As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on and the number of deaths rises, we’re quickly becoming numb to the tragedy. We have to remember that the people who’ve died are not just statistics. They were individuals with friends and families, with hopes and dreams. These are people who still had a life ahead of them only to have it ripped away by the virus.
Director Emily Shir Segal brings one story to light with her four minute short film I think it’s enough, isn’t it? She narrates the story of how her father came to die of COVID as we watch home videos of them from years past. The juxtaposition between images of happier days and the story of a sad and lonely end aptly demonstrates just how cruel this pandemic truly is.
I think it’s enough, isn’t it? screened as part of the virtual 2021 Slamdance Film Festival.
Nadav (Ben-Oved Berkovich) is reeling from a bad breakup with Neta. Seeking solace, he meets up with a former lover, Amit (Harel Glazer), whom he hasn’t seen in a while. Their reunion is raw and intense. Any feelings they have for each other must be kept secret. The next day Nadav and Amit pretend like nothing happened and Nadav has to decide what to say to Neta.
Directed by Daniel Bloom, Inside the Storm is a quiet and spare short film about the decisions we make during times of heightened emotion. It’s minimalist film, with only a handful of scenes. The camera lingers on the subject; nothing is rushed. The film as a whole reminded me of a few key scenes from Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight.Â
Inside the Storm screened as part of the virtual 2021 Slamdance Film Festival.
“Reparations for slavery hasn’t happened yet, but if it were to happen, are we ready to make demands that include systematic change?”
Director Symone Baptiste
Director Symone Baptiste’s short film Sixteen Thousand Dollars imagines an America in which black people have been paid reparations for slavery. $16,000 in fact. Brother and sister Brodie (Brodie Reed) and Ellington (Ellington Wells) have received their checks in the mail. Ellington has big plans for her $8,000 check (a half payment because she’s only half black) including quitting her job and starting a new business. Brodie contemplates the significance of the reparation and whether the payment is a replacement for real long-lasting change.
Sixteen Thousand Dollars is an introspective film about race, class and the power of money, done to great comedic effect. Audiences will laugh at the chaos that comes with a windfall of cash and pause to think about its serious subject matter. I would love to see Sixteen Thousand Dollars developed into a full-length feature film!
Sixteen Thousand Dollars was screened as part of the virtual 2021 Slamdance Film Festival.
Dale (Dale A. Smith) visits the local pharmacy in his small town to chat with his buddy Mohammad (Mohammad Dagman). Dale is lonely and Mohammad is a great listener. As their conversation progresses, we learn about Dale’s tumultuous past.
Trammel is a sensitive portrait of loneliness. Directed by Christopher Jason Bell, this 11 minute short film, on the surface, is a window into a private conversation. But then it gives the viewer so much more. Through this conversation, we learn enough about Dale to empathize with him. He’s lonely and in desperate need of a friend. And when Mohammad isn’t there, we want to be there to listen to Dale. We want to be that friend. Empathy is an essential part of human nature that often gets overlooked. Trammel effectively brings it to light.
Trammel screened as part of the virtual 2021 SlLamdance Film Festival.
Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) craves the kind of power-wielding money rich people have. In order to get her hands on that money, she becomes a professional caretaker. But not just any caretaker. A grifter. Working alongside her girlfriend Fran (Eiza Gonzalez) and a network of shady doctors and nursing home executives, she finds targets for her scam: wealthy older people, many without next of kin, whom she can lure into her trap. She becomes their legal guardian, strips them of all of their assets and waits for them to wither away in a nursing home. Marla’s next target, Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), seems like an ideal candidate for her scam. But Marla gets much more than she bargained for as she faces Roman (Peter Dinklage), Jennifer’s son and the head of a dangerous underground network of criminals.
Directed by J Blakeson, I Care a Lot is a satisfyingly twisted tale. The villains are decidedly nasty and when they enter an all out battle of wits and violence, you don’t know who to root for. Rosamund Pike plays Marla with an icy cool and strength that makes her character endlessly fascinating. She’s not a one-note character. Audiences with be conflicted by their feelings towards Marla. They’ll hate her but they’ll hate her opposition more.
Every twist and turn of the story kept me guessing. Even when I thought I had found something I thought would be predictable, the plot goes in a different direction. I recommend going into this film knowing as little as possible (hence the spoiler free summary above).
I do wish we knew a bit more about the characters and how they became criminals. Pike says one line about money and power that seemed absolutely key to her character’s motivation but we only get that one nugget. The movie focuses more on plot than character development. I also didn’t care for the depiction of vaping which is problematic at best.
