Short films are often overlooked and underrated in the film industry. Despite their ability to tell powerful and impactful stories, they are only sometimes given the recognition and attention they deserve. But short films have the potential to be just as emotionally resonant and thought-provoking as feature films, if not more so. They often have a level of intimacy and a focus on a specific moment or theme that allows them to pack a punch in a shorter amount of time. This year, the 2023 Sundance Film Festival has a collection of short films — animated, documentary, drama, horror, and more. Here’s a few of the many I have my eye on to watch this week.
Inglorious Liaisons
On the night of a big party for Lucie, Maya, and their friends, Jimmy has also come. Everyone knows he is here for Maya, but does she have the same feelings for Jimmy?
In the Flesh
Tracey is just trying to jerk off with her bathtub faucet like normal when some old memories dredge themselves up, the pipes explode with dirty water, and she starts leaking black goo.
The Sea on the Day When the Magic Returns
Sejin once had the power to have anything she wanted just by thinking about it. Now she has lost her magic. Hours before her interview to be a tourist interpreter, Sejin heads to the weary sea to save her father.
Pipes
Bob is a plumber hired to fix a broken pipe. He lands, to his surprise, in a gay fetish club.
Call Me Mommy
Uncovering the multifaceted life of Sinead, a middle-aged single mother and online sex worker.
Sweatshop Girl
Inés works as a seamstress in a sweatshop where pregnancy tests are periodically administered. When she becomes pregnant, she is sure that her condition will get her fired. She does everything she can to keep it a secret.
Ricky
An ex-offender struggling with new freedom pursues redemption at all costs when given a job from his neighbor.
Christopher At Sea
Christopher embarks on a transatlantic voyage as a passenger on a cargo ship. His hopes of finding out what lures so many men to sea sets him on a journey into solitude, fantasy, and obsession.
Walk of Shame
A mourning widow suspects a stranger in town is wearing her late husband’s Army jacket. She cautiously stalks the man into the night in an attempt to find closure.
Take Me Home
After their mother’s death, a cognitively disabled woman and her estranged sister must learn to communicate in order to move forward.
Nocturnal Burger
Somewhere between fantasy, trauma, paranoia, precaution, and the promise of a burger, a night gets catapulted into an investigation of child abuse at a dysfunctional police station in Mumbai.
Well Wishes My Love, Your Love
Newly orphaned and freshly wounded from a loss, a boy lends his companion a prosthetic arm for the day. The companion records the limb being exposed to textures and materials. What will become of the limb and the video recordings?
A Folded Ocean
A couple get lost in each other.
By Water
An unlikely hero’s journey into his own memories becomes a vehicle for reconciliation and healing for himself and his sibling.
Margie Soudek’s Salt and Pepper Shakers
An artist and visual effects instructor connects with her aging grandmother, Margie, through collecting, art-making, and obsessing as a way to enhance reality.
Rest Stop
On a bus ride from New York to Oklahoma, Meyi, a young Ugandan-American girl, realizes her place in the world through her mother’s ambitious effort to reunite their family.
Troy
Troy has loud sex. Troy has loud sex 24/7. Troy shares a wall with Thea and Charlie. Troy is ruining their lives… Or is he saving them?
We Were Meant To
In a world where Black men have wings and their first flight is a rite of passage, Akil must defy fears, insecurities, and societal barriers while discovering his perfect launch into manhood.
Vacation
A Black man attempts to take a vacation.
The Family Circus
A Vietnamese-American family’s plan to cover up a drunk driving accident begins to unravel when their emotional baggage spills out in front of the police.
The Dalles
Cam is used to seeing the same customers while working at his family’s cherry stand. After a handsome cyclist passes through and asks for directions to a local cruising site, Cam takes it as an invitation to follow him.
Get tickets and find out more information about the Sundance Film Festival here.
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