cinematic shorts | I'm A Mitzvah

Have you ever held a bond so tight with your best friend that even after his/her death, you remain bonded? No? Well, me neither. But anyway, filmmakers Ben Berman and Josh Cohen created a short film titled, I’m a Mitzvah, which highlighted a young man’s unconditional loyalty to his deceased BFF and it was beyond entertaining. The film features a young American guy named David (Ben Schwartz) who is stranded in the land of Mexico with his best-friend’s corpse until they can catch their rescheduled flight back to the United States. Now, I’m sure all of this sounds a little weird but I can assure you that this hilarious drama will be worth your time. 

cinematic shorts | Patriarch

Image Credit: Phill Taylor

There’s a cultural stigma in existence through a lot of childhoods across the world, especially in America, where the word father births a void, instead of love. As one of those kids, I easily connected to Patriarch, a short-film by filmmaker/photographer Reggie Yates, which touches on a son’s mission to be the father that he never witnessed. According to Reggie, this is his first short-film but there isn’t anything amateur about the cinematography or the message that bleeds through the lens. Check out the film below.

cinematic shorts | SLOW by Darius Clark Monroe

If a director can push a narrative through a new envelope and then, create a new vision for me to see the envelope in…that’s a golden moment for me as a viewer. I think the art of film is losing its way because many filmmakers are not going far enough. They are too busy pacing within the box, instead of running outside of the box. Well, thankfully, a filmmaker by the name of Darius Clark Monroe ran outside of the box when he, along with Carlton Byrd and Harvey Moore, created the short film titled SLOW. The film dwells into the perimeter of homosexuality and does so in a ugly, yet amazingly beautiful form. The film premiered in 2011 and has aired at several film festivals, and I cannot believe that I am just learning of it. Please check it out below and let me state, if you are an active sufferer of homophobia, do not view the film. I celebrate all forms of art that I find provocative and mentally stimulating which is exactly what SLOW represents. 

Source: Darius Clark Monroe

cinematic shorts | Phlegethon

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Greek methodology, Phlegethon was one of the five rivers in the burning underworld that is Hades. Phlegethon is described as a river of blood that boils souls, that consists of heinous mortals whom have committed crimes of violence against their fellow men. Well, Russian filmmaker, Vadim Vatagin, took it upon himself to create a real-life visualization for the methodological place that is Phelgethon and I am in awe by how amazing this film is. The film is self-explanatory but Vadim invites viewers on a suspenseful journey that tunnels a different meaning for the term afterlife. It's trippy. It's enticing. It's brilliant. I can assure you that a mental orgasm awaits you upon viewing the short-film, Phlegethon. Please check it out below. 

Source: Vadim Vatagin