THE BEST OF 2024 EDITION
Written by Jess Sweetman
Happy New Year from Festival Formula!
To wrap up 2024, as is now tradition, we reached out to some of our besties across the industry to ask them for their favourite short films of the year. Enjoy!
MarBelle, Co-Founder and Editor In Chief, Directors’ Notes
Space Plug by Marcus Anthony Thomas
“When asked by filmmakers what makes for a great short film my typical and admittedly not that useful reply is "Show me something that I haven't seen before…
Marcus Anthony Thomas’ stark black & white sci-fi short 'Space Plug' does that and then some! A film I initially saw the first tantalising 2 minutes of as one of the panelists on Bolton Film Festival's 'First Impressions' session, the mystery of what followed its confounding alien nurturing opening stayed with me until I thankfully got to see the full short a few days later. If it seems like I'm being annoyingly vague, that's by design as it's one best experienced unsullied but I can tell you that it traverses 18 years in a single location and is a shining example of strong visual storytelling which keeps you hooked from its opening frames to the final credits. It also demonstrates what's possible when filmmakers get out of their comfort zones, as Marcus told us in our interview for Space Plug's online premiere:
"With this project I made sure to not censor myself, to write things that I didn’t know how to do and things I haven’t seen before in the hope that the director version of myself would be able to figure it out." -
Imani Davis, Programmer, America Cinematheque
Thru The Wire by An Ngyuen
“Outside of the films from PROOF Film Festival (because I love them all!!!), I would love to rec a short called “Thru The Wire”…
It is the first film from filmmaker An Ngyuen and is a beautiful portrait of girlhood and friendship in the digital age. It gave me “Lost In Translation” and Sofia Coppola vibes in the way time passed and how we were seemingly observing characters in real time. It has a bold and unique point of view, taking risks visually that pay off, and I’m excited to see what this filmmaker does next!
Céline Roustan, Senior Programmer & Industry Relations Manager, Short of the Week
Amarela by André Hayato Saito
“I watched this film very early on in the process for Cannes, and it was love at first sight…
I still remember watching it for the first time and how much it made me feel. I've been lucky enough to get to see it many times since on the big screen, and it remains as powerful as it was the first time I saw it.
From Erika's specific story, director André Hayato Saito crafts a narrative with universal resonance where silent moments are evidently the loudest emotionally. Lead actress Melissa Uehara's performance is simply breathtaking, and devastating in that last scene.
Tim Molloy, Editor-in-Chief, MovieMaker Magazine
The Golden Hour by Maureen McEly
"The Golden Hour," by Cincinnati, Ohio-based Maureen McEly, stood out for me this year with how much raw emotion it packed into a 5-minute run time…
Without ever feeling rushed, it cogently explores grief, online addiction and how tech companies cruelly mine our emotions. Maureen has worked in reality TV, and jokes that while fellow filmmakers may not love the genre, it taught her to capture the most crucial moment in every interaction.
Her film stands out from countless shorts, two or three times as long, that have far less to say. She's making it into a feature and I can't wait to see it.”
Julie Rousson, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
The Talent by Thomas May Bailey
In the landscape of British short films, Thomas May Bailey burst onto the set like a speedster no one saw coming…
With his debut film The Talent, starring Golden Globe nominee Emma d'Arcy as Tommy, a young technician dreaming of the silver screen, May Bailey already reveals a keen sense of aesthetics that plays with conventions and a writing style that manages to be both complex and clear.
D'Arcy's performance adds a fascinating depth to the whole. The talent, ultimately, might very well be May Bailey himself.”
Ben Thompson, VP, Shorts Programming, Tribeca Film Festival
Jane Austen's Period Drama by Julia Aks,
Steve Pinder
“Each year at Tribeca I am inevitably asked what my favorite short film of our program is? Having had a painfully strict British upbringing myself I have been well conditioned to respond diplomatically and say, “they are all my favorites, that’s why we choose them!…
That being said, one film that is particularly special and stays with you through the process, is the first short you decide to select from the submissions. In 2024 Jane Austen’s Period Drama was that film.
It is simply hilarious, brilliantly written, performed and pure comedy gold. It is delightfully playful in its premise, whereas a young woman gets her period, and her dashing suitor mistakes the blood for an injury. Yet still manages to earnestly address the subject of menstruation which is rarely discussed in polite conversation. And does it all using one of the hardest and riskiest devices in filmmaking, humor!”
Philip Ilson, Co-Director, London Short film Festival
Autism Plays Itself by Janet Harbord
& The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing by Theo Panagopoulos
“The use of archive to create a new work allows us to see the past through a contemporary lens. Two UK films use archive in a most powerful way, both having a relevance that helps us to understand current events given the subject matter of both films are at the forefront of public discourse and contemporary news…
Autism Plays Itself (Janet Harbord, UK, 18 mins)
Aspects of Childhood Psychosis was shot in 1957 at the Maudsley Children's Hospital in London to document the atypical movements and behavioural patterns of children, and is reclaimed here by three contemporary autistic adults as they comment on the footage presented with a personal and contemporary lens. This commentary brings insightful and joyful interpretation to footage that could be considered disturbing and problematic. The voices give homage to the repetitions and rhythms on display.
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing (Theo Panagopoulos, UK, 17 mins)
The Floral Beauty of the Holy Land and Wild Flowers of Palestine are two beautiful 16mm silent colour films made in the 1930s by a Scottish missionary to document the flora of the region, then under British rule. Greek-Lebanese-Palestinian documentary filmmaker Theo Panagopoulos uncovered the films in a Glasgow film archive while doing some PHD research, and here reclaims the footage to create a stunning essay film that acts as a form of resistance while showing people connected to the rural land around them.”
Úna Feely Co-Director IndieCork Festival
Tennis, Oranges by Sean Pecknold
“As with all end-of-year lists, this comes with a health warning. There were several amazing short films this year that really took hold of my imagination, and absolutely all for different reasons. I hope and know someone else will pick An Orange For Jaffa by Mohammed Almughanni; an outstanding study of tension in Palestine. Maybe less known is the French Algerian short by Marcel Mrejen ‘Memories of an Unborn Sun’ a powerful experimental tour-de-force of sound and vision, with deep political meaning that references Algerian colonial history, as it now grapples with growing numbers of Chinese workers brought in to build cities…
But I’ll go with one of this year’s most delightful shorts and choose “Tennis, Oranges” by Sean Pecknold, a hugely imaginative and impressive animation, with a synopsis that reveals what a surprise everything about it is. A robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops. It is simply a great short film, and embodies everything we love about shorts, and why we want people to see them.
Maeve McGrath Director of Programming, Galway Film Fleadh
Room Taken by TJ O'Grady-Peyton
“The casting of Bríd Brennan (Victoria) and Gabriel Adewusi (Isaac) was a tour de force in this story about a homeless man who finds shelter in a house owned by a blind woman who doesn't realise he is there.::
As Isaac navigates around Victoria's home biding his time until he can find his own home, we see them both struggle with their own pain; for Victoria, the loss of her husband and for Isaac, the fear of getting caught and his desire to do the right thing. Beautifully directed by TJ O'Grady-Peyton, from a screenplay by Michael Whelan.”
