Rob Munday

Returning to Short of the Week for a second time, director Jake Honig follows-up his dramatic short Black Swell with this off-kilter comedy that tracks an employee of the United States Postal Service as he desperately tries to deliver a Christmas present originally sent ten years ago. Featuring an eccentric, captivating lead performance from Peter Smith as Agent 4505, Long Term Delivery is an energetic adventure that introduces its audience to a menagerie of odd-ball characters before serving up a surprising twist at the end.

Inspired to create his narrative after becoming frustrated when a series of packages were failed to be delivered to him. Honig dreamed up a “romanticized story” about what could be happening behind-the-scenes of the postal service.

“I am enthralled by the ways bureaucracies function and like to imagine people hidden deep below the surface who actually care about the mission of the institution”, Honig admits when discussing the aims of Long Term Delivery. “The United States Postal Service is actually an incredibly impressive organization, having mapped out every address in the entire country with the capability to deliver a letter to the most remote location for only the cost of one stamp. I thought it would be fun to create a story that demonstrates its reach by highlighting some bizarre, totally off-the-grid people whose only communication with the outside is through the post office”.

Shot over five days in early November 2017, Honig wanted to capture the autumn leaves but mistimed his shoot and instead got a more desolate look to his film, which he feels helped create the “eerie” tone of his film. However, it’s not just the aesthetic of the film making things feel a little strange, the performances, characters and score all help magnify the oddness of the piece to full effect.

At almost 17-minutes long, Long Term Delivery is a fun ride and does a great job of holding your attention, whilst also providing a raft of humorous moments throughout. Since completing his short, director Jake has now started working on two new films – a short and a feature.