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Today is Gonna Be the Day
A weekly newsletter from Short of the Week + Shortverse
Jason Sondhi
July 21, 2023
It’s Barbenheimer day and, honestly, I’m just very happy for feature films. There is so much good work being done in features, but they are so underappreciated! They really deserve this kind of moment that exposes people to how great they are. I just wish we could celebrate feature films all the time rather than just this one time of year. The economics are rough, but they shouldn’t just be seen as a calling card for getting a streaming series or as a stepping stone for a director to create their own boutique production company, they are an art form in their own right!
😎 While I wait to get to the theater, here’s a cheeky Barbenheimer-inspired short film double-bill. Onto this week’s digest!
📅 This Week on Short of the Week
It was a week for distinctive shorts that push stylistic or genre tropes into new terrain. On Monday, the violence of the narrative, juxtaposed with the nonchalance of the narration is what fascinates Céline about Horacio, an animated examination of the chilling banality of murder by Gobelins-grad Caroline Cherrier. While on Tuesday, 80s neo-noir is authentically evoked by Tipper Newton but with production design so lovingly heightened that it swerves back into stylization. Congrats to Georgina for making her S/W writing debut with the review!
Good German Work by contrast may seem familiar, but its 4:3 aspect ratio and stylish photography are a handsome companion to the myriad of tiny taboo absurdities that make this comedy from Jannis Alexander Kiefer so effective, and Myrna the Monster might be the most familiar of all the premises this week—a wannabe actress in LA fights self-doubt in a quest to belong? Seen that before! But what if said actress is 3 feet tall and kidnapped from the moon? Ian Samuels 2015 Sundance hit makes a belated debut online causing Georg to muse that “Being human can be hard, especially if you’re an alien.”
🍿 New Shortverse releases we’ve been enjoying…
Oren Brimer has a rock-solid comedy resumé, from his TV work for The Daily Show and HBO’s Crashing to his short-form work like See You Around with Josh Ruben and the web series Swipe Monster. His latest short film is similarly well-cast with Demi Adejuyigbe and Courtney Pauroso as a couple who come to the realization that their relationship has problems in the midst of a hoky date night. Emotionally insightful, but with laughs to spare, this short is a keeper.
🗳 Something Cool to Submit To
This is a Sponsored Message
I’ve played it, you’ve played it, millions have played it since a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign introduced it to the world. Cards Against Humanity is a phenomenon, and now the team is taking on the world of short film with their first-ever film festival.
Got a bizarre, hilarious, or otherwise incredible short film? Submit by July 25th at http://www.CAHFest.com for a chance at a $100k top prize 👀
Also, CAH has given us a handful of free submission codes, so reply to this email if you want to grab one!
🎟 Coming soon that we’re excited about…
💡 Product Updates
We close out this week’s edition with two quick updates we were able to push out.
🗳️ Submission Status
That space of time between clicking submit and receiving an answer is no longer a black hole. We have a refreshed My Projects page that shows all of your submissions along with their current status.
✉️ New Newsletter
In addition to this new iteration of the newsletter that we announced last week (and that you’re seeing again), we added a technical feature—your subscription now syncs with your Shortverse account settings, so you can manage it alongside your notifications.