Like short stories, short films are something that I really struggle with creating and conceptualizing. I’m so used to thinking of stories as standard three act structures over the course of an hour and a half (or a novel) that it’s hard for me to imagine a story that takes place over just 10 minutes or a couple pages. Despite my troubles with creating them, however, I absolutely love movies in this format. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Night Stalker

Night Stalker is equal parts music video and short film. It’s an unconventional love story, following a couple who eat mysterious Chinese take-out that lands them in an alternate dimension. The wild premise and world building is fascinating, and it creates an absolutely electric tone. I’ve come back to this one over and over for the amazing neon color, weird animation, and music that captures the mood perfectly.

Curve

I saw Curve a couple weeks ago and immediately showed my roommate, I was so impressed. A horror/thriller short from director Tim Egan, this nearly non-verbal story follows a woman who wakes up on a curved ledge above a dark abyss. It’s so steep that she can’t crawl up, and can barely keep herself from slipping off. It’s incredibly suspenseful and gripping– my heart was in my throat and I couldn’t help gasping through every almost-fall, even upon re-watch. This one is extremely likely to end up in your dreams, so watch with caution.

Dawn of the Deaf

Another favorite of mine from recent memory is Rob Savage’s short Dawn of the Deaf, which catalogues the beginning of an apocalypse where all hearing people are killed by a “pulse” and become zombies, leaving just the deaf to survive. It’s a really cool look at deaf culture and a fresh take on the zombie apocalypse movie. Of all of these shorts, I think this one has the greatest potential to be turned into a feature length film. The character building is excellent, and the suspense and atmosphere are extremely well crafted. I would love to see how the story and the characters play out over an extended period of time. (The New York, I Love You episode of Master of None this year also did a great job of representing the deafness onscreen, if you enjoy this one!)

If you like these shorts and want to explore some more, check out this website, which does a great job cataloguing the ones available to watch on the internet for free.

 

Though not necessarily a genre within itself, another subset of movies that I love are those that take place in less than 24 hours. I love the idea that movie-worthy stories can happen in such a short time, and I love the extra detail and focus that these movies have, and that they feel much closer to taking place in real time. Here are a couple of my favorites from this genre:

Tangerine is special for a lot of reasons. The two biggest for me are that it was shot on an iPhone 5, and that it stars two black trans women. Sean Baker is one of my favorite filmmakers because his approach is so humanist and honest and kind and nonjudgemental. Tangerine is the story of a trans sex worker best friends Alexandra and Sin-Dee. The latter realizes her boyfriend has been cheating on her while she was imprisoned, and sets out for payback. It is funny and electric and has a really powerful, forward moving energy. The fact that it takes place in one day gives a fuller, fleshed out picture of each character, whose daily routines we have a chance to follow. This one’s on Netflix, and is actually a Christmas movie, so check it out over the holidays.

Before Sunrise is a pretty classic example of the 24 hour movie. An American man (Jesse) and a French woman (Celine) meet on a train going through Europe. They connect over coffee, and when the train stops in Austria, Jesse asks Celine to get off with him, instead of continuing on to Paris. He has a plane home to catch the next morning, and nothing planned. Celine agrees, and the movie follows them as they wander around Vienna all night talking. Like a lot of Linklater movies, there really is no typical plot here; instead it’s mostly a character study of these two people as they kind of circle each other romantically and get to know each other. Sometimes it feels cheesy, but there is a lot of honesty in the storytelling. It is actually the first of a trilogy following these same characters, each sequel being shot about 10 years apart. I still haven’t seen the final movie, which came out two years ago, but the second, Before Sunset is one of my favorites.

The honorable mention goes to: Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, which is a portrait of the hottest day of the year in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, 1989. It’s frighteningly relevant to the last couple of years of news in terms of police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, and should really be required viewing for every American citizen.