TIFF 2023: ‘Motherland’
The anxiety-inducing energy in the short film Motherland speaks to Jasmin Mozzaffari’s multifaceted talents as a storyteller.
Short Film
Toronto After Dark 2022: Canadian Short Films
Toronto After Dark has been a great platform for short films to be showcased. Former Wylie Writes critic Shahbaz Khayambashi believed that the short selections were the festival’s strong suit and are sometimes better than the feature-length films – and I kinda agree with him.
Lux Æterna
I’ll be reviewing Gaspar Noé’s Vortex very soon, and I wanted to use the filmmaker’s latest short Lux Æterna as a gateway to his latest feature. I’m a fan of Noé’s polarizing work from what I’ve seen (Irreversible, Enter The Void), but his latest projects utilize a split-screen technique I haven’t seen him play around with before. As a provocateur, the writer/director has been know to explore and experiment with “gratuitous filmmaking”. It’s overkill for…
Wylie Writes @ the Future of Film Showcase ’22
The Future of Film Showcase (or FOFS, for short) offers emerging filmmakers a platform to cut their teeth in storytelling and messaging all while experimenting with different styles. The shorts I caught at the FOFS featured an incredible amount of imagination and fearless ambition.
Daisy Productions: ‘#BasicBAEs’ and ‘Thank U, Ex’
The latest efforts from the Toronto-based comedy collective Daisy Productions are two different takes on a fantasy vs. reality theme. #BasicBAEs, directed by Dennis Alexander Nicholson (Kitty Mammas), is a short film that follows the individual lives of friends who primarily communicate through social media. Thank U, Ex, a hybrid show directed by Maddie Rose that incorporates theatre with taped segments, chronicles the love life of a hopeless romantic with a chip on their shoulder….
The Announcement
Short films do not get a fair shake in the modern cinematic world. Not only do they not get equal screening time in theatres, but they are also often ignored by critics; unless they are being reviewed as part of a bigger body of shorts. This is certainly disheartening, because these shorts often come from those who will compromise the future of film, and because you will occasionally come across something notable – something which…
Toronto After Dark 2019: Shorts After Dark
The biggest strength of Toronto After Dark is, and always has been, the importance given to short films. Shorts are given their own programs, but they also play before features. Due to genre cinema’s specific limitations, shorts are both useful as a way to make a name for oneself and as a storytelling medium. As such, it’s important to look at what is happening in that world. Let’s take a look at the good, the…
Short Film Showcase: ‘Ghost Beaver Kick’ and ‘The Tattooist’
Wylie Writes’ Short Film Showcase acknowledges exclusive screenings of short films across Canada. Short-form filmmaking is sometimes overshadowed by larger projects or, worse, ignored completely. With this showcase, Wylie Writes wishes to not only provide a unique opinion for filmmakers, but to also spread awareness of these special screenings for our loyal readers.
Toronto After Dark 2018: Shorts After Dark
One thing that differentiates Toronto After Dark from a lot of other horror festivals is their affinity and respect for short films. In an age of streaming and general new media, short films are the future of genre cinema and it is always important to give them a venue, since most of them will never see the inside of a cinema.
TIFF 2018: ‘7A’
Filmmaker Zack Russell and actor Kayla Lorette team up for another surreal short film with 7A.