As part of The Manchester Film Festival, hosted by Odeon Cinemas, Great Northern, I watched six premieres of short films entered into the festival by upcoming filmmakers from up and down the country this afternoon.
The showings started with a 14-minute short from Comfort Emmanuel called 'The Inside Joke', which told the story of a young lady trying her hand at stand-up comedy, and meeting (not quite by chance) a young man who tries to woo her. It turns out they know each other from old, and although they both have changed after they last saw each other (13 years' ago), the way he treated her - shaming her and taunting her at school - has stayed with her all the time and although he has become a well-developed and 'normal' person, the scars are still strong with her, and the ensuing conversation is awkward to say the least. Using mostly close-ups and naturalistic sound and dialogue, it becomes almost like a fly-on-the-wall scenario, and very intimate. We cannot escape or be distracted by the cinematography.
This was followed by 'Can't Let You Go' {Walid Said and Steven Jeram}, which is a two-hander, again, of a hard-hitting and serious nature. This time we are in a house, and long-term boyfriend and girlfriend - both with baggage and 'issues' - are about to enjoy an evening together as the man makes her a romantic dinner. However she comes with nes that she is pregnant; despite them both taking precautions. She wants an abortion, and he is excited and wants to be a dad. An interesting storyline which doesn't go the way you expect it to.
The third short shown this afternoon was 'Adjustments'. In this scenario we watch a young lady returning to her place of work as a sound engineer in a club, after a period of absence due to a personal trauma. She finds solace in listening to opera music; and when the club book an opera singer to perform for one night she tries to strike up a conversation with the singer, but of course, it is futile. My only concern with this film would be that the voice used for the operatic soprano was basically far too good. (Nadine Benjamin). She is a recognised soprano of NY Met standard, and would not be appearing at a dingy third-rate "club" fitted out to look more like a strip joint. It felt very wrong.
Next came my personal favourite of the selection, and also perhaps the most cinematic and best acted / directed too. It was 'Headspace' from Irish team Aisling Byrne and Killian Coyle. A young man with Down's Syndrome who lives in a care home with those with similar conditions, has been given a temp job at a local supermarket and so obviously is a little more capable and able than some of his fellow lodgers. However, it is with the noise levels in general, and especially at night, that he finds difficult, and uses headphones most of the time to block out al the disturbances. The batteries fail him, and he needs to find a replacement. Help comes from a rather unexpected source, but even that kindness doesn't help him unfortunately. Sympathetically and truthfully acted by Down's Syndrome actors, this was a lovely film which tugged on our heartstrings.
This was followed by the 7-minute 'Terminus', and we are taken to a forest somewhere where two young boys play. They are joined by two ethereal spirits, one from the earth and one from the water. Together they conjure a tea-party which turns into a nightmarish scenario and is set alight to burn in the midst of the forest. Who these people are, whether real or imaginary, and what they were doing and why, remains a mystery.
The final offering was 'Something For Nothing' from the pen of Chester Carr. We have travelled back in time here to the mid 1800s. Two men walking the sea rocks (are they fishermen?) stumble across a small rowing boat full of contraband, and the smuggler lying inside, ostensibly dead. What happens next is a tale of greed and avarice that goes horribly wrong, with the moral that evil will not triumph. Nicely acted with clear and vivid imagery, but nothing special in terms of narrative or theme.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougal
on - 12.3.23
on - 12.3.23
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