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Dogs are everywhere. Before the pandemic, ownership seemed to be rising. Everyone either had a dog or knew someone who did, whether it was a neighbor or a colleague who brought their dog into work. Now, with everyone stuck at home, they’ve become even more popular as companions for those living alone and friends for kids. They’re also still the small talk champions (perhaps even more so than babies). Nothing else can get a stranger talking to you better. It’s within this context that The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet kicks off.
Sebastian’s troubles start when he bumps into a neighbor in the courtyard outside his house, who starts complaining about the noises his dog makes. In what’s quite a funny scene, in an awkward way, Sebastian stands there, under his umbrella in the rain, nodding along to his neighbors monologue. Other neighbors turn up and add to his neighbors complaints and crowding the small courtyard. Right after that scene, Sebastian has a similarly awkward chat with his boss at work. They also don’t want his dog around, and like his neighbors, awkwardly avoid telling him directly.
Solving his troubles at home and work in one, Sebastian moves to the country for a happy life with his dog. But, things don’t end there, as the chain of events started by his less than silent dog keeps progressing. Amongst other things, we’re taken through Sebastian’s different jobs, a clandestine cooperative, and a sudden pandemic. It’s an oddball journey. However, despite how strange the events are to us, Sebastian goes along with them as if they’re completely normal. It’s like he’s resigned himself to the path his dog has placed him on.
His stoic face throughout all these surprises is what makes this film so quietly funny. In a way his role isn’t too dissimilar from the great silent movie comics like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Whilst he doesn’t perform any stunts like them, the comedy of the film is created around his non-reaction to the things happening around him. Like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, Sebastian is the comedic fall guy for the movie. His misfortune and his acceptance of it exists for everyone to laugh at.
So, if you’re looking for another quietly funny Argentinian satire along the lines of Martin Rejtman (see The Magic Gloves) check out The Day the Dog Wouldn’t be Quiet.
The Latinx Inclusion fellowship was created last year by LALIFF to increase opportunities for underrepresented groups within the Latino community. Each of the Afro Latino and Indigenous Latino directors selected for the fellowship were granted $20k to produce a short and each one premiered at LALIFF 2022. Here’s a quick review of 9 of the 10 brilliant short films, which span a variety of topics from sexuality to race across the drama, comedy, and fantasy genres.
The Afro-Latino Directed Shorts
Somos De Aqui
Somos de Aqui is a love story between a Haitian-Dominican man and a Dominican woman set within the racist immigration policies of the Dominican Republic. One is waiting for their visa to return to the U.S. whilst the other fears deportation to an unknown country.
The best part of Somos de Aqui is the love story. The chemistry between the two leads had me smiling all the way through. I even felt a bit cheated by the short run time of the movie and the political ending, as it meant we couldn’t see more of their growing relationship (and more of the Dominican Republic). However, that’s kind of the point of the movie – you’re meant to be sucked into the love story so you’re disappointed by the ending. It makes you hate the racist policies in the Dominican Republic as it cut this romance short. That being said, I’d love to see a full feature love story from this director in the future.
Hoar
When a phone sex operator is accepted into a Ph.D program across the globe, she must confront her devout Catholic mother, with her difficult decision.
Like many of the films in the Latinx Inclusion fellowship, Hoar centers on family relationships. They’re integral to the plotand the character development of the short. The parents represent tradition and home, whilst the lead is trying to find and differentiate themself as a separate entity from their family. Hoar also feels like a stage play adaptation, because of the heavy dialogue, absence of sound, and one-location set. Both the stage-play style and seen before narrative feel a bit too same-y even with the great Afro-Latina lead.
Sin Raices
A recently adopted 8-year-old refugee spends a day preparing for her first red carpet appearance with her new pop star mother.
The mother-daughter relationship in Sin Raices feels deliberately awkward. Partly because they’re adjusting to each other’s company, but mostly because the daughter isn’t made to feel at home. Her new mother opts to spoil her instead of spending time with her and dresses her up to be an accessory to her look instead of protecting her from the limelight and allowing her to grow. The daughter’s lack of dialogue only furthers how she’s fetishized for her indigenous appearance and heritage by her new mother. Sin Raices highlights how indigenous identity is appropriated to the detriment of the very alive indigenous communities in the Americas.
Daughter of the Sea
After the death of her grandfather, a young woman experiences a spiritual awakening when she is called by Yemaya, the orisha Goddess of the Sea.
Featuring a great performance from Princess Nokia, Daughter of the Sea is a homecoming for a lonely pop star. Like the reconnection felt by the Dominican woman in Somos de Aqui, Princess Nokia’s Puerto Rican homecoming allows her to reconnect to her heritage and country through her mother’s spirituality. The lush green forests and sea turn the country into a visual paradise and her rustic family home and the warmth from being close to her family make everything feel like home. Especially in contrast to the cold glass-filled empty home of hers in Los Angeles. It shows that home is where your family is; Yemaya’s calling her is just the icing on the top.
Bodies Will Tumble And Fall
When a dysfunctional BIPOC cheer squad are sent to the woods to settle their differences, they must learn to become a team to save their coach from serial killers.
Bodies Will Tumble and Fall revels in the dumb entertainment of B-movie slashers. It plays on stereotypes as well as horror genre tropes to create an enjoyable, if silly and random, comedy. Unless you’re completely against cringy humor, you’ll find this appealing.
The Indigenous Latino Directed Shorts
Gabriela
In Gabriela, a young undocumented Guatemalan woman dreams of joining a Country Club swim team in the Southern States of America. She’s stuck between two worlds; striving for the American Dream for citizens and the American Dream that brought her undocumented mother to the country. The citizen’s American Dream is what she’s been brought up to believe in, by her education and neighbors. However, she’s boxed into the latter – forced to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a maid because of her undocumented status.
Her identity crisis is beautifully shown through her ‘alone time’- particularly in scenes with Gabriela swimming in the pool. In the water, she’s in her zone and can’t be disturbed by white neighbors, country club attendants, or her mother, reminding her of who she can and cannot be. The water doesn’t judge and gives her the time from everyone else to become her own person.
Heritage
Rumiñahui appears to be the perfect son and brother. He’s made the effort to spend time with both parents and helps to raise his younger brother, teaching him their heritage he proudly carries. The only thing he hides from his family is his sexuality.
Heritage is a coming out gone wrong story. Whilst there is a quick documentary interlude that highlights a heritage of homosexuality in Pre-Colombian society, the focus of this short is on the unfortunate anti-LGBTQ+ reaction of Rumi’s parents (as foreshadowed in the opening scene). Heritage uses prejudice to shock the audience, a bit like the swimming pool scenes in Gabriela. In this case it distracts a little from the nice character building work and interesting links to indigenous heritage from earlier in the movie, even if it’s purpose is to highlight an unfortunate reality.
Raul Playing Game
When Raul accidentally double books himself with a date with a woman and a man at the same time in the same place, two animated inner voices take over.
Raul Playing Game uses the time-loop and Inside Outtropes to turn an embarrassing situation into a cringy slapstick comedy. Whilst the situation feels unlikely, there’s definitely some fun in the video-game style dating scenario that evokes nostalgia for The Sims as well as the modern gamification of dating thanks to apps like Tinder. And despite the flashy style, that bounces between animation and live action, it contains a solid moral message for everyone.
The Record
Set in the 1930’s, Zack and his sick brother are left at home in the remote American West as their father ventures out for medicine. All they have for company is a magic phonograph that holds memories of their mother.
This short feels a lot like Bless Me, Ultima. It appears to be set in the same period with similar set design and costumes, and features unpredictable ghosts and magic that both haunt and protect the two brothers. It’s not clear why Zack’s brother fell ill or why the phonograph must keep playing, but it probably has something to do with their dead mother who they still hold dear many years later. The Record is a quaint tale that will probably make you thankful that you don’t like in a humble and remote electricity-less abode in the 1930s.
All of the 9 shorts we got to see as part of LALIFF 2022 are worth seeking out online in the next few months. We’re excited to see what these directors do next.
For more from LALIFF, check out last years reviews in the LALIFF 2021 Hub.
As the main categories at the Oscars are becoming more predictable and less diverse, the Oscar Shorts are diversifying. This year, the 15 Oscar Shorts originate from 6 different countries and feature stories from 9. Their issues span from young girls escaping from patriarchy and war by taking up skateboarding to battle rappers running for U.S. office. So forget the Best Picture for a minute and take some time to get to know the Oscar Shorts.
The Animated Oscar Shorts
Daughter (Czech Republic)
A silent story about the relationship between father & daughter, along with the tension between them that grows from the lack of speech – him in his sick bed, her by his side, and a small bird that crashes through their window, allowing unhealed memories to flood back into their lives.
Daughter arguably hosts the most abstract narrative of the five shorts, a story that would, oddly enough, benefit from a little more overhead description. There’s nothing wrong with silent film of this nature at face value, but Daughter shoots its action so frenetically at times, bouncing and careening down staircases and hallways, there’s no denying a little explanation would root this film in something closer to emotion, rather than confusion. -ST
Hair Love (USA)
Following the mysterious absence of her mother, young Zuri looks to her mom’s old blog videos (voiced by Issa Rae) for advice on combing her unmanageable locks. Enter dad, who’s no expert on the subject himself, in a heavyweight match-up against Zuri’s overwhelming curls.
Hair Love combines a more sentimental, dated animation style with pastel colors to resemble more modern 3D studio visuals. It blends well, even if the stylization of Zuri’s hair and her pet cat are somewhat jarring depending on what serves the narrative. But among the five nominees, Hair Love is the closest to serving the values of everyday life, a story in which the simplicity becomes the biggest asset. -ST
Kitbull (USA)
A stray kitten, stubborn and independent beyond help, wanders into the den of a ferocious-looking pitbull. The events that follow bond the two unlikely compatriots in a friendship to set them off on better paths.
Obviously, Kitbull is a profusely charming short film. The titular characters of Kitbull are radical caricatures treated with the movement & attitude of real animals. In appearance, it compounds into a very believable and unlikely adventure, and emotionally, it works into the most tender of this year’s shorts, a tearjerker for the pleasure crowd. -ST
Memorable (France)
Louis lives with his wife Michelle, who encourages his penchant for painting and artistry even as it starts to take over his mind. Slowly, the objects in Louis’ life start to lose shape, disintegrating and releasing their objective state of matter – soon enough, his mind does the same.
Satisfyingly, the most memorable of this year’s animated shorts, “Memorable” is touching and devastating in equal measures. What begins as a commentary on the condition of those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease mutates into an engaging and abstract visual representation of losing touch. With some hints of Loving Vincent inspiration, Memorable dreams up a piece of filmmaking that only animation could perform, a painful headspace that paints with what we can only imagine outside of the living world. -ST
Sister (USA)
A biopic-esque tale of a young man’s recollection of growing up in 1990s China, welcoming and regretting the recollection of his treatment toward his annoying little sister in their childhood home. He wonders what may have happened had he woven their experiences differently.
An analysis of the Chinese one-child policy, Sister takes a few liberties in re-contextualizing its story to serve a twist ending that doesn’t necessarily benefit its greater message. The felt animation is some of the more impressive as the Academy has ever recognized, but Sister doesn’t focus too much its style over its substance, a somewhat bland take on the premise that tries to aim for too much among an already emotional pool of entries. -ST
The Documentary Oscar Shorts
In the Absence (US/SOUTH KOREA)
When the passenger ferry MV Sewol sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from the national authorities.
In the Absence contains the most memorable images of any of the short films nominated for the Academy Awards. Seeing the MV Sewol slowly sink with most of its passengers on board whilst coast guard operators debate whether the situation is serious enough to send help is chilling. However, taken as a whole short film, In the Absence loses its way visually and narratively in the following scenes. It becomes more reliant on words displayed on bland backgrounds instead of trying to convey the words visually. It also tries to rapidly cover the whole scope of all the disaster and its aftermath in the final 10 minutes, such as the impeachment of the President, which mists the narrative of the film. It might work better if these events were left out instead of referenced without explaining how they affect the main narrative. -RS
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If you’re a girl) (UK/US/Afghanistan)
In Afghanistan, many young girls are not able to participate in sports because of the ongoing war, as well as cultural customs. As a result, there are limited recreational opportunities for women and girls, especially those from impoverished backgrounds. However, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) tells the story of a skate charity which helps Afghan girls to read, write, and skateboard in Kabul.
This short documentary covers everything you might expect of a film titled ‘Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)’. It features a lot of skateboarding in a warehouse, frequent anecdotes of bombs exploding near the student’s homes, and a lot of stories about girls limited by the patriarchy. There aren’t any surprises or cinematographic flourishes as the film doesn’t need them; the combination of skateboarding in a warzone if you’re a girl is already special enough. -RS
Life Overtakes Me (USA)
Over 400 refugee children in Sweden have withdrawn into a coma-like state because of previous trauma. Life Overtakes Me tells the story of two of these traumatized young refugees, and their families, that develop this rare psychosomatic illness called Resignation Syndrome.
Life Overtakes Me shines a light on an unknown illness. Resignation Syndrome still doesn’t appear to be fully understood, which makes it all the more strange and terrifying. The two children shown in the film both appear to be permanently sleeping and their families have no guarantee that they’ll ever wake up or return to normal. Life Overtakes Me shows how heavy the emotional burden is on their families, and also how their refugee status, despite the obvious trauma they’ve experienced, is not guaranteed. -RS
St. Louis Superman (USA)
St. Louis Superman follows Bruce Franks Jr., an activist by day and a battle rapper by night who runs for office in the Missouri House of Representatives. To succeed, he has to overcome personal trauma and political obstacles to pass a bill to recognize the impact gun violence has had on his community.
Bruce Franks Jr. is an example of who should be elected to each state’s House of Representatives. He appears to be a pretty normal guy from Ferguson. He’s a father, he’s from the area, he grew up in poverty, he protests with people in his community, and battle raps as a side hustle at night. The only difference between him and other people from the area is that he ran for office. St. Louis Superman reminded me of a bite-size version of Netflix’s Bring Down the House. Both films feature grass-roots local activists entrenched in their community running for office to make a change. -RS
Walk Run Cha-Cha (USA)
Paul and Millie Cao fell in love as teenagers in Vietnam, but were soon separated by the war. Paul managed to escape from Vietnam, and a few years later managed to get papers for Millie to join him in California. After a few decades of working hard to build new lives abroad, they are making up for lost time on the dance floor. Walk Run Cha-Cha is their story.
Whilst their stories are inspirational, they feel underdeveloped and unemotional. We learn that Paul left Vietnam a few years before Millie, but we don’t hear much about why he left first, why Millie was stuck in Vietnam, and how they coped without each other for those years. We also don’t hear much about the decades they lived together in California before they started dancing. It’s not clear what happened in these decades and how they grew apart (if they did), and why they felt they needed to start dancing together to make up for lost time. Walk Run Cha-Cha could also do with more emotion. Both Paul and Millie tell their stories very factually, without any color, making it harder to sympathize with their struggle to be together. As a result, it feels more like a film about a normal retired couple that takes up dancing as a pass time. At least there’s bonus points for showing off their ballroom dancing at the end. -RS
The Live Action Oscar Shorts
A Sister (Belgium)
Alie is in trouble. It’s night-time, and she’s stuck in a car with her abusive partner. The only thing she has is the person on the other end of the emergency call line.
A Sister is the perfect short thriller. The script fits snugly into the 16 minute run time. Any longer and it would feel stretched, and any shorter and it would feel underdeveloped. A Sister also manages to renew something that has been done before (see The Call) by focusing on a woman in an abusive relationship instead of a woman attacked randomly. Abusive relationships are much more common than random attacks, which makes the film feel more real and the message feel much closer to home. Whilst it highlights the danger of an abusive relationship for women, it also forces men in relationships watching the short to see themselves in her violent male partner. It packs a punch. -RS
Brotherhood (Canada, Tunisia, Qatar, Sweden)
Mohamed is a hardened shepherd living in rural Tunisia with his wife and two sons. However, he’s deeply shaken when his eldest son Malik returns home from fighting with ISIS with a quiet young wife. The silent tension between father and son rises until it reaches breaking point.
Brotherhood is a well-made international art-house short set in Tunisia. The shots of rural Tunisia indicate the beauty of the country as well as the isolation of Mohamed and his family. He doesn’t have any neighbors. His family is completely alone. So when Malik returns and Mohamed refuses to communicate with his son, he cuts him off from his family and society. Without a dad that trusts him, Malik is thrown to the lions. – RS
Nefta Football Club (France)
Nefta Football Club is a light comedy featuring two young brothers living along the Tunisian/Algerian border. Whilst they’re biking through the desert they come across a headphone wearing donkey carrying lots of cocaine.
The synopsis sounds like a recipe for disaster for the two young brothers. However, the director Yves Piat manages to keep the film light, keeping it away from the bleakness of Amat Escalante’s Heli. The lightness is achieved through the absurd images (e.g. a donkey wearing headphones and the final image of the football pitch) as well as the good natured, naïve younger brother who believes the stash is just a lot of washing powder. -RS
Saria (USA)
Saria follows two inseparable orphaned sisters, Saria and Ximena, as they fight against daily abuse and unimaginable hardship at Virgen de la Asuncion orphanage in Guatemala. The film imagines the daily events leading up to the tragic fire at the orphanage in 2017 that claimed the lives of 41 orphaned girls.
It’s great to see more dramatic films from Central America featuring indigenous leads, but Saria felt too short to feel truly invested in Saria’s life. It depicts a very quick build up to a riot, escape, and finale which would be more engaging and thrilling with a bit more time invested into the characters. Ultimately the story would be a better fit for a feature film rather than a short, so hopefully we’ll get to see a feature version of Saria in the next few years that improves the film just like the feature of Les Miserablesand Atlantics built on the short. -RS
The Neighbor’s Window (USA)
The Neighbor’s Window features Alli and her husband, parents of young children fed up with their daily routine and responsibilities. Their frustration increases when a young couple in their twenties move in across the street and show off their affection for each other with complete disregard for whoever is watching. It’s a Rear Window for the Instagram generation.
Just as seeing pictures of your friends traveling around the world on your phone whilst your working long hours in the office drives jealousy, the parents in The Neighbor’s Window rue on their lost youth whilst they watch their young neighbors dramatically make love in the apartment opposite. Their relationship gets worse when they start fighting over a pair of binoculars to help see them clearer. However, ultimately, The Neighbor’s Window shows that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and that we should always be grateful for what we have. It’s a life-affirming message that might just win it the best live-action short at the Oscar’s. -RS
In Clashing Differences an international women’s rights group based in Germany changes its original white-women led panel to avoid being ‘cancelled’. The updated panel however sees through their attempts to fulfill the diversity checklist in this satirical comedy.
It’s hard to get a satire right, especially when you’re satirizing topics that you can easily get wrong (such as racism), whilst keeping the tone light enough to maintain the comedy. Clashing Differences doesn’t get everything ‘right,’ but it is a pretty good attempt. The fourth-wall-breaking monologues from each character all pack a punch whilst conveying a wide range of experiences. It also always feels like the film is told from a multi-cultural perspective, by centering the non-White characters (bar-one) over white characters. That being said, the film does feel like it falls into its own trap. In trying to expose the tokenization of the multicultural characters it almost tokenizes the same characters. Each one of the characters covers a different multicultural reaction to their own tokenization.
However, the larger problem with Clashing Differences is the relationships between the characters. None of them get along through the majority of the film’s run time, clashing because of past relationships, and not just their ideas for confronting the international women’s group they’re there for. The only thing that ultimately brings them together are literal Nazis which gives viewers an out for thinking about all of the more subtle racism that the characters talk about beforehand (as Nazis always surpasses more subtle racism). It also feels like a tool to help end the film too.
Despite the convenient ending, Clashing Differences is still worth a watch. You’ll likely get some enjoyment from the satire of well-wishing white-led feminist groups and the drama fired up by conflicting views.
Emy and her older sister Teresa live alone in Pireaus, the port City within greater Athens, after their mother is forced to return to the Philippines. They survive by avoiding the locals, attending church, and working at the local fish market. However, as their jobs fall through and Teresa grows more heavily pregnant, Emy seeks out Mrs. Christina to put her magical abilities to work. However, in coming out of hiding, Emy risks exposing her talents to the wrong people.
In Holy Emy, Emy and Teresa barely look old enough to care for themselves. They both look like teenagers but neither are in school – Teresa works at the local fish market, whilst Emy avoids most human contact now that her Mum has returned to the Philippines. It’s not clear why Emy didn’t return with her Mum. Perhaps her Mum thought she had enough support in Piraeus to stay whilst she returned home. She has her older sister, a neighbor that looks out for her (often condescendingly), and the support of the Filipino community at the local church.
The Filipino community is ‘othered’ in Holy Emy. All the Filipino characters are either overly devoted to Catholicism or have ancient powers which mimic Catholic Saints (hence the title). They’re also fetishized by the white characters in the movie. Teresa’s boyfriend keeps pointing out her Asian features when they’re making out, making it seem like he’s only into her because she looks exotic, whilst Mrs. Christina uses Emy, her mother, and other Filipinos for their magical abilities to heal people. There isn’t a reason why just the Filipinos have these old-world powers, which makes them appear even more exotic to the white characters. These defining characteristics fetishize the Filipinos in Holy Emy build up their ‘otherness’ vs. the white Greeks and Greek society.
Emy’s character in particularfeels problematic. Her character, even more so than the rest of the Filipino community in this film, is made to seem unusual. She hardly speaks throughout the movie and is often pictured giving people creepy horror-film stares. Without a voice, she’s defined by her magical abilities: her ability to cry blood, heal, and control people through her touch and thoughts. Her silence and unusual abilities turn her into an old-world exotic fetish. Her character is just used as a tool to shock the audience and demonstrate her otherness. She, like the Filipino community in Holy Emy, are made to appear from another world – their magical powers and religious fervor don’t fit within modern Greek society. They’re fetishized for the sake of the quirkiness of this art-house body-horror.
Head to our AFI Fest 2021 Hub for more reviews and short films from AFI Fest 2021.
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