The HollyShorts Film Festival is an Oscar®-Qualifying short film festival based in Los Angeles. Since its establishment in 2005, HollyShorts has grown into a premier platform for independent filmmakers worldwide. As an Academy Awards-qualifying festival in four categories, HollyShorts presents a diverse selection of innovative short films across various genres.
A few grisly scenes that made me cringe but overall there were no goosebumps. I wasn’t spooked. The hair on my neck didn’t rise to the occasion. Nevertheless, this reviewer thinks what the filmmakers may have in mind for the long term – typical of independent filmmakers who make film shorts – could be a goosebumping-hair-raising SCREAM IF THINGS GO THEIR WAY.
– Article by Gregg W. Morris
“My hope is to blur the lines between the tangible and the ephemeral. By delving into Spaceman’s subconscious we are able to explore the cathartic nature of artistic creation and the ways in which it can offer a sense of purpose, as well as the danger and risk to one’s sense of self,” Director Abramovici is quoted as saying. “Spaceman is a unique film in many ways, including it being highly commercially viable while staying true to its artistic integrity. It’s a movie that audiences all over the world will relate to on so many levels.”
Article by Gregg W. Morris
HOW TO SUE THE KLAN is a riveting tour de force by Director Jon Beder for a number of reasons but here is one standout. The meticulous and unflinching way he made the film makes the 35-minute short feel as if it has the aesthetic sweep and scope of a feature-length movie resonating with African-American philosophy, history, culture, activism. And lore.
Review, article by Gregg W. Morris
HollyShorts screenings will take place from August 8-18 at TCL Chinese Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., 3rd Level, Hollywood, CA, 90028. They will be followed by the annual awards gala August 18. More than 6,100 entries, more than 400 films for…
This film will captivate audiences with its incredible emotional depth and compelling narrative. Hint: 7,997 views were registered July 1 on the YouTube trailer site. The meat of the story are the polygraph scenes of the two men dueling and dealing with five questions put them: And they better not lie or there goes the inheritance. Inheritance? This reviewer is providing one of the tantalizing questions; to do more would be a spoiler. – By Gregg W. Morris
Viewers are advised that THE DOG falls short of a WORD must-see rating but can be easily regarded, say, as a why-not-see-it. The acting is good to very good overall. And that’s it for kind words, descriptions. – Review, Article by Gregg W. Morris.
Director Wendi Tang’s FISHTANK: Winner of the 8th Tribeca x Chanel Through Her Lens Program. Winner of the 2022 Film Pipeline Short Script Competition. Audiences should be prepared for a surreal drama combining traditional narrative with experimental elements to challenge audiences’ understanding of the norms ingrained in society and expected of them.
I think I’ve pretty much deciphered the surreal and the enigmatic for a review article that doesn’t spoil nor despoil the cinematic surprises in Director Tang’s deftly made flick. However, FISHTANK also required a different approach to reviewing it – audiences may have to keep eyes and ears more open more than usual.
– Reviewer Gregg W. Morris
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ANJULA is scheduled to screen at the prestigious 2024 HollyShorts Film Festival in August. – By Gregg W. Morris
Director Adam J. Graves – “I wanted to capture that wondrous combination of magic and emotion, of innocence and mischief, which is part of childhood itself — these are kids after all, not statistics. Though every film is collaborative, this one was much more so than most. Were it not for the talent and support of the children of the Salaam Baalak Trust (especially our brilliant star, Sajda Pathan), we never could have brought this important story to the screen.” – Review-Article by Gregg W. Morris