NHFF Sunday Short Block 12: Last but not least
On Sunday afternoon at the Moffatt-Ladd house, The New Hampshire Film Festival welcomed the last Short Block of the year and it certainly proved to be an exciting, entertaining bundle of amazing short films.
Starting the afternoon off was Caitlin Fitzgerald’s, Mrs. Drake. This drama written by Kyle Warren and produced by Jon Diack, is a thrill of emotions ranging from surprise to doubt as Rachel Fowler’s character struggles with motherhood. Her son Jack’s teacher, Mrs. Drake (Gabra Zackman), is a target of interest because of a disturbing story her son tells her about his teacher.
The Illumination, directed by Tom Scott and Daniel Honan, written by Daniel Honan and produced by Tom Scott and Pamela Dueval. is a beautifully crafted short film. It follows Gordon Gund, a man who loses his eyesight. However, blindness doesn’t stop him from finding a cure. The documentary follows his story and how his foundation helped a young boy regain his sight, taking the viewer through a visually stunning narrative, coupled with powerful music to make it a memorable and insightful.
Connect with The Illumination on Facebook and Twitter.
Written, produced and directed by Catya Plate, Meeting Macguffin, is a spot motion short about a group of scientists being led by an animated sign to complete their race of new humans and seeking out a groundhog climatologist to restore a decimated Earth.
Connect with Meeting Macguffin on Facebook and Twitter.
Next in the lineup was You and Me and Her and Them, a comedy written and directed by Joe Branden that follows Jake (Tim O’Connor) through an interesting night of events after he accepts an invitation over Tinder to go to a Halloween party. This accurate take on this generation’s new form of meeting and matching with people online, earned many laughs through the Moffatt-Ladd house as it no doubt seemed relatable to many in this new day and age of dating.
Connect with You and Me and Her and Them on Facebook.
Intruder Man, written, directed and produced by Peter Nelson follows Jessie (Kira Lace), a home economics teacher in both her younger life and her older life as she is subject to the wrath of her authoritarian superintendent (Peter Nelson), while also battling the crippling fear of an intruder inside of her own home. This animated short highlights the paranoia and dementia of an elderly Jessie in an eerie representation of the two terrible mental illnesses.
Lovewatch, a comedy short written and directed by Harrison Atkins shows many single people searching for love as they broadcast their interests and hobbies in front of a camera. Though it becomes increasingly obvious that this is no ordinary search for love.
Where There Is Trout is directed by David Jackel, produced and written by Becky Holt and stars the Citlali Gomez and Family. In the heart of central Mexico, one family survives off of the land itself. They own their own trout and bullfrog farm but as deforestation begins to become a bigger problem for them, they must stick to what they know best, trout.
Finally, the last short film of the day was Five Minutes, a comedy written and directed by Justine Bateman as well as produced by Cilo Tegal and Mark G. Mathis. This hilarious short got quite a few laughs as it showed an interesting and dramatic turn of events at an elementary school’s, “Parenting class”.
By Josh King