Short of the Week
In a month when the inimitable Riz Ahmed gifted us with one of our favorite recent quotes – “a short film is a purer experience” – the Oscar-winning actor, writer, and director’s wise words served as a timely reminder of the passion that fuels both myself and the rest of the team at S/W. I’m fortunate that my work revolves around something I truly care about, but there are times when, buried in all-consuming admin tasks, it’s easy to lose sight of why I started this journey in the first place. Sometimes, simple words like these are all it takes to regain much-needed focus. — Rob Munday, Managing Editor
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Team Favorites
During the typically quieter summer months at S/W, we embraced the wave of sports enthusiasm in July by curating playlists dedicated to both soccer-centric and olympics-themed shorts. While the 15 short films featured on our site varied from social media horror to a modern folktale and a casino-set thriller, the three shorts picked by our team as ‘Best of the Month’ drew inspiration from love motels, personal experiences with hormonal contraception and the “toxic masculine qualities” of Picasso’s work.
Eyes and Horns by Chaerin Im
Exasperated by an art world historically dominated by European white male artists, Chaerin Im’s Eyes and Horns serves as both a critique and a creative reaction to these frustrations. This 6-minute experimental animation channels Im’s emotions into a unique and captivating piece, where distinct craft and powerful themes converge to reimagine Picasso’s 1937 print series, the Vollard Suite.
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Hormonal by Pien van Grinsven
Inspired by her own personal experience and that of three other women, Pien Van Grinsven’s Hormonal uses the medium of dance to bring to light the invisible side effects that hormonal birth control can have on people . . . An evocative and intelligent piece of storytelling that enlightens with its authentic insights and mesmerises with its visual language of movement, all powerfully observed through the female gaze.
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Romance Package for Two by Carlen May-Mann
Created as a cathartic experience for director Carlen May-Mann, Romance Package for Two is a captivating short that delves into the complex lives of a queer couple. Set in the love motel they run together, the 14-minute film explores how boredom and jealousy coexist with love and joy in a relationship, highlighting the necessity of navigating both to sustain a lasting bond.
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Shortverse Best of the Month
Click on the image to see the short films our Shortverse team picked as their Best of the Month for July 2024
If you’re looking for more team favorites, then head over to Shortverse, where our screeners have selected their personal picks from the titles that caught our attention in July.