Short of the Week
We’ve already talked in length about how 2022 has been ‘a big year’ here at Short of the Week, but outside of the new platforms, alumni success and sheer number of short films we featured throughout the last 12-months, what made it another successful year was the efforts and expertise of the awesome S/W team. The more time I spend in the world of short film, the more convinced I am that curation is key in both helping filmmakers further their careers and growing an audience who appreciates all the form has to offer.
With that in mind, the work the S/W programming team does can’t be underestimated, as it’s their knowledge of the industry, network connections and their discerning taste that makes us the go-to online short film platform. As a way to round-up all the work that has gone into our programming over the last year and celebrate the team behind it, we’ve asked our programmers to pick their favourite short films featured on our site in 2022. These people know the world of short film as well as anyone else, so this list really is a must watch – Rob Munday, Managing Editor
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Outside
dir. Emily Murnane
Recommended by: Georg Csarmann
There are many reasons why I picked Emily Murnane’s little gem of a movie, but part of it is as a tribute to our former colleague Ivan Kander, who left S/W after a decade as probably the most prolific submissions screener and feedback writer on the team. Ivan and I bonded over a shared special admiration for films like Outside: minimalistic dramedys with an elusive indie sensibility, particularly two-handers, that make the most out of their technically constrained (in the best sense) no-to-low-budget filmmaking. Outside is the epitome of that specific style and it is a testament to the actors’s abilities, the finely crafted script and the sensitive direction that the simple concept works so well and takes you on an emotional rollercoaster within the span of six minutes. It is also a perfect example of the ways filmmakers were able to make the most of the entire COVID situation, which hopefully will finally be a thing of the past after 2022.
Read our full review
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Moshari
dir. Nuhash Humayun
Recommended by: Serafima Serafimova
Moshari is relentless. From the very first scene, this emotionally and visually striking horror sucks you in with its vividly drawn up post-apocalyptic world and doesn’t let go till the end. It’s a cleverly crafted psychological horror which blends our irrational childhood fears of monsters hiding under the bed with the very real and rational ones around humanity’s survival and losing those we cherish the most. The result is a masterpiece that elevates the genre to an entirely new level.
Read our full review
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Min börda (The Burden)
dir. Niki Lindroth von Bahr
Recommended by: Céline Roustan
2017 was the year I started watching short films “professionally”, paying close attention to festival programs. That year, during Cannes, a short film premiered that has stayed with me ever since and that would take the festival circuit by storm: Min börda (The Burden) by Niki Lindroth von Bahr! Existential dread as a musical.. YES PLEASE! Insanely creative, poignant, every single vignette of the film hits the bull’s-eye. The sense of humor is sharp, the songs are cleverly written, the score is haunting, the stop-motion animation is impressive, I know I’m not alone saying that this is one of the greatest shorts ever! Good things come to those who wait… five years after its premiere we rejoiced at the idea of finally being able to feature this film on S/W.
Read our full review
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The Windshield Wiper
dir. Alberto Mielgo
Alberto Mielgo’s The Windshield Wiper – click on image to watch film on YouTube
Recommended by: Andrew Allen
You may think a film that’s already won an Oscar for Best Animated Short needs no additional champions. And you’re right. Alberto Mielgo’s The Windshield Wiper presents a simple collection of vignettes on the theme of love. But the real magic is Mielgo’s beautiful treatment of 3D animation that somehow oozes more emotion than film stock. The fact this NSFW animation won out in a category often dominated by family-friendly Pixar shorts, is testament to its depth. It’s a rare film that keeps on giving as this does, and for that, it’s worth returning to, as I have many times over the past 12 months.
Read our full review
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The Voice in the Hollow
dir. Miguel Ortega
Recommended by: Chelsea Lupkin
The Voice in the Hollow is one of the most striking films I’ve seen all year. With its intensely vibrant color palette and compelling world building, this action packed 3D animation combines folklore, fantasy, and horror that feels like the stuff of legends born of tragedy. Inspired by the moaning caverns where people claim to hear voices of a young girl calling for help, The Voice In the Hollow is a unique imagining of how two sisters are torn apart by ambition. Lured down a dark path that feels akin to hell itself, there will only be one true new ‘leopard’ in Coa and Ala’s tribe.
Read our full review
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The Vandal
dir. Eddie Alcazar
Recommended by: Rob Munday
With one our claims behind our love for short film being that it is an area of filmmaking where ‘innovative storytelling is born’, it’s important we have examples (proof if you will!) to back this statement. Featuring a jaw-dropping blend of stop-motion and live-action – an approach the director calls “Meta-Scope” – and a haunting storyline, Eddie Alcazar’s The Vandal is unlike anything else I’ve seen screening shorts in 2022 (if not ever). 18-months in production, it’s the kind of groundbreaking cinema that short film has become synonymous with and it feels like an approach that would have only been possible in the short format.
Read our full review
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Homesick
dir. Will Seefried
Recommended by: Jason Sondhi
People who watch movies for a living become novelty junkies. Guilty as charged, of course. Homesick appeals to me by providing the rare thrill of unpredictability. The film is not wholly original, but a concoction of remixed elements in a combination I’ve never seen. Many months since first viewing I still have a tough time putting my affection for Homesick in words—it’s a sci-fi premise (the idea of “going back” and fixing the past) married to a grimy, decidedly un-fantastic scenario and the combination of the two is absurd, embarrassing, and utterly gripping.
Read our full review
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Drummies
dir. Jessie Zinn
Recommended by: Mckayla Buckley
In a stunning showcase of girl-led camaraderie, discipline, and community, Jessie Zinn’s docu-dream follows three incredible young South African drum majorettes. It’s an empowering portrait of kinship and a celebration of girlhood. I urge you to give it a twirl!!!
Read our full review
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Nsenene
dir. Michelle Coomber
Recommended by: Lorraine Caffery
Some films humble you. Nsenene is one such short. Set in the Ugandan town of Masaka, it follows grasshopper hunters as they harvest the bugs from the night sky. The poetic narration, stunning visuals and confident direction conspire to tell a powerful story about the vastness of life. In a maelstrom of grasshoppers, Nsenene reminds us of its endless possibility, often cruel reality and above all: the enduring hope of its people.