Netflix has come under scrutiny with regards to representing mental health struggles ever since the show 13 Reasons Why. The trigger warning at the end of the film and not the start, along with a misleading trailer, suggests that there is still work to be done. If you are expecting a cheesy love story, you will be in for a shock. #AmberJackson #Netflix

★★★★ Directed and Written by #IsadoraVeríssimo Starring #ChristinMuuli, #PeterMoffatt, #MackBates, Short Film Review by Jack Bottomley I’ll hold my hands up and say that it took me more than one viewing to fully appreciate writer/director/editor Isadora Veríssimo’s sci-fi tinged drama short Ha.Na. Sometimes films lay all their cards on the table and you know precisely where you are heading, with Ha.Na however there is a compelling complexity at work that takes a basic idea of AI and insightfully questions the emotional struggles of it. It would be a kind of spoiler to go too much into it, so lets say that the film focuses on the confused and reserved young woman Hanna (#ChristinMuuli) who struggles to find her identity through the flashes of her master’s past and the brief glimpses she has of life beyond the gates of her home’s garden. Some may lose patience with this film and its dream-like approaches, as all the pieces are not laid out for you and there are many things left to think about afterward. However, Ha.Na is an exercise in understatedness, taking its very sci-fi ideal and deconstructing it on an emotional level, addressing issues of identity, overwhelming emotions and the purpose behind existence. Veríssimo’s direction is careful and thought-provoking, sometimes lingering on what seems merely of aesthetic value but later comes to add to the film’s slowly developing themes. Occasionally carrying an edge of a Blade Runner or Prometheus-esque questioning of artificial feeling, creation and identity, the film also feels very grounded in realism, never tipping over into audacious effects-driven spectacle, though Tina Tran’s superb cinematography and the film’s brilliant lighting ensure there are some truly standout visual sequences within. As Hanna, Christin Muuli is great. She captures an innocent sense of being an onlooker in this world and her own story, learning how to act and who she is by observing the limited glimpses she is allowed of the passing world around her. Her story begins to add up and eventually she has a breakout moment of realisation. The supporting cast don’t get as much chance to develop but #PeterMoffatt as Ezra (“Hanna’s master”) does fill in some of the backstory, which comes from a poignant place. Meanwhile #MackBates’ Shia is important to Hanna’s eventual emotional emancipation. Ha.Na looks very cinematic and the camerawork is stunning, while the select musical accompaniments throughout strike the right chords and help give the film an almost otherworldly feeling, which appropriately puts us right alongside the movie’s curious but quiet protagonist. As Ha.Na plays out you are never less than intrigued by it and are very involved with uncovering Hanna’s story and identity, as much as she is herself. This really is an impressive piece of storytelling that may have some areas that feel a bit greyer than others but - upon rewatching especially - you find yourself drawn even further into this brief but impressively high-aiming short and the almost overpowering and personal world of its title character. Much recommended, especially for those who prefer their Sci-fi infused stories with more of a thoughtful and humane soul. Well acted, well shot and very well directed. #JackBottomley

★★★ Directed by: #JessicaHausner Written by: #JessicaHausner Starring: #BarbaraOsika #ChristophBauer #PeterFiala Film Review by: Bruna Foletto Lucas “A young girl who commits a murder” is the logline Jessica Hausner created for Lovely Rita. The titular character, ostracised and bullied by her schoolmates and even her parents, struggles to free herself from her life and when she decides to seduce a bus driver she sets in motion a chain of events that will change everyone’s lives. Lovely Rita was Jessica Hausner’s first feature film and in the feature it is possible to observe some of her specific characteristics. Here she uses non-professionals, something she would go on doing for most of her films, and she already plays with the paradox and contradiction of having an extremely artificial film but with a documentary tone. The music and the cinematography in Lovely Rita set the standard for her following films – both of them are individual elements that stand alone in the film. As Hausner would argue, the score’s job is not to emphasise an action or dialogue, rather the music is its own character – it appears in the film when the diegetic moment asks for it (the dancing scene comes to mind here). The cinematography is no different. Martin Gschlacht, the director of photography that has been working with Hausner throughout her career, makes the decision of keeping the images cold and artificial, heightening the impression of the film being manufactured. The choices in camera movement support this impression, not to mention the aforementioned paradox. When choosing a documentary style, the camera movements should be contained, but here Hausner and Gschlacht make rough movements in order to show the audience that they are not trying to reconstruct real life, they are indeed showing a fictional film. Therefore, moments when there are zoom ins and zoom outs do not serve the story, they are almost a pat on the back from Hausner comforting us. This pat on the back is certainly the only time Hausner comforts us as after that she makes sure we are completely lost and in need of guidance. That’s when she withdraws herself and her comfort – we are, then, lost in the lack of logic. As I have already mentioned in other reviews, Hausner makes bold choices in her films, she allows for her films to cause confusion and she doesn’t try to resolve them. Much like in human beings, there is always something inexplicable and Hausner relishes in that. As a filmmaker she tells a story rather than explain it. In Lovely Rita, Hausner explores a teenage girl who is on the brink of adulthood, in desperate need to release herself from the constraints in her life, be it her parents or the people in her all-girl, Catholic school. As I wrote before, she needs to free herself from the prison she is in, however, with her decisions she jumps straight from one prison to another. Accident or purpose, Hausner and Rita leave us with a big question mark as the credits roll.

★★★★★ Written and Directed by: #MatthewWeinstein Starring: #TylerPistorius #KimberlyMichelleVaughn Short Film Review by: #ChrisBuick “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there” Not only the renowned opening line from L.P. Hartley’s novel The Go Between, but also the axis on which short film A Missed Connection from Chicago based #filmmaker Matthew Weinstein spins on. On a typically cold and frosty Chicago night, frustrated writer Jacob (Pistorius) is having yet another disheartening day in a long series of disheartening days. His entire being seems devoid of any positivity or passion, no longer following his literary dreams and instead working the nice-to-five grind like most, broken briefcase and all. After that luxury items spontaneously spills its contents out into the sodden city streets, he seeks solace in a local coffee shop, secretly mixes his order with his own special crutch and begins to sort out the drenched paperwork that sums up his life. As chance would have it, former college friend Lauren is also having a bad night, having been stood up and finding herself alone at the same coffee shop. As the two cross paths for the first time in years, what starts as a simple exchange of pleasantries and obligatory catch-up chatter transforms into a conversation that carries long into night, where fond memories bring about deep emotions and consequential revelations. A Missed Connection is a film nearly a decade in the making with writer, director and producer Weinstein often being diverted by other commitments during that time, but his patience and perseverance for this project has paid off in spades and he has clearly taken that time to be as diligent as he can be. The script is incredibly tight, we can easily forgive the negligible stutter in dialogue here and there when the rest is of such a high standard. It manages to come across not only as refreshingly authentic but also feels uniquely tailored to each character allowing them each their own distinct voice. Asides from the meticulous writing, some outstanding performances can also be attributed to the success of this piece. The body language, the subtle mannerisms in both performances from Pistorius and Vaughn tell us as much if not more about the subtext of Lauren and Jacobs relationship than countless words ever could. Pistorius might appear somewhat rigid at the start, but it of course makes a world of sense as the film plays out, his character being one that hides behind ostentatious words barbed with cynicism rather than expressing real ones, which works as a wonderful juxtaposition compared to Vaughn’s more disarming and optimistic Lauren, who manages to slowly peel away at the layers of Jacobs shell to a point where they can start to have a real conversation. And finally, as part of a filmmaking holy trinity at play here, the on-point camerawork and framing are the glue that holds it altogether. Opting for wide angled open shots towards the beginning, the film then slowly brings the lens in closer and closer, brilliantly mirroring the increasingly intimate nature of this encounter as it draws to a close, all this amplified by a bittersweet score against a beautifully melancholic snowy Chicago backdrop. A real triumph, Weinstein has managed to craft a fully formed story of hope and second chances out of a near twenty-two-minute runtime. A Missed Connection is a truly serendipitous tale of lamenting things unsaid but not allowing yourself to be haunted by the past and having faith that it’s never too late. Watch the trailer here: #ChrisBuick