“Scared Shortless” (shorts program)
Saturday, June 28, 2025, 5:45 pm, Roxie Theater
⚠️ content warning: verbal and physical abuse, intentional self-harm
Update: This program will be available in the Digital Screening Room, June 23 through June 30, 2025, anywhere in the United States.
- Clean Slate π, dir. Emily May Jampel, 2025, USA, 9 min.
- Dope Fiend π, dir. Rosanagh Griffiths, 2023, UK, 13 min.
- Goodbye Party π, dir. Sophia Lou & Nathan Pearson, 2025, USA, 13 min. π World premiere
- The Holly King π, dir. Tim O’Leary, 2025, USA, 10 min.
- Munchies π, dir. Brittany Alexia Young, 2025, USA, 11 min.
- ⚠️Take Care π, dir. Brittany Ashley, 2025, USA, 11 min. π World premiere
- ⚠️Talk Shit π, dir. Will Thede & Ben Weiss, 2025, USA, 13 min.
Clean Slate π, dir. Emily May Jampel, 2025, USA, 9 min.
 |
| Clean Slate |
Frameline blurb: Two Asian nonbinary best friends and actors (played by Josephine Chiang and Joyce Keokham, who also wrote the screenplay together) must make some sacrifices when they go up for the same breakout role. From Emily May Jampel, director of π Lucky Fish (Frameline46).
Short but sweet, cute, highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
Dope Fiend π, dir. Rosanagh Griffiths, 2023, UK, 13 min.
-cropped.jpg "Dope Fiend") |
| Dope Fiend Copyright ©2023 Love Short Ltd. |
Frameline blurb: Fran, a clean-cut middle-aged woman, waits for her partner Nia to join her for a therapy appointment. Consumed by her internal voice, Fran is sent on a chaotic and increasingly surreal journey through the waiting room. However, not all is as it seems, and Fran must come to terms with this experience in order to save her relationship with Nia.
Fran goes to a doctor’s office for couples therapy appointment, but she hasn’t done the paperwork. The voices in her head are a village, well on their way to being a mid-sized city. When she loses her pen, it all goes sideways — until the journey takes a twist.
Well done, evocative, with a good twist ending. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
Goodbye Party π, dir. Sophia Lou & Nathan Pearson, 2025, USA, 13 min. π World premiere
 |
| Goodbye Party |
Frameline blurb: Newly broken up with, and “over” everything, Rowan throws himself a goodbye party before he blasts himself out of Brooklyn — literally.
Cute, fun, tightly written with nimble dialogue. Well done, highly recommended.
Note (not a spoiler): there is a brief follow-on scene mid-credits.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
The Holly King π, dir. Tim O’Leary, 2025, USA, 10 min.
 |
| The Holly King |
Frameline blurb: Four men gather to curse one of their ex-boyfriends by invoking the Holly King, an ancient elemental being, and end up biting off a little more than they can chew.
Miguel just got dumped by his boyfriend, who was already cheating on him — right before Christmas! His friend Aaron is a witch and offers to cast a solstice spell to get the Holly King, an “elemental being” tied to the winter solstice, to curse the ex. Two other friends come to fill out the circle, but there’s a surprise in store for them. Well done, highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • watch free on vimeo •
Munchies π, dir. Brittany Alexia Young, 2025, USA, 11 min.
 |
| Munchies |
Frameline blurb: Munchies is a fun, fast-paced crime comedy that follows an estranged high school clique as they reunite for a summer girls' night to get high together like old times. Their sleepover takes a hilariously dark turn when junk food cravings land them in the middle of a botched convenience store robbery.
At her graduation party, Lennon’s friends ignore her admonition not to smoke pot in the house. They eventually get the munchies and go to the convenience store, where they find themselves in the middle of an armed robbery.
The girls’ banter is a bit high strung, but I suppose that fits, and the film is short enough that it doesn’t get super annoying. Cute and funny, well done, highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @Munchies_Film • Twitter: @MunchiesFilm • watch free on YouTube •
Take Care, dir. Brittany Ashley, 2025, USA, 11 min. π World premiere π
⚠️ content warning: intentional self-harm
 |
| Take Care |
Frameline blurb: A woman deliberately injures herself just to be in the care of a particular ER nurse. But when she's discharged from the hospital earlier than expected, she needs to find a new way to extend her stay.
It’s a dark comedy, and I get that, but for me the dark outweighed the comedy, so I have to say not recommended. (That said, I have a pretty low tolerance for self-harm, bloody injuries, and learned helplessness, so I’m sure it will appeal to many less squeamish viewers.)
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @TakeCare_TheFilm •
Talk Shit, dir. Will Thede & Ben Weiss, 2025, USA, 13 min. π
⚠️ Content warning: verbal and physical abuse
 |
| Talk Shit |
Frameline blurb: Ella wants to move out. Taylor does not take this well. Talk Shit is a queer campy dark comedy thriller about the worst friendship breakup ever.
“I need to redefine the boundaries of this relationship, and that starts with cultivating our own spaces.” Ella is rehearsing her speech to tell her super-clingy roommate of 6 years that she wants to move out. The rehearsal goes great, but the actual conversation … well, you’ll have to watch to find out.
Creepy, insidious, psychologically warped — in other words, a well-made horror film. Not usually my genre, but highly recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment