Wild Combination streaming shorts

“Wild Combination” streaming shorts program

(shorts that screened in the festival before feature-length films)

Digital Screening Room only

• Dream Burger, dir. Sami Kali, 2024 Switzerland/UK, 9 min. 👏
  (screened with Throuple, Thursday, June 27, 2024, 3:30 PM, Roxie)
• Goodbye Tango, dir. Jason Laurits, 2023 USA, 14 min. 👍
  (screened with Turtles, Saturday, June 22, 2024, 8:30 PM, Roxie)
• Like You, dir. Harrison Sheehan, 2024 USA, 16 min. 👍 World Premiere
  (screened with Fallen Fruit, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, 6:00 PM, Vogue Theatre)
• MASC4MASC, dir. Felix Greisinger, 2024 Sweden, 9 min., in Swedish with English subtitles 👏
  North American premiere
  (screened with Riley, Thursday, June 27, 2024, 6:00 PM, Vogue Theatre)
• My Best Friend, dir. Elina Street, 2024 USA/France, 18 min., in English and French 👏
  (screened with Rent Free, Sunday, June 23, 2024, 3:30 PM, Roxie)
• Threshold, dir. Gregory Brecher, 2024 USA, 17 min. 👏 World Premiere
  (screened with Helen and the Bear, Sunday, June 23, 2024, 2:15 PM, Vogue Theatre)

Dream Burger
[cropped from center]

Dream Burger, dir. Sami Kali, 2024 Switzerland/UK, 9 min. 👏
(screened with Throuple, Thursday, June 27, 2024, 3:30 PM, Roxie)

Two mates are out for a meal at a burger place after playing tennis. Luke can’t stop thinking about Simon and longs to tell him how he feels, but his imagination goes into overdrive with “what if” scenarios. The reality of the situation still manages to take him by surprise. Well done, highly recommended.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Twitter • Instagram: @Sami_Kali_ • Facebook • preview • other •

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Goodbye Tango

Goodbye Tango, dir. Jason Laurits, 2023 USA, 14 min. 👍
(screened with Turtles, Saturday, June 22, 2024, 8:30 PM, Roxie)

A fluffy little comedic melodrama about a woman who is overwrought with grief as she sends her dearly departed pet off to be cremated, allowing strains in her marriage to rise to the surface as they celebrate 25 years. The story is a bit overwrought, but a light take on a heavy subject. There were definitely moments I empathized with the curmudgeonly wife, but it was amusing. Recommended.

Epilogue: I saw Goodbye Tango at the theater screening of Turtles, and enjoyed it more the second time. 

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Twitter • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •

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Like You, dir. Harrison Sheehan, 2024 USA, 16 min. 👍
(screened with Fallen Fruit, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, 6:00 PM, Vogue Theatre • World Premiere)

Like You

“Smith,” a teenager yearing to fly away from the small town where he feels trapped, sneaks out late one night to meet up with “Mateo,” a slightly older man, beginning a brief romance. It’s sweet and subtle, but perhaps a bit too subtle: we are left almost entirely to guess at any of the inner workings of the two characters, and even most of what I’ve said so far I know only from the Frameline program guide. All the same, it’s agreeable and I would even say charming, so still recommended.

“Mateo” makes mention of one of his favorite holiday films, Remember the Night (dir. Mitchell Leisen, 1939 USA, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, and Beulah Bondi), which features the tagline “When you make a mistake, you’ve got to pay for it,” but it really wasn’t clear how that related to anything else in this short film.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Twitter • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •

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MASC4MASC, dir. Felix Augustin Greisinger, 2024 Sweden, 9 min., in Swedish w/ English subtitles 👏
(screened with Riley, Thursday, June 27, 2024, 6:00 PM, Vogue Theatre • North American premiere)

MASC4MASC

Frameline description: “In a world of masculinity, Rafael and friends reign supreme. When he meets Alex, an intimate moment forces Rafael to confront desires and fears, torn between two worlds.”

My thoughts: This film is set in a very cruisy gym, filled with guys posing to flex their massive bulging muscles, but other guys posing with a different flair. On his phone, our protagonist says he is seeking masc4masc only, but he finds himself feeling unsettled. Well done, highly recommended.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Twitter • Instagram: @Xilelix • Facebook • preview • other •

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My Best Friend
[cropped from center]

My Best Friend, dir. Elina Street, 2024 USA/France, 18 min., in English without subtitles and French with English subtitles 👏
(screened with Rent Free, Sunday, June 23, 2024, 3:30 PM, Roxie)

Clara is reeling from breaking up with her girlfriend. She goes off for a weekend staycation with her best friend Léa, who has just persuaded her boyfriend to have an open relationship. The two spontaneously sleep together, which brings up awkward questions. Sensitive and mostly lighthearted, well done, highly recommended.

• IMDb • Official website [#2] • Filmmaker • Twitter • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •

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Threshold, dir. Gregory Brecher, 2024 USA, 17 min. 👏
(screened with Helen and the Bear, Sunday, June 23, 2024, 2:15 PM, Vogue Theatre • World Premiere)

Threshold

A lesbian married couple have gathered family and friends to solemnify their divorce. It brings up lots of feelings, especially for their kids. The couple have clearly made peace with the end of this marriage as a necessary step forward, but the kids get a bit passive aggressive about it. It’s an exploration of the other side of the “same sex marriage” coin: how do we handle it when the relationship doesn’t last “till death do us part”? Highly recommended.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Twitter • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •