Among the films showing at HollyShorts Film Festival are those that seek to have a social impact. Here are some that speak in differing ways about social issues.
Habibi (16 minutes), directed by Alexey Evstigneev, is a deception based in desperation. In some Muslim cultures of central Europe, a woman who cannot have children can be divorced. In this film we see a woman, who has supposedly gone off to have a baby, as she sets up a deception to make it seem like she had a baby, but the baby died. Since her husband believes she can have children, it is content. This may be the only way she can remain married.
My Plastic Mother [Anak Macan] (18 minutes), directed by Amar Haikal, is about poverty and grief. Eki lives in a Indonesian landfill. Other children bring something belonging to their mother to school to honor them. Eki’s mother is dead. He searches through the dangerous landfill to find something to remember her by.
Alberta and the Possum (15 minutes), directed by Fredrica Arevalo, is about finding a connection. Alberta is on hold waiting for someone to deal with her visa. While anxiously waiting, she goes to the botanical gardens, where she encounters an opossum. She learns that it’s not dangerous, but has come there to die. She gathers it in and comforts it until it is gone.
Water Cooler (12 minutes), directed by Emma V. F., is about the banality of ICE. In the hallways outside immigration courts in New York City, where many immigrants are required to appear, ICE agents are hanging out, occasionally taking someone into custody who has a court appointment. While they wait, they talk about the things most people talk about. The film could really use a bit more context about who is detained and why.
Degree of Certainty (16 minutes), directed by Simon Schneider, is about a missed opportunity. In 1982, a young risk analyst for an oil company comes across his company’s research that shows the climate is beginning to change, and will only get worse. He sounds the alarm to suggest that the company pivot to new strategies. He gets a big promotion, but learns that the strategy will be denial.
0, ∞ [Zero, Infinity] (11 minutes), directed by Mar Sudac, is about government intrusion. In a future society, everyone must have their sexuality verified to be eligible for various benefits. Gus and Clark are building a life together, but what if they can’t prove their orientation.
