Short of the Week
At Short of the Week, one of our goals is to champion a “diversity of fresh voices” through our curation. While we strive to do this year-round, dedicated celebrations like Pride Month serve as a crucial reminder of the unique value of short films: they provide a platform for stories that might otherwise go unheard.
While our coverage on shortoftheweek.com included only a few LGBTQ+ stories, our YouTube channel focused heavily on Pride Month, with 75% of our June releases chosen with this observance in mind. These selections proved very popular, garnering over 600k views since the first was published on June 3rd.
This curatorial focus extended to our sister site, Shortverse, where we curated a collection of 27 LGBTQ+ titles for your perusal. Evolving continuously over the 30 days of the month, this selection featured a mix of shorts familiar to S/W fans alongside many new picks.
Championing new and exciting voices will always be central to Short of the Week’s mission. If you ever feel we could improve in this area, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know – Rob Munday, Managing Editor
***
Team Favorites
Alongside diversity, originality is a crucial aspect of our curation. This is exemplified in our Best of the Month picks for June, which include a docu-drama hybrid, an experimental animation, and a surreal journey into the Underworld with a concussed footballer. These three films are a testament to the ingenuity and creativity found in the world of short film.
A Goat’s Spell by Gerhard Funk
A short film centred around a day in the life of a child might not initially sound like the most innovative idea, but, in the hands of animator Gerhard Funk this simple premise evolves into a psychedelic journey through the boundless realms of youthful imagination. A boundary-pushing short featuring “virtual ragdoll puppets”, A Goat’s Spell employs a playful approach to both narrative and craft to create one of the most unique viewing experiences you’ll encounter on our platform.
***
Campfire by Austin Bunn
Originally conceived as “a documentary about one of the oldest gay campgrounds” in the USA, Austin Bunn returns to S/W with Campfire, a docu-fiction short following his previous work, In the Hollow. This 17-minute film tells the poignant story of a closeted man seeking his long-lost love, blending heartfelt fictional and factual elements with both non-actors and professionals, to offer a fresh and innovative perspective on the LGBT community.
***
End Zone by Guy Kozak
At the baseline, this is a simple story about a young football player that sustains a head injury, but it’s presented through a surrealistic lens that makes it one of the most inventive shorts we’ve featured in sometime. Everything (production-wise) at work in End Zone creates a delightful disorientation for the viewer, as we plunge into the, presumably, concussed protagonist’s (Player 13’s) dream state. Shot on film, the visuals are beautifully sweaty and dense, with overlays and non-cohesive edits blending together harmoniously to deliver a truly unique experience.
***
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 June 2024
If you’re looking for more team favorites, then head over to Shortverse, where our screeners have suggested a further 14 titles that caught our attention in June.