REVIEW: In the Quiet Corners of Childhood: RECESSES Confronts the Pain We Can’t See

Dylan Trupiano’s Recesses is a profoundly moving short film that offers a poignant and intricately layered exploration of hidden childhood trauma, delicately navigating the complex intersection of pain and repression. The story centers on Sherry (Solia Cates), a compassionate school secretary who stays behind with Bailey (Charles John Wilson), a young student disciplined for creating an “inappropriate” drawing. As their time together unfolds within the … Continue reading REVIEW: In the Quiet Corners of Childhood: RECESSES Confronts the Pain We Can’t See

Film Review – BAFTA-Winning Rock, Paper, Scissors Storms into Oscar Contention with HollyShorts Selection

Fresh off its win for Best British Short Film at the 2025 BAFTAs, Rock, Paper, Scissors has emerged as one of the most powerful short films of the year and it’s now poised for even greater acclaim with its official selection for the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. Directed by Franz Böhm and produced by Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer, the 21-minute war drama is a raw, unflinching portrayal of … Continue reading Film Review – BAFTA-Winning Rock, Paper, Scissors Storms into Oscar Contention with HollyShorts Selection

Film Review: Boyfighter – A Visceral Vision of Legacy and Love by Julia Weisberg Cortés

Screening at the OSCAR-qualifying HollyShorts film festival In Boyfighter, director Julia Weisberg Cortés delivers a lyrical gut-punch, a film that stares unflinchingly into generational trauma while holding space for tenderness, reckoning, and repair. This Oscar-qualified short, premiering at HollyShorts as part of the 2025 Indeed Rising Voices program, marks a defining moment in Cortés’ evolving career. Known for emotionally intimate work grounded in cultural identity, Boyfighter sees her … Continue reading Film Review: Boyfighter – A Visceral Vision of Legacy and Love by Julia Weisberg Cortés

Film Review: Jake Wachtel’s THE SENTRY delivers with precision

Writer-director Jake Wachtel’s The Sentry is a short film with big ambition—and it delivers with precision. Officially selected for SXSW London, Raindance, and Palm Springs International ShortFest, this genre-bending action-comedy is far more than a clever twist on spy tropes. It’s a deft meditation on complicity, power, and the unseen human cost behind global intrigue. And it firmly establishes Wachtel as one of the most exciting directorial … Continue reading Film Review: Jake Wachtel’s THE SENTRY delivers with precision

A Soul-Stirring Triumph of Queer, Spiritual Cinema

Every once in a while, a short film arrives that doesn’t just move you—it reorients your emotional and moral compass. WITNESS, the extraordinary new work from directors Radha Mehta and Saif Jaan, is one of those rare pieces. Bold, tender, and quietly revolutionary, this film is a masterclass in storytelling that pulses with empathy and moral clarity. Bold, tender, and quietly revolutionary, Set in a devout, … Continue reading A Soul-Stirring Triumph of Queer, Spiritual Cinema