Sunday, June 25, 2023

Fun in Shorts: The Joker Tarot

“Fun in Shorts: The Joker Tarot” (shorts program)
Sunday, June 18, 11:00 am, Castro + streaming encore

AC Unit, dir. Grace Godvin, 2023, USA, 13 min. 🫤 • 🌐 World premiere
Agents of Change – Project: Polymer, dir. Jett Garrison, 2023, USA, 15 min. 🫤
Cock ’n Bull 3, dir. Nathan Adloff, 2022, USA, 24 min. 👎
Daddy Issues, dir. Matt Campanella & Stephanie Chloé Hepner, 2023, USA, 5 min. 👏
Dilating for Maximum Results, dir. Nyala Moon, 2023, USA, 14 min. 💖
Diomysus, dir. Emily Morus-Jones, 2022, UK, 5 min. 👏
Troy, dir. Mike Donahue, 2022, USA, 16 min. 👏
AC Unit, dir. Grace Godvin, 2023, USA, 13 min. 🫤 • 🌐 World premiere

a window air conditioner perched precariously in a window
AC Unit
Hilton and Drew live in New York City, which is in the midst of a brutal heatwave. Hilton has a window unit air conditioner, but no clue how to install it. Drew comes over and manages to get the AC unit in the window and operating, but clearly not properly installed — you can see the flimsy tape holding it in place. Hilton and Drew get high (pot and also shrooms) and go wandering in the park, but return home to find disaster has struck. I give it a “meh.”

• IMDb page • Official website • trailer (n/a) •
Agents of Change – Project: Polymer, dir. Jett Garrison, 2023, USA, 15 min. 🫤

woman in blue dress and man in gray suit doing spy stuff
Agents of Change
In this spy film, an experienced spy (Rain Valdez, pic­tured left) is paired with a newbie (Shaan Dasani, right) to get their hands on some important information about an environmental villain. The plot is clunky, the dialogue is stilted, the acting is amateurish, but this short film is mildly amusing even through its preachy premise. I give it a “meh.”

Cock ’n Bull 3, dir. Nathan Adloff, 2022, USA, 24 min. 👎

two male flight attendants panic at the scene of a fiery plane crash
Cock ’n Bull 3
Flight attendants Chris and Wes engage in a series of twisted dares in the middle of a flight, leading to a failed attempt to make an emergency landing after someone poisoned the pilot. I got the feeling that the writers had a brainstorming session for plot ideas, but instead of choosing the good ideas and weaving them into a narrative, they said, “Screw it, just use all of them.” The result was a “throw the kitchen in the spaghetti and see if the wall sinks” story, dreary and annoying more than funny. Just no.

• IMDb page • Official website (n/a) • trailer • Instagram: @NathanAdloff • Twitter: @n8r •
man in hood, younger man holding a riding crop, woman supervising with a clipboard
Daddy Issues
Daddy Issues, dir. Matt Campanella & Stephanie Chloé Hepner, 2023, USA, 5 min. 👏

Oliver (filmmaker Matt Campanella, pictured right) has a college education, but has decided to train for a career as a profes­sional dom. He gets a surprise client: Dad, and then has to cover when the supervisor comes to check on them. Cute, well executed, fun. Highly recom­mended.

• IMDb page • Official website (n/a) • trailer • Instagram: @MatthewCampanella •
transwoman speaks to the camera
Dilating for Max. Results
Dilating for Maximum Results, dir. Nyala Moon, 2023, USA, 14 min. 💖

Young Black transwoman Dreya (played by Nyala Moon, How Not to Date While Trans [watch on YouTube!] in the “Oh, You Pretty Things” shorts program, Frameline46) has a steamy virtual thing going with a guy who wants to get together IRL, but Dreya hasn’t kept up with dilating since her bottom surgery 4 years ago (hooray for pan­dem­ic iso­la­tion), so she’s a bit anxious, trying to make up for lost time so she can have that non-virtual connection. It’s a light-hearted take, with some serious issues sprinkled in the mix, expressing a joie de vivre that will draw you along for the ride. With two wonderful shorts to her credit, I can’t wait to see what Nyala Moon does next. (Please, please make a feature film!) Definitely a MUST SEE, even if you skip most of the other shorts in this program.

• IMDb page • Official website • trailer • Instagram: @NyalaMoon •
Diomysus, dir. Emily Morus-Jones, 2022, UK, 5 min. 👏
puppet of a mouse
Diomysus

Actual polyamorous humans talk about the joys and the challenges of being poly. The audio interviews are the backdrop to puppet mice, giving the audience something to look at while preserving the anonymity of the inter­view­ees. Cute, well done, insightful. Highly recom­mended.

• IMDb page • Official website • trailer • Instagram/‌‌Twitter/‌Facebook: @DiomysusShortFilm •
A History of Sitting in Waiting Rooms (or whatever longer title you prefer), dir. Lorena Russi, 2023, USA, 9 min. 👏
two people sit in a faux waiting room in a park
A History of Sitting

Six-year-old Lorena sits in the waiting room for her dentist, sits in the waiting room while her mother sees the oncologist, sits in the waiting room for who knows what, and talks to her imaginary friend Boo, the ghost of a Civil War soldier. In the meantime, puberty begins, with confusion about her place in the world and connection to (actual living) people. Cute, sweet, well executed. Highly recommended.

• IMDb page • Official website • trailer • Instagram/Twitter: @ColonialManFace •
Troy, dir. Mike Donahue, 2022, USA, 16 min. 👏

woman standing in an elevator
Troy
New Yorkers in an apartment with paper-thin walls hear every conversation, every argument, every moan and groan, from the neighbor, Troy, and the steady stream of men who come to visit. They unexpectedly find them­selves wrapped up in the real-life soap opera next door and then find it difficult to disengage. Cute and funny, clearly inspired by some actual neighbors. Highly recom­mended.

• IMDb page • Official website (n/a) • trailer • Instagram: @Mike.M.Donahue •
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)