REVIEW : The Razor-Sharp CLOUT Offers a Powerful Mirror to Gen-Z’s Obsession With Online Validation

Premiering at the Oscar-qualifying 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival, Jordan Murphy Doidge’s debut short is as haunting as it is heartbreakingly real. In an age where “going viral” can feel like the only metric of worth, CLOUT arrives like a punch to the gut, a bold, provocative short that refuses to flinch as it peers into the emotional wreckage left in the wake of internet obsession. Written and … Continue reading REVIEW : The Razor-Sharp CLOUT Offers a Powerful Mirror to Gen-Z’s Obsession With Online Validation

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

HOLLYSHORTS 2025: Freddie Fox’s THE PAINTING & THE STATUE Blends Elegance with Inventive Charm

Freddie Fox’s The Painting & The Statue is a rare kind of short film – elegant and inventive, it manages to feel both intimate and epic at once. Set entirely in one room, yet spanning 250 years, it tells a love story between two pieces of art – a painting and a statue – who are aware of each other’s presence, but unable to connect. … Continue reading HOLLYSHORTS 2025: Freddie Fox’s THE PAINTING & THE STATUE Blends Elegance with Inventive Charm

HOLLYSHORTS SPOTLIGHT: Sam Rudykoff’s HALFWAY HAUNTED Flips the Script on Gentrification

In a medium where short films often meander before finding their hook, Sam Rudykoff’s Halfway Haunted grabs your attention immediately, drawing you into a world that feels deeply bizarre yet anchored in familiarity. Rudykoff’s cold open finds Jess (Hannan Younis) alone in a dingy apartment, practicing for a job interview – only to be interrupted by blood dripping from the ceiling and a fridge door … Continue reading HOLLYSHORTS SPOTLIGHT: Sam Rudykoff’s HALFWAY HAUNTED Flips the Script on Gentrification