In February I had the opportunity to digitally cover Slamdance Film Festival, which features emerging artists in a week-long Oscars qualifying festival in Los Angeles.
Since my team and I have experience reviewing feature length films, I challenged myself to watch most of the short films submitted. Almost like reading a book of poems, the short films ranged in lengths, subjects, styles, and tones.
Below you can find my five favorite films from the 2025 festival.
A Dying Tree (Dir. Vincent René-Lortie)
Presented with beautiful black and white cinematography, an office worker makes an irreversible decision after encountering the gaze of a chimpanzee. Charles-Alexis Desgagnés, the office worker, takes hold of the screen as the only actor in the film. Through the use of makeup and prosthetics and shockingly emotional choreography, A Dying Tree cleverly showcased a man’s turmoil without dialogue, narration, or music.
Birth Controlled (Dir. Isabela Fraga-Abaza)
Of all the animated shorts I had the pleasure of seeing, Birth Controlled made me shift uncomfortably in my seat the most. The film shamelessly highlights the medical short comings and patricarchal control society has on a woman’s body, specifically her vagina. The animation is colorful, but also gross and organic. The film is powerful, political, and saddening–I recommend it to everyone.
Bita Joon (Dir. Sara Boutorabi)
A seemingly simple “day in the life” short-film is packed with gut-punching moments of reality and realization of our own mortality. Following an older Iranian woman with a terminal illness, the film watches her interact with her family and aid, navigating her changing relationships with the people around her and herself. It’s raw, depressing, beautifully shot and earned its Grand Jury Prize at the festival for narrative shorts.
Only if the Baby Cries (Dir. Shadab Farooq)
My favorite documentary short from the festival observes a remote, Himalayan village where most people are either deaf or mute–a phenomenon experts have yet to explain. Through quiet observations and a short, written explanation, the film shows a birthing ritual in the village, where the people bang on drums and make noise to see if the baby reacts, testing their hearing.
The film had one of the shortest runtimes of the shorts I watched, but its beautiful cinematography of the peaceful mountains and people along with the refusal to add sound to the diegesis made me want more.
Fishmonger (Dir. Neil Ferron)
I admit, I watched this short after my discussion with the team about Slamdance. They raved about this dark, supernatural comedy with one colleague describing it as The Lighthouse (2019) but more unhinged. Maybe to best describe this absolute chaotic treat is The Lighthouse plus Mel Brooks’ absurdist comedy sprinkled with absolute filth and bodily fluids (in the best way). It was funny, witty, and shocking. The insane dialogue complemented by the gothic cinematography made Fishmonger worthy of a campaign for Ferron’s next feature film.
You can listen to the whole team recap their experience at Slamdance here.
List Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas
Feature Image Credit to Neil Ferron (‘Fishmonger’) via IndieLisboa