Brandon's ShortStick Picks 2024

Hey everyone! As we wind down our coverage of 2024 shorts this week and look towards 2025, I just wanted to say thank you all for the support you have shown us this year. Whether it is kind words about our coverage or donating a few dollars on our "Buy Me a Coffee", every bit of encouragement means the world to us. We run this site out of a love for short film and feel very lucky to do so. I hope you have enjoyed seeing Josh, Robin and Pedro's 10 selected films and now I bring you mine. As mentioned in our Instagram posts, we watch hundreds of short films every year and given time restraints it is impossible for us to cover them all. So at the end of each year we pick 10 films we didn't get a chance to do a full review on that we want to highlight as 10 favourites on the year. These are mine.

-Brandon MacMurray

Alarms, dir. Nicolas Panay

If you know my taste in film, I love films that stress me out. Alarms takes work-life balance to a whole new level, turns up the intensity to 10 and doesn’t let up through the entire runtime. Taking place at a construction site, chaos awaits at every turn as deadlines need to be met. The script, production design and camerawork mesh perfectly together in a way that lets you feel the anxiety the character is going through at every moment. Nicolas Panay is becoming one of my favourite directors in short film as both his directorial debut short Breakpoint and now his sophomore effort Alarms very deservingly qualified for the Oscars. 

Dirty Towel, dir. Callie Carpinteri

Dirty Towel is a short I have thought about quite frequently since seeing it at Tribeca. It has a story and message that I feel is very important and has really stuck with me. On a personal note: I grew up going to a pentecostal church (not something I associate myself with at all anymore, but I won’t get into that). I specifically remember pastors coming into speak and using the analogy of a lollipop when talking about sex and “saving yourself for marriage”. Some went as far as to bring one in, take off the wrapper and lick it, declaring that “no one wants a used lollipop”. It is something that never sat right with me, knowing there were people in the audience who would in turn feel so much shame from the toxicity of purity culture and societal expectations being pushed upon them. I am sure I am not the only one who has experienced this and Dirty Towel serves up a story that will be healing for a lot of people who watch. It is anti-shame and sex-positive in the very best way. The script, co-written by director Callie Carpinteri and lead actress Emma Parks, also provides some comedic elements as it completely nails the feeling of “Mom is going to know the minute she sees me”, with Emma completely succeeding with the portrayal. 

Swollen, Roxy Sorkin

Swollen was probably the most fun I had watching a short this year. Rather than attempting to describe it, I think my colleague/our editor Josh put it best in our Tribeca article by saying:

"Both the funniest and scariest film of the festival, Swollen has everything: a miniature castle, Hot Cops, rear projection, bisexual lightning, a split diopter, and the most inventive practical VFX this side of Coppola’s Dracula. An absolute riot of Gen Z genius from beginning to end."

Swollen also recently played to much acclaim at this years Sundance

BITE, dir. Jorey Worb

BITE is another short that really resonated with me coming out of Tribeca. The short is described as “auto-fiction” based off director Jorey Worb’s personal experience as it tackles topics such as complex PTSD, overcoming trauma and being gaslit. Through brave storytelling Worb shows what it means to stand up for yourself and speaking your truth, even when doubt sets in. It shows how there is power in your story of perseverance and in taking control of your own narrative. Very empowering story to say the least. All of this aided by the outstanding acting of Troian Bellisario, production design that bursts with vibrant colour and memorable costume design, especially in the played out courtroom scene. You can tell every scene was meticulously thought out and planned to create a cohesive short with bold storytelling. 

The Night Inside, dir. Antonio Cuesta

For those who don’t know, my actual career is in the healthcare industry working in a hospital. For those with a career like mine, The Night Inside is somewhat of a horror film. Shot all in one 20 minute take, The Night Inside follows a nurse named Belén in the events occurring after a child has died in the care of the hospital. Blame is thrown every which way as Belén tries to reconcile with everything that has occurred. The Night Inside is a very real look at what might happen in any hospital you could walk into these days, especially when checks and balances in a system fail. I know the feeling all too well in an industry that is chronically understaffed and overtime is needed in order to fill the many gaps in the schedule. When you are overworked and understaffed at some point something is going to give and unfortunately patients are the ones who suffer most. To me, this short poses the question: Are the workers to blame? Or does something need to be done by management and above on a larger scale to address the gaps in the system?

A Body Called Life, dir. Spencer MacDonald

As someone who works in a lab and stares down a microscope all day, there may not have been a short in 2024 that spoke to me quite like A Body Called Life. This documentary short follows our subject James as he collects water samples and describes different water parasites swimming around within them (to note: the shots of these microscopic critters are mesmerizing). With a screenplay adopted from words used in James’ instagram posts (@jam_and_germs), A Body Called Life uses a perfectly fitting storytelling device. Just as James is taking a microscopic look at organisms, there is a narrator taking a microscopic look at his life. The narration deftly studies James, from the trauma he experienced while he was a curious bug-loving child, to the adult he is today, someone who is just trying to make sense of his place in the world after his diagnosis with complex PTSD. It is a story that is uniquely told and superbly edited making it one of my absolute favourites of the year. 

Anaïs, dir. Hélène Hadjiyianni

Anaïs is probably the documentary short film I have watched most in 2024, because every time I watch I notice something else wonderful and beautiful about it. 

Anaïs tells the story of Anaïs Quemener, a marathon runner and a survivor of stage 3 breast cancer. As Anaïs beats both cancer and her records, she does it with the biggest smile on her face and exudes a joy that can be felt through the camera. Her perseverance and strength are inspiring. Aside from the moving story, this documentary is impeccably crafted as well. You can see Hélène's background in photography naturally translating onto the screen through the use of artistic shots with interesting angels and beautiful aerial cinematography.Even the structure of the story is laid out cleverly in four parts that parallel the stages of a race with Anaïs’ journey through life. Metaphors between nature and the human body are used to add depth and artistically show the battle with cancer and the strength of the human body. 

The Last Ranger, dir. CIndy Lee

Considering The Last Ranger is one of five live action shorts nominated for an Oscar it has been criminally under discussed/overlooked on our site and deserves a spot in this year end recognition. As a self-proclaimed animal lover who has fostered and adopted out around 35 cats over the past 2 years, this story that takes place on the plains of Africa really speaks to that animal-loving part of me. The Last Ranger not only shows how barbaric process of poaching is, but adds a lot narratively through the characters stories. The people who work to save animals from poaching are heroes who put their lives at stake every day. The Last Ranger does an excellent job with showing that, and hits hard when you see the real-life implications at the end. 

Arman and Elisa, dir. Kiyan Agadjani

Arman and Elisa tells the cute and comedic story of the blossoming friendships between the two titular characters. Arman has just moved to Luxembourg and meets Elisa after she is bullied at lunch time. Over shared cultural cuisine at lunch they laugh and learn languages proving that friendship holds no cultural and language barriers. After a misunderstanding in a playground incident the story leaves you with a somber ending. One that has you thinking that if only the parents of these children had taken the time to understand each other as their children had, Arman and Elisa would be better off. Overall, it is lovely short with a solid screenplay and talented acting from both of the young stars making it more than worthy of a spot on this list.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5QnDBFdNEE

Planetwalker, dirs. Nadia Gill, Dominic Gill

Planetwalker was such a pleasant surprise to me. Using a mix of archival footage and interviews, Planetwalker tells the story story of John Francis, who after witnessing the 1971 oil spill in San Francisco Bay takes a vow of silence (for 17 years) while walking across the entire width of the lower 48 states. John Francis truly walks the walk for climate activism as he refuses to use cars and travels everywhere by foot. His story is very engaging and remains especially relevant today as climate change continues to worsen. 

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfxST7YMrsg