{"id":14129,"date":"2019-01-15T17:40:02","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T22:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/?p=14129"},"modified":"2023-07-07T22:43:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-08T02:43:28","slug":"a-bumper-crop-of-flash-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/2019\/01\/15\/a-bumper-crop-of-flash-films\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bumper Crop of Short Films"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Shorts used to be this artsy thing. But now there really is this explosion in filmmaking. With all this new technology, shorts films have a lot more interest among regular people, because so many people are making them and putting them on the web. Suddenly, we\u2019re not explaining short films to people. Everybody\u2019s seen one.<\/em><\/span> \u2013 IndieWire<\/a><\/p>\n

Back in the 1980s, HBO and Cinemax would play short films between their features. HBO referred to theirs collectively as \u201cShort Takes.\u201d I don\u2019t recall what (if anything) Cinemax called theirs, but for a while, it seemed cable TV was poised to deliver a short-film renaissance.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t happen. Not then. But now \u2013 with an ever-increasing number of festivals and websites delivering quality shorts, the only challenge is finding the time to seek out the best. To that end, I have a few recommendations — some playing at festivals, others streaming on multiple platforms.<\/p>\n

The first is \u201cThe Whistler<\/a>,\u201d a beautifully shot film that demonstrates how the threat of violence and the intimation of unseen horrors can be as chilling \u2013 indeed more chilling \u2013 than graphic mayhem and CGI monsters.<\/p>\n

\"\"The film opens with some standard horror tropes: a babysitter left in charge of a precocious tween and a sense of someone or something lurking in the darkness outside. But from there it veers into a weirdly surreal dreamscape that benefits nicely from exquisite low-light cinematography by Naim Sutherland<\/a> and a moody score by Emmit Lee Stang<\/a>. Written and directed by Jennifer Nicole Stang<\/a>, the film had a terrific run on the festival circuit, winning over a dozen \u201cbest\u201d awards, including Best Short at the New York City Horror Film Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you were fortunate enough to catch it, Gruesome Magazine<\/em><\/a> is giving you the chance to vote<\/a> on its status as Best Festival Short of 2018.<\/p>\n