The World Shorts package was received by a full house at the Mercury Cinema at this year’s Adelaide Film Festival. The package contains a well-curated array of films that varied in style, depicting snippets of life delving into depersonalisation, sexuality, the macabre and the sombre. The selected films are a balance of light-hearted topics and darker, more introspective themes. In no particular order, here are the four stand-out shorts amongst the program.
Three Centimetres (Lara Zeidan | United Kingdom, 2018)
Opening film Three Centimetres is a one-take piece filmed on a creaky Ferris wheel, upon which four young Lebanese women discuss their sexuality. The naturalistic conversation between the passengers ebbs and flows with the movement of the amusement ride, the camera providing a fly-on-the-wall perspective. The short delicately and realistically depicts the relationships between the four women and their sexuality.
Home Shopper (Dev Patel | Singapore/United States, 2018)
Home Shopper, is a macabre dark comedy about a restless housewife who seeks revenge on her emotionally abusive husband. Starring Armie Hammer as the maniacal host of the Home Shopping network, his character goads the housewife to take charge of her life… as he promotes various household implements that can assist in disposing of a dead body. With many laugh-out loud moments, this short is a strong directorial debut from Dev Patel.
They Sleep Inside Your Head (Tamara Hardman | Australia, 2018)
They Sleep Inside Your Head directed by Tamara Hardman is an SA-made short featured in the package. The film recounts the story of Mae Driver, a once aspirational writer approaching 30, whose coping mechanism is escaping into Old Hollywood fantasies through a deep-meditation VHS. When the VHS disappears, the fantasy unravels along with Mae’s mental state. This well-paced and fully-realised depiction of depersonalisation is an impactful and thought-provoking narrative juxtaposing the bright Hollywood heyday with a pale pastel reality.
All These Creatures (Charles Williams | Australia, 2018)
The final film, All These Creatures, another Australian short in the package, was a powerful closing film. The short is narrated by a young man whose father struggles with mental illness characterised with manic episodes and fits of rage and violence. Their backyard’s cicada infestation at dusk is symbolic of the disruption to a previously harmonious household. The film contains many heart-in-your throat moments throughout it’s realistic depiction of a family broken by mental illness.
There is one final screening tomorrow (23rd Oct) at the GU Film House Adelaide at 6:00PM, so get along to see these shorts showcased.
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