When animosity between a pastor and his bartender daughter results in a lawsuit, the judge orders them to swap roles for a week in James Houston Turner’s personal story ‘Square Pegs’ directed by Bill Rahn. Square Pegs is a faith-based drama that explores themes of grief, bitterness, and finally understanding. The film follows a single father and pastor, Mac played with gravitas by Wayne Deloriea, and his estranged daughter, Jodie the powerful Meggie Jenny. The source of their troubles is an accident that cost the life of Mac’s wife and Jodie’s mother, Meredith, as both Mac and Jodie blame eac ..read more

A true story about a homeless 72-year-old man unapologetically living free his entire life, this is director Stacey Stone and producer Diane Mellen’s documentary Kenny In the midst of a cost of living crisis, booming inflation rates, and wars in faraway places affecting our daily lives, director Stacey Stone and her long-time producing partner Diane Mellen’s sobering documentary short Kenny helpfully reminds us that our circumstances could be so much worse. Clocking in at a brisk 10 minutes, ‘Kenny’ is a sometimes devastating portrait of 72-year-old Kenny Harris – a former construction worke ..read more

Having recently moved into a new apartment, a woman begins to witness strange occurrences when an electronic drunk kit, which came with the living space, starts to play by itself. This is the short film Drums. It’s interesting to witness the start of a filmmaker’s career. You get to see how they have gone from first picking up a camera and creating something, then their journey along as they become more efficient at storytelling for the small and big screen. Everybody starts somewhere and the only way to get better at something is by practicing. You only need to look at the likes of My Best F ..read more

The first civil guardsman rises to the task of apprehending a dangerous serial killer before his city descends into chaos. Set ten years before the events of ‘The Siege,’ in Mark G. Lakatos’ The Siege: Archangel One. Back in 2021, we reviewed Hungarian director Lakatos’ The Siege 2 and gave it 4 stars as a great throwback to the low-budget 80’s martial arts films that saw stars like Cynthia Rothrock, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme rise to fame. Archangel One, a prequel to Lakatos’ earlier films, uses a similar formula to its predecessors and the classics by following a clear and simpl ..read more

A Northern Irish pianist is visited by a ghost from his past in the form of a former bandmate in the short drama Music To Die For by director Rebecca Doherty. There have been a few films over the years that have revolved around The Troubles, or Northern Ireland as it is called internationally. Yet, I don’t believe we’ve seen the subject tackled in quite the same manner that the short film Music To Die For. A musical duo consisting of pianist Sean (James Doran) and female vocalist Eve (Deanna Jaye Ritchie) are playing to a small crowd in an Irish bar. They are impressing the patrons with their ..read more

When one man is convinced that the country of Denmark isn’t real, his best friend goes out of her way to show him the truth in the short film Denmark Doesn’t Exist. A cursory scroll through any social media platform reveals a flood of bizarre conspiracy theories making the rounds. While conspiracy theories aren’t new, these days we’re bombarded with all sorts of wild ideas, from flat Earth beliefs to doubts about the moon landing (some even say it was all a staged video by Stanley Kubrick!). And now, unbelievably, there are even people questioning whether countries like Denmark are real. In t ..read more

In 1990s Wales, a student returns home to her mother’s, only to unearth a family secret that will change their lives in Sofia Mavrou’s historical romance, “An Impossible Secret.” Despite being roughly half of the global audience and the likes of Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, and Chloe Zhao winning Academy Awards, women remain vastly under-represented behind the camera, making up only a small fraction of film directors. This gap and lack of female leadership can restrict the range of stories told and explored in cinema. This highlights a larger problem as women seeking directing roles struggl ..read more

A lonely widower believes he has once again found love with a woman from Ghana whom he has met online, but his son believes it to be a scam in the short film Blinded. In the short film “Blinded,” director Wayne Winterstein confronts the prevalent issue of online scams through a poignant narrative inspired by personal experience. Drawing from his own father’s encounter with deception, Winterstein crafts a cautionary tale aimed at raising awareness and preventing others from falling victim to such schemes. In an era rife with scams, from phishing emails purporting to be from reputable banks to ..read more

Philip Brocklehurst’s latest short film, “Valerie,” invites viewers into a reflective journey as a man grapples with the aftermath of a recent breakup, contemplating the trajectory of his life. Brocklehurst’s evolution as a filmmaker is palpable, evident in the marked refinement and sophistication of his recent works. Over the years, we’ve observed his artistic prowess steadily burgeon, with each project showcasing a discernible growth in skill and nuance. While he may not yet ascend to the echelons of a masterful filmmaker, Brocklehurst unequivocally traverses the path toward such distinctio ..read more

In the poignant short film “Tomorrow” by Thomas Elliot Griffiths, viewers are invited into the intimate world of three siblings who reunite on the eve of their mother’s funeral. Griffiths, known for his previous works such as “Jumpers For Goalposts” and contributions to productions like “Kate & Jake” and “Dandilicious,” showcases his directorial prowess once again with this latest creation. As the film unfolds, we are initially greeted with a familiar scene of familial camaraderie, reminiscent of classic television dynamics, like in The Royal Family. However, “Tomorrow” transcends this in ..read more