ShortStick

Here at ShortStick, there is nothing we love to do more than make lists. Over the past few years we have experimented with different formats to highlight what we feel are our favourite shorts of the year including our "ShortStick Picks." This year we settled on curating our Top 75 favourite shorts of the year. This list was made with a lot of love. After seeing well over a thousand short films between the four of us this year, it is a mix of the best awards contenders and fes

In his debut as a director, Lee Knight, a trained British actor, imprints the kindness of friendship between a young man named JJ played by Alistair Nwachukwu and an elderly lady played by the legendary Miriam Margolyes. In A Friend of Dorothy, Knight crafts a heartwarming story about artistry, friendship and companionship. Listen to the podcast above to hear Pedro's conversation with Lee Knight. A Friend of Dorothy, dir. Lee Knight A Friend of Dorothy  is what I call a "comf

In Retirement Plan, we follow the journey of Ray, a man with a detached attitude toward his own life. However, dreaming of his retirement days, Ray finds joy in the desire to discover the world. In the film by John Kelly, we watch a slice-of-life type of story questioning the human tendency to dream of the future, instead of living in the moment. Listen above as Pedro speaks to director John Kelly and Tara Lawall about the short. Retirement Plan, dir. John Kelly “I should exe

Bad Hostage, directed by Mimi Wilcox, stands out as one of the most riveting documentary shorts on this years shortlist as it perfectly balances familial anecdotes and broader social commentary through remarkable filmmaking and engaging interviews. Throughout the exploration of a fascinating family history, which features both a traumatic and curious observation of a hostage situation, Mimi Wilcox takes us on a history lesson about Stockholm Syndrome, her family's kidnapping

Aaron Blaise is a veteran in the animation industry. He worked as an animator on multiple films of the "Disney Animation Renaissance" such as Aladdin, Mulan and The Lion King, among others. Blaise directed the 2003 film Brother Bear, which although not a hit at the time, received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature and later acclaim as a classic by new generations. Listen to Pedro's conversation with Aaron as they discuss the story behind his latest mastercr

Mixing horror genre tropes and the folk mythology of mermaids, Ali Cook crafts a fascinating melange of genres and references in The Pearl Comb. Narrating the appearance of a siren in the countryside of England, a man finds a miraculous cure in the pearl comb left by a mermaid. Throughout his background in comedy and the ability to create scenarios, Cook frames a period story about the folk backdrop and the myth of the creature. Listen to our full episode and read our review