Short of the Week
There’s been a lot said about the healing power of laughter over the years, from that classic “best medicine in the world” quote to Chaplin’s claims that “a day without laughter is a day wasted”. It’s not all Instagramable quotes though, there’s even scientific proof that laughter is good for your relationship, helps form social bonds and even protects the heart. So just in time for World Laughter Day (May 1st), the Short of the Week team has complied a playlist of our personal favorite comedy shorts – those films that make us crack-up, no matter how many times we’ve seen them.
Due to its subjective nature, comedy is always a difficult genre to programme – what we find funny as individuals, may not tickle the funny bones of others – but we hope in this playlist of shorts you’ll also find that one film that hits that comedy sweet spot and has you chuckling for days afterwards, strengthening your relationship and your heart along the way.
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Craig’s Pathetic Freakout
Dir. Graham Parkes
Having spent a large portion of my late-teenage years giggling in a haze of smoke, I’m a sucker for a good stoner-comedy and they don’t come much better than Graham Parkes’ Craig’s Pathetic Freakout. It’s a simple premise, brought to life through two incredible performances, but the twists and turns just keep coming and although you’ll laugh at Craig’s foretold freakout, there’s also a lot of empathy for him (but mainly laughs!!) – Rob Munday
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Klementhro
Dir. Ben Mitchell
“My name is Klementhro. Without my paddle, I’ve nowhere to go.” The pronunciation alone is comedy gold. As the titular man at sea drifts along on his raft, the giggles start building up at the absurdity of the premise, every interaction daring us to release the awkward tension in the form of laughter. Comedy usually comes in threes, but when things do turn around eventually, it makes one laugh out even louder. I’m sure some won’t find this particular kind of humor funny, but that’s one of the beautiful things about comedy–sharing a specific kind of humor creates a special connection, and the weirder and more peculiar it is, the better this works as a barometer: if you also think Klementhro is oddness perfection and can laugh at the character’s misfortunes, we’ll probably get along – Georg Csarmann
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Quiet Carriage
Dir. Ben S. Hyland
When you are 5’2”, crowded public transportation is never fun. I also enjoy a quiet commute and usually have my earbuds in to be in my own little bubble. This is why this film will always make me laugh because the main character finds himself in a situation I would despise. The two actors, Emma Sidi and Amit Shah, nail the tone maximizing the comedy up until that last twist, which wraps the story in the most hilariously delightful manner – Céline Roustan
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Seth
Dir. Zach Lasry
The platonic ideal of comedy for me was cemented in the friendships of my pre-teen years. We didn’t have cars, or even the ability to leave the house without permission, so we didn’t actually watch that many things together. But at school, all we talked about were things we watched, and we were perfectly capable of having long, uproariously funny conversations (to us at least) that were nothing but collections of one-liners and catch-phrases from The Simpsons, Jim Carrey movies, or Saturday Night Live skits.
So, for me, an all-timer comedy has to be quotable, and of all the films we’ve programmed on S/W, Seth is the one whose dialogue and beats I’ve memorized by heart. I’ve seen it probably 15-20 times since that night I first encountered it as part of SXSW’s Midnight Shorts lineup, and my appreciation has not faded with time. Not only is it a comedy masterpiece, but it also introduced us to its lead performer, Logan George. Logan alongside his wife, Celine Held, has gone on to be our site’s most-featured filmmaker, with 6 Official Selections as a director. Yet it is his performance as Seth that still stands out for me. I ran into Logan and Celine at a party right before the pandemic and what did we do? We had a ten-minute, hilariously funny conversation that was nothing but quotes from this strange, unforgettable film – Jason Sondhi
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Two Dosas
Dir. Sarmad Masud
A delicious premise executed with stylish aplomb, Sarmad Masud’s tale of a British man attempting to woo his “English Rose” at an authentic Indian restaurant delightfully messes with expectations. It’s a film filled with punchlines, but there’s also an underlying message about the danger of reading a book by its cover, skewering what it means to be an “authentic” Indian immigrant who also has grown up in Western society. It’s no surprise that director Masud and star Himesh Patel (Station Eleven) have proven themselves to be major industry talents on the rise – Ivan Kander
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Working with Jigsaw
Dir. Chris Capel
Working with Jigsaw is 3 minutes of pure evil genius, a film with uncompromising immaturity and relentless, gut-busting laughs which keep on coming. If you haven’t already seen it, you are in for a treat. Or maybe a trick or two… – Serafima Serafimova
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For more laughs check out our Comedy and Dark Comedy channels for hundreds of other funny short films