7 Micro Short Film Reviews
We had the honour of screening a brilliant selection of fantastic short & snappy, micro short films at our 2022 film festival, so here’s a collection of short & snappy mini-reviews for these brilliant micro shorts.
Angles of a Man
Directed by Carolena Eugenia Villavicencio
USA • Drama • 2 Mins
Angles of a Man is a visual poem exploring toxic masculinity versus the gentleness of youth.
The softly spoken narration is delivered over mostly tranquil footage of a young man either secluded in a bathroom or alone on the beach. The character, isolated in moments of stillness, with the occasional use of dance seems to defy conventional masculinity, but these elements are wonderfully juxtaposed with a very confrontational, thought provoking piece of scripting that raises interesting questions about youth & masculinity and nature vs. nurture.
The end result is a confronting, hypnotic and poetic little short with a great script, nicely delivered with amazing cinematography.
9/10
Angles of a Man was nominated for Best Micro Short at our 2022 film festival.
Big Foot
Directed by Lee Charlish
UK • Animation • 2 Mins
Big Foot by animator Lee Charlish feels simultaneously unique and familiar - almost nostalgic. There’s a whiff of South Park in the mix, yet despite the fact that the hunter is clearly American, there’s something unmistakably and pedantically British at root of the humour of the film: the exception taken by the hunter to the grammatical inconsistencies of the term Big Foot.
Big Foot is short, snappy and funny, and has a lot of fun playing with the conventions of terminology and challenging common stereotypes.
9/10
Big Foot was nominated for Best Micro Short at our 2022 film festival.
Page’s Edge
Directed by Isaac Camilleri
UK • Animation • 5 Mins
Page’s Edge, a dialogue free, fun mix of live action and rotoscope animation, is about a young guy’s doodle of a man coming to life on the page. Stuck within the flat, uninspired blank page, the doodle is desperate to escape the confines of his environment and does all he can to free himself, only to be thwarted by his creator.
This isn’t just a film about wanting to escape our own realities, environments or thoughts, but also about being held and even pulled back by those in our lives who should be holding us up, supporting us and pushing us to move forward. But, as the film suggests, maybe we’re not meant to escape. Maybe sometimes it’s those around us that need to change and can just help make our lives a little brighter and more pleasant with just a little consideration, empathy or the simplest of gestures.
Page’s Edge is lovely little student film with some strong ideas that are precisely executed.
8/10
Page’s Edge was nominated for Best Micro Short and Best Student Film at our 2022 film festival.
Pumpkin Boy
Directed by Trent Shy
USA • Horror • 2 Mins
Pumpkin Boy from animator & filmmaker Trent Shy is pretty much “Rubber” with pumpkins rather than tyres! It’s a well-crafted and imaginative micro-short that perfectly blends horror, gory humour and nostalgic effects.
The film quickly establishes it’s setting, style and characters (three young lads played by the directors sons), before going on an all out, balls to the wall, rampage of bad taste, gruesome humour and spectacular stop-motion animation & delightfully grotesque practical make-up effects.
There’s not a wasted second in this film, with with a new surprise round every corner. The director has no issues with literally ripping his children to bloody shreds on screen and as the film unfolds with gleeful, horrific, yet comedic ease, you immediately find yourself wanting to rewatch it to not only see what you may have missed, but to reassure yourself that you did indeed see what you thought you’d seen!
This was another crowdpleaser at our festival where the audience simultaneously laughed, shrieked and groaned in disgust.
10/10
Pumpkin Boy won Best Micro Short at our 2022 film festival.
Special Delivery
Directed by Robert Hackett
UK • Drama • 4 Mins
Being a postman is a fairly thankless job, but today is a little different for this particular postie. The main protagonist strolls through a high-rise estate delivering mail, ignored by almost everyone around him. But he’s not the one who is making the special delivery.
Special Delivery is stunningly shot, drawing out the beauty of the urban environment not only with its cinematography but also with the great choice of track. The slick editing reassuringly guides us through the estate that would most likely be a landscape of fear in other directors hands.
The film has a slow, meandering pace at times, however we’re rewarded with a sweet & sincere payoff.
A great, thoroughly British little feel good film that’s directed with assured precision.
9/10
Special Delivery was nominated for Best Micro Short at our 2022 film festival.
There is Exactly Enough Time
Directed by Oskar Salomonowitz
Austria • Animation • 2 Mins
Before his untimely passing, 12 year old Oskar Salomonowitz had drawn 206 frames of a flip book. Using the remaining blank sheets, his father completed the film.
There Is Exactly Enough Time is a fun flip book animation that, while it’s unfortunately tinged with sadness from a behind-the-scenes perspective, is a joy to watch. Oskar’s father, filmmaker Virgil Widrich, continues the animation with the same youthful spirit and imagination as his son, making the completion of the film a fitting tribute to Oskar’s creativity and passion for animation, and the end result becomes a witty, charming and engaging father/son project.
9/10
There Is Exactly Enough Time was nominated for Best Micro Short at our 2022 film festival.
Young Love In A Dirty Place
Directed by Reinis Spaile
Latvia • Drama • 4m
Young Love In A Dirty Place is an intriguing, different-yet-relatable youthful love story following a young woman who considers the multiple ways she could close a door to save a relationship that is in crisis.
The film highlights the contrast between the colourful highs of young love and the grim & depressing reality of the environment which they dwell within.
The fantastic locations, lighting and performances are a visual treat, all captured on glorious 16mm film. And while there’s something slightly unsettling about the content of the voice over that’s juxtaposed with the beautiful cinematography, the witty, compelling and thought provoking narration coupled with Nikola Abola’s versatile and engaging performance helps us connect very quickly with the main protagonist.
Young Love In A Dirty Place is a brilliantly and skilfully executed short film that leaves you with plenty of food for thought, even in it’s short run time.
9/10
Young Love In A Dirty Place was nominated for Best Micro Short, Best Actress and Best Cinematography at our 2022 film festival.
Reviews by Philip Pugh
