Robin's ShortStick Picks 2024

The 2024/2025 season marks my first year of reporting for ShortStick alongside the various festivals and awards that we follow. It has been a fantastic year of growth both on the personal side as well as for ShortStick as a whole, and it has been yet another fantastic year for short films. We have covered a lot throughout the season but as always there are too many good movies and not enough time, so without further ado and in no particular order here are ten more short films I saw the past year that I think deserve a bit of spotlight!

-Robin Hellgren

Extras, dir. Marc-Antoine Lemire

This comedic high paced film depicts a conversation between actress Isabelle, played by Isabelle Giroux, and her agent Johanne, played by Sophie Faucher, on a café terrace on a sunny day. Isabelle’s career is struggling and she confides in and seeks guidance from her agent who is maybe not the best at helping with either. Meanwhile all around them the extras - here the nameless stars of the show - get into increasingly chaotic situations. This is an homage to all the talented people struggling their way through the industry, hoping to find the recognition they deserve, told in a cheeky humorous manner with the constant twinkle in the eye.

In the Garden of Tulips, dir. Julia Elihu 

While in the throes of the Iran-Iraq War Caroline (Ava Lalezarzadeh) and her father (Iman Nazemzadeh) go on a final car ride together through the Iranian countryside. Tension of the imminent separation weaves as a main thread throughout the story, as they try their best to savor the moment and reminisce on their relationship and time together. Solemnly depicting the harrowing side of war and the effects it has on the citizens without displaying the violence directly, it is a tale that is sadly all too relevant still.

Watch here: https://vimeo.com/channels/1876173/1014413019

A Lien, dirs. David Cutler-Kreutz, Sam Cutler-Kreutz

A Lien (alluding to alien, a term often used for describing non-citizens) shows a young couple and their daughter in the midst of the fathers immigration process. It is an unforgiving and haunting depiction of the ruthless methods used by ICE, and how even when you are seemingly following all the rules and regulations your life can still be turned upside down in an instant. It is a classic edge-of-your seat thriller which had me holding my breath right up until the crescendo, all the while covering a topic which is far too important to overlook - especially so given the current political climate.

Old Lesbians, dir. Meghan McDonough

There is no secret that I am a sucker for an intriguing title. I often try to go in as blind as I can when watching something new, so going off a poster or title sometimes helps narrow down my selection at festivals. Sometimes this can be disastrous, but other times you find things like Old Lesbians.

Arden Eversmeyer has spent the past quarter century travelling the US to record hundreds of oral herstories (history viewed from a female or specifically feminist perspective) from the aforementioned old lesbians of the country. Voices that are oftentimes forgotten, or worse silenced, thus got a chance to be immortalized. Arden passed away in 2022 and the documentary honors her legacy by animating the stories she recorded, from the struggles of a time where acceptance was sparse to the joy of finding your true self and falling in love.

Dissolution, dir. Anthony Saxe

Dissolution is a deeply personal story from writer / director Anthony Saxe. After 48 years of marriage Anthony's parents, who themselves stars in the film, are filing for divorce. Through a clever mix of new shots and archival footage from his own home Anthony bares his own and his family's soul in the gripping shots, including his father’s battle with alcoholism and deteriorating health. Viewers discretion is advised, but if you see fit I wholeheartedly recommend you check it out if you have the opportunity to do so.

Then Comes the Body, dir. Jacob Krupnick

Style over Substance is a term that in my personal opinion rarely works in film, perhaps even less so when it comes to documentary films. Yet I find myself having to revisit Then Comes the Body leading up to this because what is etched in my mind is the absolutely gorgeous shots of the elegant aspiring ballerinas dancing in the middle of busy and wet dirt roads. That is not to say there is no story told here; the dancers we follow all come from a ballet school outside of Lagos, Nigeria which gained the attention of the international crowd through a video of children dancing in the rain and they now both individually and as an organisation try to capitalise on the outcome in order to break new ground on this passion which previously hardly existed in their community. That in and of itself is interesting, and worth watching this documentary for, but what is left lingering still is the jaw dropping footage of beauty amidst chaos.

Watch here: https://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/1023628517

The Test, dirs. Laura Waters Hinson, Claudia Myers

Another weakness of mine when it comes to watching habits is a solid feel good film, a tale of success despite hardships through community. The Test fits the bill to a tee, in which we follow a maintenance technician originally from Ghana currently working in a retirement community in Virginia, dreaming of becoming a citizen and reuniting with his family. To his aid comes two elderly residents in the retirement home, and together the three of them study relentlessly for his upcoming exam.

A Wind and the Shadow, dir. Kris Kelly

Mentioned in our predictions leading up to this years’ Academy Awards is A Wind and the Shadow, a fairly late discovery of mine that still managed to establish itself as a favourite of the season. It is a narrative animated story of two moments in the life of a mother and her child, seamlessly woven together into one where the lines between them increasingly start to blur. The mother is forced to confront her fears as her daughter bravely discusses her illness. The fluidity between memory and reality is embodied throughout the film with the use of various water features. The story from writer / director Kris Kelly is inspired by real events which adds a lot of genuine human emotional depth into its details.

Does That Make Me A Woman?, dir. Bec Evans

Featuring nothing but a close-up single take shot of star actress Mia McKenna-Bruce who rose to fame last year with her leading role as Tara in How to Have Sex, this hybrid documentary short puts a spotlight on the contemporary contradictions of being a woman today. It is naked, poetic, honest and true to the impossibility of navigating your way in an increasingly hostile society, where freedoms that previously felt almost too obvious to question now are starting to get debated and even taken away. It is moments like this film that gives me just a glimmer of hope that future generations can and will do better.

Watch here: https://www.nowness.com/story/does-that-make-me-a-woman-mia-mckenna-bruce#:~:text=Performing%20words%20by%20London%2Dbased,that%20rises%20from%20these%20pressures.

Harvey, dir. Janice Nadeau

Wrapping up my ten is this Canadian animated short told through the eyes of the young boy Harvey. It shows the imaginative and playful reality of a child, from playing with his friends in the cold snowy streets of early spring to coping with the loss of a parent. It shows how grievance comes in many forms and how the process is inevitably shared with those around you. The way these heavy topics get blended with the most ordinary practicalities makes for a poetic melancholic feeling that affected me deeply. There is a Swedish term called Diskbänksrealism (kitchen sink realism) which immediately sprung to mind, a mundane flavor of realism depicting conflict or struggles in everyday scenarios, and I often find so much beauty in that. Whether you have experienced loss recently or not at all, we are all affected in one way or another and urge you to check out this story as we heal together.

Available here in Canada: https://www.nfb.ca/film/harvey_eng/