Here are more of the documentaries showing at HollyShorts Film Festival.
She Chose War (26 minutes), directed by Sarah Moshman, lets us meet a woman in war. Nelli Chorba was studying acting when Russia invaded Ukraine. She volunteered for the army and is now part of a mortar unit in the frontlines. She has dreams about after the war, but knows those dreams could never come. But when she thinks about what she left behind, she says, “This is what was waiting for me.”
The Second Life of Freddie Nole (21 minutes), directed by Dana Nachman, shows us a man who brings hope. Freddie is part of a ministry that picks up people released from prison and gets them clothes and a phone. He remembers when he got out of prison (after 49 years of a life sentence) he had nothing. His time with a man just released offer him more than just clothes, it offers dignity and hope that new life is possible.
Listen (15 minutes), directed by Taliesin Black-Brown, is more meditation than information. Sound recordist Hank Lentfer wanders through the Alaska wilderness with microphones to capture sounds, many of which may be gone in time. He also visits his mother in the final stages of dementia. He draws a comparison that we have forgotten our connection to the world around us, just as his mother has forgotten her life.
Boys of Summer (25 minutes), directed by Annabel Edwards and Mito Habe-Evans, takes us to summer camp. At this camp boys learn to connect with one another in ways that society often discourages through attitudes of how boys are supposed to act and feel.
Paper Angels (8 minutes), directed by Sebastian Hill-Esbrand, is a portrait of change. Mikey Mendoza moves through life as a pro skateboarder to finding a new life as a fashion designer. This is a film that really could use a bit more time to flesh out the issues he has had in his life—especially, his family life growing up.
When the Revolution Doesn’t Come (26 minutes), directed by Aurora Brachman, is both history and a way of seeing the present. This film introduces us to three people who were born into the Black Panther Party. They were the children of prominent leaders. Now as adults, they reflect on what life was like as Panther cubs, and how the world still needs to know about what the party stood for.
