Four Great Short Films You May Have Missed at the 4th Femme Filmmakers Festival

With the Femme Filmmakers Festival for 2019 now closing its doors, here are four of the films out of competition that are still totally worth checking out.

‘Fitting’ by Emily Avila

Due to the sheer amount of short films being made, it’s more than difficult to stand out. The story you’re telling, whether it’s 1 minute or 30 minutes, needs to be unique in plot or perspective. Emily Avila’s short film, ‘Fitting’, has accomplished both with a simple storyline, a common premise, and an oft-overlooked point-of-view from its central character.

‘Fitting’ follows a middle-aged woman, played by Deborah Leiser-Moore, who goes to a department store and is (desperately) looking for a new bra. We learn that her daughter’s wedding is tomorrow, and this is her only chance to get one. I absolutely love a good ticking clock in a short film.

This is where Avila’s writing has a chance to shine, and Leiser-Moore’s subtle performance is given its legs. The woman has recently had a mastectomy, and the audience isn’t spared the visuals. In fact, that’s what makes this surprise so apt: we’re shown, not told, which is reversed in many of the short films I’ve come across. We see the physical scars, and immediately recognize the emotional ones that come along with the surgery.

The other character in the film, a young bra fitter played a bit too warmly by Clementine Anderson, is there to aid Leiser-Moore through this process. She assumes the role of therapist, fashion guide, and surrogate daughter for a passing moment.

Though the dialogue might not always feel natural, and the likelihood of this college-aged girl taking on the emotional complexities of this woman feels unlikely, the relationship is a joy to watch. Avila is tackling an issue that has been ignored with a blindness that is problematic. Like so many illnesses and surgeries, a mastectomy solves one problem, and can also create another.

There’s no such thing as a magic wand, but Avila highlights the goodness, though infrequent at times, of people, and the support we can give one another. The camerawork doesn’t need to be mind-bending and the editing doesn’t need to be flashy. The story is important and keeps the societal needle swinging in a positive direction, and for that, we should all be happy that this little film is in our lives.

‘Paper Trail’ by Emily Brown

Short films are sometimes just that: short. ‘Paper Trail’, directed by Emily Brown, is less than a minute long. It has one actor, the writer of the film Ben Rufus Green, no lines of dialogue, and is shot on an iPhone. It’s a funny, bite-size short with a simple premise: a man finds a note outside his door and follows it to its logical conclusion.

‘Paper Trail’ is funny, light-hearted, and not trying to be anything that it’s not. It knows where it exists in the world of film, and that’s why I enjoyed it. Green does a fine job looking confused, and Brown uses an iPhone quite well. It’s not a beautiful or stunning short, but it definitely does the job.

The twist at the end of the film was unsuspecting and made me more than chuckle. The fact that thieves would even play this game of scavenger hunt is preposterous, making the bit even funnier.

It’s often mistaken that films need to have length to adequately tell a story, but not all stories have beginnings, middles, and ends. Not all stories have drawn-out characters and not all films need to dive deep into the human condition. Film can exist just to provide a bit of joy, and to showcase the talent of a few individuals.

I watched ‘Paper Trail’ a few times because it was quick and easy. I didn’t need to reexamine my own life or look at my own relationships with a new view. It was a short film that made me smile, and for that, the filmmakers should feel successful.

One minute of fun? Count me in.

‘Locker Room’ by Greta Nash

I forgot how it felt to be in high school, to be seeking approval, to be afraid to speak up, to lack confidence and self-assurance. Greta Nash’s Locker Room was a flood if those feelings once again.

The film explores the friendships of a young woman and her male counterparts. It’s a short that encompasses the feeling of many high-school aged teens: the need to fit in, feel loved, and be accepted by those around you.

Led by a strong performance from lead actress Bridie Noonan, likely an actress to watch in up-and-coming Australian cinema, the film follows Carla (Noonan) as she ends basketball practice and goes back to the home of her male friends. She leaves the room for a minute, runs to the restroom in which she self-consciously becomes aware of her not-so-pleasant smell, and returns to laughter by the boys, faces glued to a laptop. She is slightly out of the loop at all times, the only member of an out-group within an in-group. She’s part of their circle, but still on her own.

What she finds on the laptop is troubling to put it lightly. The boys, like too many others, have been treating young girls in a way their mothers wouldn’t be proud of, degrading them, and possibly assaulting them. A disgusted and muted Carla reacts like a fawn, just one of the boys who is too small and unassured for confrontation.

Nash’s film is sinking its teeth into a few aspects of youth culture: confidence, assault and harassment, and the social norms that some of us are trying to rewrite. I could feel the minute-long turmoils Carla was experiencing. It wasn’t an abstract concept and this certainly isn’t a hypothetical situation. It’s all too real and Nash confronts it with a grace many seasoned filmmakers would be lucky to show.

The short is far from perfect, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? It struck a chord. It told a story that is ever-present in real life, yet rarely shown in popular culture. It expanded the emotions we have bottled up since we were young, impressionable kids desperate to be popular, cool, and sought after.

This short exists is part of a bigger cultural shift, part of a movement of young filmmakers telling necessary tales. Nash is certainly one to watch, especially if she keeps writing and directing with the same impact as Locker Room.

‘Opening Night’ by Margaret Bialis

The overwhelming majority of shorts I’ve seen are telling a linear story. They follow a path, one that’s likely been trodden on before, as filmmaking reconstruct, repaint, or reinvent a narrative that’s been told in the past. Sometimes though, filmmakers make a piece of art so new, so fresh, and so different that it’s impossible to ignore. Opening Night, a four-minute, animated music video of sorts by Margaret Bialis, is in that business of art-making.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s a weird watch. The first minute is pure oddity and confusion, and a small part of me wrote it off. The music, also written by Bialis, is catchy and on-the-nose, not trying to give you any subtext. The words “thank you for letting me know how you feel” are sung in repetition, with each supporting character, mashes of animal, shape, and glob, giving brief solos to share their story within a story.

The lead, a green man if you can even call him that, is remembering past experiences and reflecting upon the people who have come through his life. His family, friends, and coworkers pop up to give their testimonies, shaping his life in the process. It’s a fascinating way to show a retrospective and I found myself unsure of what to do after watching.

Bialis has made a film that can be timeless. It doesn’t have any time-stamps, date indicators, or politics written in. It’s just about life, and about the truly bizarre happenings that occur. Certain memories continue to stick in our mind, as the rest fade into oblivion. Bialis is highlighting those moments in an offbeat, creative way, and that should be celebrated.

The film might not be for everyone though, and I’m sure some might be turned off the distinct animation and the miniature plot points. If you buy into this short, you’ll be rewarded with storytelling that isn’t cookie-cutter. It’s not vanilla, chocolate, or even a swirl. It’s a rainbow sorbet.