Slamdance Shorts Round-Up
SLAMDANCEFestivals feature dozens of shorts as well documentaries and features. Slamdance is no exception with over 100 selections this year. Although it wasn’t possible – or expected – to watch them all, here are some of the best that spanned the following programs: Narrative, Documentary, Experimental, Episodes, Unstoppable, DIG (Digital, Interactive and Gaming) and Department of Anarchy.
Although these shorts were screened as part of the festival, they are by no means exclusive or unavailable. There are links provided below if you would like to see a trailer or the short as a whole, giving an opportunity to spread the word about these films and leave feedback for their creators.
I think it’s enough, isn’t it?
Perhaps the most topical short out of the five, Emily Shir Segal’s recollections of her father are paired with home video footage of him spending time with his family and doting on her. The catch is that Segal’s voice is raw and subdued, a stark opposition to the joyful images captured on video. She narrates the shock and mourning of watching her loved one succumb to a COVID-related death, ending with the dehumanising image of what happened to his body and how her family coped with the separation and loss.
For a short trailer of the film, visit here.
Morning Sickness in the U.S.A.
Racism manifests in many forms, but there’s something disturbingly singular about this short by Cristine Brache. Juxtaposing found footage over a phone conversation with her Puerto Rican grandmother, Brache listens to a family anecdote from years ago which proves to be as straightforward as it is shocking. Created during quarantine, this short is successful in placing the isolation and racial tensions of 2020 in sharp relief with events that passed nearly 60 years earlier.
To view this short, visit here.
Blackwater
Boise Esquerra’s Blackwater is a darkly funny character sketch centering around Birdie Blackwater (Kyla Garcia), a country singer and functioning alcoholic who has reached the end of her rope. After a public altercation, she is ordered to attend group therapy with four other addicts but resists every step of the way. The verbal sparring is both hilarious and revealing, and with solid supporting performances from Branscombe Richmond and the always inimitable Gary Farmer, it’s begging to be expanded into a feature.
For a teaser of this short, visit here.
Just a Guy
A haunting and no-frills portrait of hybristophilia, Shoko Hara’s animated short features interviews with three women who corresponded with Richard Ramirez, a notorious serial rapist and murderer who terrorised and killed at least 15 people in the 1980s. Their attraction and affection for him is presented without judgement and ultimately proves to be beyond reason or explanation. What makes it fascinating is the detachment in how they view his violent tendencies and how he continues to infatuate women online, years after his crimes and death in prison.
To view this short, visit here.
ASMR for White Liberals
Even the most well-intentioned people deserve to be knocked down a peg or two. That is where John Connor Hammond’s ASMR for White Liberals comes in. It’s part Dear White People, part ‘self-care’ and a hefty forkful of sarcastic humble pie. Featuring writer/comedian, Randall Otis between two microphones, the short features whispered gems like, ‘You’re one of the good ones’ and ‘Green Book was a good movie.’ Considering the state of the world and the do-good virtue signaling that has overtaken social media, this is the kind of comedic takedown certain – ahem, white – people need to see.
To view this short, visit here.