Josiah (2020) Palm Springs Short Film Festival

Brandon is an actor up for a big role in a period television series. However he has to contend with the viewpoints of the other people in the room.

Luke Forbes gives a great performance as a black actor trying to balance the shot of a lifetime with dealing with people who say some things that are unintentionally racist in trying to explain the project they are looking to put on TV. Forbes' slow boil is hypnotic. We feel the juice boiling up inside him. In a better world Oscar would look at  performances in shorts and consider giving it them a statue.

As much as I like this film and think it is an important one in light of the current civil unrest, there is one thing that I am not a big fan of  and that is the constantly roaming camera. While I suppose on one level it could be argued that the motion matches Brandon's state and roving eyes, it takes away some of the intensity because we are drifting too much and some of the intensity bleeds off.

Quibble aside JOSIAH is worth seeing when it plays this weekend at the Palm Springs Short Film Festival

Day Release (2020) Palm Springs Short Film Festival

A young mother doing time in a Danish prison is given a day pass to visit her 3 year old son on his birthday. However what should be a happy occasion becomes a race against time since she realizes that her mother, who has custody of the child, is too sick to care for him and she has to find a place to keep him safe.

Perfectly modulated long short film kind of makes you wish that this were a feature until you realize that there really is no need. Everything we need to know is here, and one only needs to feel your heart break in the final bittersweet moments to know it's true.

If you want to know why this film has been winning awards and is qualified for an Oscar look no further than Anna Suk as Kathi, the mother desperate to keep her son safe. A full on soul crushing turn, this is the sort of thing that would get Suk an Oscar (full stop) if it were in in a feature film. Make no mistake Suk makes you feel everything and by the end you are exhausted from having your emotions played so much.

Currently playing at the Palm Springs Short Film Festival,  look for this to be in the Oscar mix next year.