Bizarre and experimental, these short films pave the way for an unconventional cinematic journey. In a time when people are encouraged to play things safe, these films challenge conventional norms, offering a glimpse into the eccentric minds behind them. This collection of peculiar creations isn’t just about entertainment; it’s a bold statement, a cinematic revolution.
Pisko the Crab Child is in Love
Original Title: Kani Kaea Umareta Pisko No Koi
Director: Makoto Nagahisa | Japan | 2023 | 17 Minutes
Pisko’s father is a crab while her mother is a human. Pisko falls in love with her teacher, but gets her heart broken when he leaves her because she is a crab child. Pisko finally finds love and companionship in her friend, Kubokayo.
Cast: Kano, Saya, Maki Fukuda, Kanta Sato
Writer: Makoto Nagahisa | Producer: Yasuo Suzuki | Director of Photography: Hiroaki Takeda | Editor: Shunichi Sone | Music: Katsuya Yamada, Shota Kojima, Haru Nemuri, Kano, Makoto Nagahisa
Dead Enders
Directors: Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker | USA | 2023 | 12 Minutes
Content Warning – Violence, Language
Disaffected, young gas-station clerk Maya doesn’t care about much but after a sinister race of mind-controlling parasites are set loose by irresponsible oil drillers, Maya realizes that there might be more to life than spending all your waking hours stacking shelves for a corporate overlord.
IMDb | Website | Letterboxd
Cast: Skarlett Redd, Jeff Murdoch, Lilliana Winkworth, Joseph Rene
Writers: Tyler Walker, Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Conor Murphy, Jordan Michael Blake | Producers: Raven Jensen, Greg Barnes, Nico Alvo, Conor Murphy, | Director of Photography: Conor Murphy | Editor: Katherine Yates | Music: Chris Ruenes, Drake Tyler
Africans With Mainframes
Director: Kima Hibbert | USA | 2022 | 15 Minutes
In this short mockumentary we follow LaJoye Watkins, a reclusive Black woman living in Brooklyn who is determined to tell a secret she has harboured all her life: that electronic music was actually invented by Black Southerners in the 1920s. Come and discover her truth.
Cast: Jasmine Hearn, Joey Frank, Demingo Graham, Rochelle Covington, Doug Davis
Writer: Kima Hibbert | Producers: Farah Jabir, Thomas Lange, Jeremy Koch | Director of Photography: Daniel Brennan, Richard Smith | Editor: Kima Hibbert | Music: Caleb Giles, Darren Cunningham
Who’s Annie?
Director: Sophia Peer | USA | 2023 | 32 Minutes
After jail-time, 12-step programs and five marriages, Annie begins her acting career in her fifties with the help of a young director she met at a Burger King. In this show within a show, Annie tackles both her acting gigs and the role of herself in her own life story.
Cast: Annie Pisapia, Sofia Dobrushin, Milly Tamarez, Lily Marotta, Maria Milian
Writer: Sophia Peer, Annie Sicherman | Producer: Manon Carrié | Director of Photography: Adam Uhl | Editor: Matt Posey | Music: Christopher Keyes
Palookaville
Director: Theodore Collatos | USA | 2023 | 17 Minutes
The creation of award-winning writer/director Theodore Collatos, Palookaville explores the powerful dynamics between siblings as well as ideas of who you are versus who other people think you are. We follow a complex brother-sister relationship, where the brother JoJo ultimately believes he’s the legendary heavyweight champion Joe Louis.
Cast: Howard Lester, Edy Modica, Franqi French, Karl Jacob, Patrick Heraghty
Writer: Theodore Collatos | Producer: Carolina Monnerat, James Kimberling, Matt Grady, Jackie Monoson | Director of Photography: Jason Banker | Editor: Theodore Collatos
Skin Kligman
Director: Ronni Thomas | USA | 2023 | 5 Minutes
A story previously untold, a down and out ex-convict attempts to shed light on the unreported atrocities of Dr Albert Kligman, the creator of the ‘cosmetic wonder cream’ Retin-A. Throughout the 70s and 80s, Kligman performed barbaric skin experiments on prisoners, mainly black, to
develop his anti-aging cream serum.
Cast: Matt UgLy McGlade, Jackie Martling
Writer: Matt UgLy McGlade, Ronni Thomas | Producer: Matt UgLy McGlade | Director of Photography: Alan Kudan | Editor: Ronni Thomas | Music: Matt UgLy McGlade, Ronni Thomas
