21st Hollyshorts Film Festival Review Roundup: Part 1

Hollyshorts is here! Some of the best short films of the year descend on Los Angeles for one of the most prestigious Oscar-qualifying short film festivals in the world. Throughout the week we will be picking our favourites from the festival to review. Check out the reviews for our first four of the fest!

The Pearl Comb, dir. Ali Cook

Half-British historical drama, half-folk mystery, The Pearl Comb transports you to 1893 Cornwall. World-building in a short is perhaps one of the most difficult feats to accomplish. Director/writer Ali Cook makes it look easy. He seamlessly crafts a world full of mystery and mythology centered around a fisherman's wife, Betty Lutey (Beatie Edney) who has miraculously cured someone of tuberculosis. 

The screenplay offers a story that explains the lore of this world in a way that is both engaging and easy to follow along. No scene is wasted; the short blends drama, fantasy and elements of horror to keep you intrigued. It is a short that lets scenes linger and intensity build without overstaying its welcome as we are introduced to the characters and their motives. 

The Pearl Comb is elevated by its exquisite craftsmanship. The costume design by Constance Woods, production design by Isabel Pirillo, and the entire makeup and VFX teams work together to realistically depict what life was like in the late 1800’s along the shoreline of Cornwall. Without these elements, no matter how good the writing is, the fantasy aspects of this short could have easily fallen flat. 

Although The Pearl Comb is a fictional tale, it is grounded in the true story of the Edinburgh Seven - the first women to study medicine in the UK. The Pearl Comb takes place in an era where women were silenced and told to stay in their lane. They were meant to stay at home and let the men pursue professions like medicine. This idea of societal structures is tackled head on in this short: a woman takes her power back by fighting the dated ideologies of a doctor sent to put her in her place. Although we have come a long way since this time period, it is unfortunate that some men in religion, society and government still seek to subjugate women. This short serves as a reminder of the strength and intellect of women in their fight to become and remain equal.

Review by: Brandon MacMurray

A Friend of Dorothy, dir. Lee Knight

A Friend of Dorothy is what I call a "comfort" short. It's one to watch to be enraptured by the blossoming friendship of an unlikely pair. After accidentally kicking his football into 87 year-old Dorothy’s (Miriam Margolyes) backyard, JJ (Alistair Nwachukwu) is invited into her house to help her open her can of prunes. From there, a beautiful friendship forms between the two over tea and continues as JJ tells Dorothy of his hopes and dreams in life. 

Alistair Nwachukwu marks himself as an actor to keep an eye on; he absolutely shines in this role. He brings energy to a subtle and endearing performance, perfectly matching the charm of Miriam Margolyes, who many will recognize as the actress who plays Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter movies. The screenplay by director Lee Knight does this short a lot of favours. Rather than falling into the potential pitfall of coming across as cheesy or trite, Knight injects charm into the words of Dorothy at every corner. A Friend of Dorothy keeps a smile on your face and your heart swelling, begging for the sweet moments of friendship to last. The cinematography by Vanessa Whyte acts as a portrait of both actors. She does an amazing job capturing the characters' expressions, like Dorothy's mischievous smile and the wonder in JJ’s eyes at the vast collection of plays on Dorothy's shelf. 

Although the opening scene provides a lot of context to how this short will end, it doesn’t diminish its powerful final moments. It perhaps even enhances them, allowing you to cherish the time spent between friends, not knowing how or when a moment that is sure to sting is going to come.  

In a time where we see so much negativity in the news, A Friend of Dorothy offers a welcoming vibe and message. It encourages you to follow your dreams, be selfless, and embrace vulnerability. It teaches you to enjoy the company of strangers and to offer them a helping hand, because you never know, the unlikeliest of encounters could turn out to be exactly what you needed. 

Review by: Brandon MacMurray

Snipped, dir. Alexander Saul

Writer-Director Alexander Saul that just last year brought us Lovesick is back with Snipped, a short film about a jewish convert named Adam, played by Louis Bodnia Andersen, who as an adult has made the decision to get circumcised to get closer to his god - or something along those lines. Travelling there accompanied by his father, Adam seems very unsure about his decision and the reasoning for doing it in the first place. Nevertheless he perseveres, only to be met with a doctor whose idea of calming down the situation seems to be making jokes at his expense.

Throughout the film we see brief snippets (pun intended) of religious or political commentary on the current situation in Palestine and the ripples it has in societies geographically far from it. All that context gives a lot of depth to Adam’s experience, which in and of itself is already a big and complex decision to make as an adult religious convert. Placing the story in his home country of Denmark gives it a very down to earth feeling of a small clique who has or will go through similar experiences and can relate to one another, even through silly comments or brief looks.

The film has a handful of throwaway moments riffing on this comedic awkwardness - like Adam in a silent grey elevator ride with his father heading up to the clinic bathing in true hospital lighting or the doctor entering the room wearing what I can only describe as a “call center headset” which he seems to using to chat to one of his mates about his patients - all of which helps quickly with enriching the scenes and characters.

The juxtaposition of this very harsh reality to the absurdity of an adult man walking into what is essentially a children's clinic for circumcision builds a very addictive and strange kind of tension, it feels almost like you want to look away yet laugh while doing so. It is a very fine balance to strike which for the most part works in its favor, and while the scope is most certainly microscopic it leaves you with a much larger impression than you would expect it to.

Review by: Robin Hellgren

Five Stars, dir. Todd Wiseman Jr.

Video games are a medium that allow imagination and transports the player to the character's actions and emotions. We play games to become other individuals and perform actions that we may never do in our own lives. It may be in high-performance sports, such as playing football on the EAFC, or basketball in NBA 2K, or even fighting a fictionalized war, as in the Call of Duty franchise. Grand Theft Auto is a massive hit in the gaming world. It is one of the best-selling games in history, with over 200 million copies sold, and the enormous hype surrounding the upcoming release of the sixth title in the franchise's history. Consequently, gamers play GTA to explore an open world where they can execute crimes and feel the rush of escaping the police and commit massive criminal acts that are not compatible with reality. 

Based on GTA's gameplay, Todd Wiseman Jr. utilizes its open world premise in his short, Five Stars. It stars Milo Machado-Graner, the child star of Justine Triet's Palme d'Or winner, Anatomy of a Fall. He is a young player who imagines himself in the world of the character he is playing with. Therefore, he robs luxury cars, attends strip clubs, explodes helicopters, and murders innocent people on the streets. He does all of these actions while his chasing rate increases, represented by the stars. Each of the stars on the screen means a growing danger to society, and the police's search for the criminal. 

In only eight minutes, Five Stars translates a player's imagination to the film medium. The director uses a steadicam to create the third-person perspective from the games. Thus, the film emulates the game aesthetic through the POV, which allows the audience to identify with the video game. Yet, Wiseman Jr. uses a wide lens to shoot when the lead character is in the real world, outside of the gaming universe. Therefore, it creates a greater contrast between the distinct realities, the free and criminal one from the game, and the controlled and obedient one from the reality. Thus, the film depicts the notable differences between those two perspectives. 

Narratively, the film does not provide a conventional story. It is not a crime story with developed arcs and a redemption for the central criminal.  Instead, it transports what the player feels when performing different criminal acts in the game. In this sense, Milo Machado-Graner shows his expertise in portraying various individuals in the same universe, providing a varied approach to his players and characters. On the other hand, the film relies on the kinetic action to mimic the scenes from the game. The director constructs an impressive chase on a bridge from the police to the green McLaren that Milo drives. It is a noteworthy scene that features a short that focuses on the visual construction to transmit its ideas. 

Additionally, the director also comments on how young teens access content with brutal violence without any kind of critical input. In this case, it is not an ideal medium for individuals in such formative years, as in most of cases, parents do not follow the recommended age to play it or even know the extent of how far the games go. Five Stars by Todd Wiseman Jr. is a creative and well-crafted homage to the world of Grand Theft Auto, especially how the game allows players to perform activities they would never do in their lives. It is an aesthetically impressive short that features another solid work by Machado-Graner.

Review by: Pedro Lima