If black comedy is your cup of tea, take a look at DEAD…, a brightly macabre little film from Royal College of Art student Joe Bichard. The four-minute animated film takes a darkly gleeful look at death and grief through the eyes of a young boy who has lost his entire family. Bichard isn’t afraid to expose the selfishness that can be present within grief, making for an experience that is at once familiar and uncomfortable. To see the short, click here.
For similar themes presented in a more serious light, try Karaoke!, a 13-minute short from Andrew Renzi that examines loss from an adult perspective. The film follows “Christopher,” a man who deals with the impending loss of his father by detaching himself from his loved ones. Renzi uses fractured chronology to full advantage, slowly unfolding the story in such a way that we don’t fully understand his main character’s feelings until the very end. The film can be found here.
Those looking for something lighter should watch Charles, Your Hangover, a delightful three-minute film about an elementary school teacher who wakes up in her classroom at noon after a night of wine and paper-grading and discovers that her hangover has arrived in the form of a charmingly obnoxious man named Charles. The team behind the film, Two Trick Pony, has a knack for slapstick, keeping the pace quick and the comedy sharp. Watch the short here.
On a similarly comedic note, Stop the Dog is guaranteed to raise a smile. It is a two-minute film short from Andrew Birkbeck, that tells the tale of a dog who is a bit too focused on helping others. Birkbeck tells his story solely through brilliantly composed visuals, making for a refreshingly zany treat. The short can be found here.
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