On February 7th, Sydney Short Film Festival showcased the crème de la crop of international short films to a packed out audience at The Ritz.
The night was kicked off with Australian film and ‘Best Short’ winner ‘Grace’ about a teenage girl’s turmoil as she struggles with her extreme Christian upbringing.
This was followed by another Aussie short, ‘One Dollar’, a layered film about kindness and how much more it counts when it’s difficult to be kind.
One of the festival’s most moving (and infuriating) shorts was Ross Lai’s ‘Mothers Of’, a documentary about women jailed due to El Salvador’s hyper-strict abortion laws. Teodora del Carmen Vásquez - the documentary’s main focus - was charged with murder after giving birth to a stillborn baby. It’s the type of film that could send the most apathetic of people into activism and I’d be lying if I said my partner and I weren’t shedding a few tears by the end of this film.
Luckily, there were some light-hearted films to balance the dark, such as the Italian horror-comedy ‘Critter’ about an alien living in a swimming pool and the family (much to the mother’s frustration) who become obsessed with it. This festival highlight skillfully manages to weave Stranger Things-esque horror with a touching portrayal of a woman yearning to be wanted.
Another delight was ‘Mr Monster’, a Chinese 3D animated film that has the kind of warmth that any Studio Ghibli fan would flock to.
All in all, the festival showcased a diverse range of exceptional films. As a medium, short films have never had the spotlight that they deserve, but thanks to independent festivals like Sydney Short Film Festival, we get to celebrate their magic. At least for a few hours.
By Nathaniel Johnson
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