I love short films. The best ones are concentrated doses of narrative impact. They are forced to be economic in their storytelling, which often means the exposition is kept to a bare minimum, and we see simple stories unfold through action. It’s also great to see young filmmakers finding their way, experimenting with ways to tell stories.
Thanks to a great story on The Verge, the first short film I’d like to share with you this evening comes from filmmakers Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell, and it’s called Prospect. The short was funded through Kickstarter, and while its budgetary limitations are visible, Earl and Caldwell make the most of what they had by shooting in a gorgeous location and employing Earl’s keen eye for cinematography. Hell, they even shot it using anamorphic lenses. The whole thing looks great, and i’d love to see what these guys would be capable of with a couple million bucks. Prospect recently premiered at SXSW 2014, so hopefully the exposure will help propel these promising filmmakers into larger projects. Check it out below, and do yourself the favor of watching it in HD.
The second short I’d like to share with you comes to us via the UK’s Bloody Cuts, which is a production company run by a collective of UK-based horror filmmakers. They recently ran a short film contest based on the vague theme of ‘Who’s There?’, and while all the winners were excellent, this one really got under my skin. Swedish filmmaker David F. Sandberg won Best Director for the following short, entitled Lights Out.
Sleep tight, readers.