Vee Hua 華婷婷
Short Film Picks for Sundance Film Festival 2023
Larry
(Takeshi Murata & Christopher Rutledge, 2023, United States, 4 minutes)
Animated Shorts Program
In Larry, a long-eared dog wearing a basketball jersey trips and melts over himself like psychedelic cheese. Atop noise and dance music by Black Dice and DJ Taco Fiesta, Larry plays basketball or dances around like the goofy, goopy droopy that he is, in what may be the most gelatinous, hypnotic work of art in the entire festival. Incredible, and worthy of watching over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
The Looming
(Masha Ko, 2023, United States, 15 minutes)
Short Film Program 1
Are strange noises in his house simply the figments of an old man’s imagination, or are they real life? A 15-minute narrative film documenting one man’s pathetic struggles for legitimacy in the eyes of his family members and acquaintances, The Looming uses the persona of an Artificial Intelligence entity to deepen its tale of woe in unexpected, suspenseful ways.
Pathological
(Alison Rich, 2023, United States, 16 minutes)
Short Film Program 1
A gal with a penchant for telling runaway fibs suddenly discovers that her lies are manifesting into reality. Presented as a delightful comedy, Pathological asks whether her pathological behavior is real life or all in her mind.
Alok
(Alex Hedison, 2023, United States, 1 minutes)
Short Film Program 1
In a documentary short film named after the nonbinary Indian-American writer, activist, and scholar, Alok Vaid-Menon, Alok spends time articulating their vision for building a world of shared humanity and community. Brightly-colored and fashionable, the short offers insight into what it is to be fully alive and present on earth, regardless of societal norms and gender norms.
“The most controversial pronoun I have is ‘we,'” says Alok, in the film’s opening scenes. “It’s not ‘they.’ It’s ‘we…’ and I believe the work that want to do in the world is look at every single thing that gets exiled from the concept of ‘we’ and find a way to incorporate it back into ‘we.'”
The Heart
(Malia Ann, 2023, United States, 18 minutes)
Short Film Program 1
Following the sudden death of a middle-aged man’s mother, an unexpected meeting leads to a realization of the obvious: he hasn’t found closure yet. The Heart is a small and intimate tale of finding wholeness after taking action.
Viaje de Negocios
(Gerardo Coello Escalante, 2023, Mexico, 13 minutes)
Short Film Program 3
Daniel, a young Mexican boy finds himself deriving exceptional value from a “rare” pair of shoes that his frequently-absent father gifted him while on a business trip to the United States. Yet when another classmate emerges on the scene with the same pair of shoes and a similar story about how he attained them, Daniel finds his emotions challenged and complicated.
BUST
(Angalis Field, 2023, United States, 11 minutes)
Short Film Program 3
When a new “girl” emerges on the scene and introduces herself to the transgender artist community, she is loosely accepted out of necessity. Unbeknownst to those who accept her, the decision might have consequences they’ll regret.
Border Hopper
(Nico Casavecchia, 2023, United States, 14 minutes)
Short Film Program 4
Border Hopper is centered on a Colombian couple who are trapped in the limbo of waiting for a U.S. green card, as the woman navigates how to direct a Superbowl commercial outside of the country. Floating back and forth between animated and narrative sequences, she finds her world increasingly falling apart due to the trials and tribulations of Western bureaucracy. Thankfully, such fragmentation allows the couple to catch glimpses of what is truly important to them.
Didn’t Think I’d See You Here
(Dylan Guerra, 2023, United States, 14 minutes)
Short Film Program 4
Despite his efforts to move on with his life, a young man is haunted by the ghost of his ex. Unfortunately, what that ex wants seems inexplicable.
Terra Mater
(Kantarama Gahigir, 2023, Rwanda & Switzerland, 10 minutes)
Short Film Program 4
Set against the backdrop of a tragic wasteland, Terra Mater uses vaguely futuristic imagery to draw attention to technological waste caused by the use of rare earth minerals and the exploitation of human beings. Creative sound design, unexpected fashions, minimal electronic music, and many moments of chaos unify it all, in a haunting reflection of the lasting impacts of inequality, hyperglobalization, and neocolonialism.
Say Hi After You Die
(Jenna Tooley, 2023, United States, 17 minutes)
Award Winner Short Film Program
A woman’s best friend jokes that if she ever dies, she’ll come back to haunt her as a Port-o-Potty, full of bloody Diva Cups. What happens if that comes true? Or better yet: what happens if you think that will come true when a Port-o-Potty emerges, but it actually might just be a Port-o-Potty?
Voice Ever
(Céline Perreard & Pauline Archange, 2023, France, 13 minutes)
Short Film Program 5
Dating — according to Voice Ever — is a surreal nightmare world of technology and soundwaves; disembodied voices and chatbots who don’t want to meet in-person. Both the title of the narrative short film and the name of a hypothetical voice-only dating app, “Voice Ever” is a curious portrayal of dating in the modern world.
Ekbeh
(Mariah Eli Hernandez-Fitch, 2023, United States, 9 minutes)
Short Film Program 5
Ekbeh is an abstract exploration of language, Indigenous culture, and food. Set in United Houma Nation — modern day Louisiana — the documentary short film represents the filmmakers’ glimpse into their grandparents’ ability to hold onto their culture. A gumbo recipe unfolds as they share their histories and listen to the sounds of the swamp.
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Jake Renn
Saelyx Finna
