AoBFF 2021 “We Refuse To Be Distressed By The Provocations Of Reality: Dark Humor Short Film Block”
First, the Recap:
We can all attest that “the sunny side of life” doesn’t always quite seem to win out on a consistent basis. In a world fraught more and more prevalently with turmoil, both societally and personally, it only makes sense that issues of mental health, familial strife, and other facets of the disturbing trends we find would rise up. So, what do you do to cope? Can we somehow laugh, or become that much more shattered within? Whether it’s the unanticipated or unknowingly pending loss of someone we love or unduly ignored, the dangers of a reality dominated by social media and the supposed “innocent” activities that can be made manifest through it, the desperate need to find hope when all seems lost forever, utilize a completely offbeat exploration of who we’ve been via humor, or simply be immersed in a world that seems one way on the surface and then gets exposed as something far more terrifying, how we bear up to it all tells a story unto itself. This is a fluctuating arena of cinematic dark humor–and sobering facts.
Next, my Mind:
The decidedly edgy tones, moods, thematic exhibitions, and just overall aura exuding from the six indie short films that made up the “We Refuse To Be Distressed By The Provocations Of Reality: Dark Humor” short film block at the 2021 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival were anything but traditionally lighthearted or jocular. Then again, who would expect less, given the set’s foundational moniker! Taking on its title’s stylistically hinted at path, the efforts presented showcased a kaleidoscope of narrative and character-based tales illustrating the darker side of life, yet still managed to do so in a manner that often allowed for those moments of grittier comedic twists and turns that likewise proved to be expressive and haunting in their own rights, reminding us and raising due concern and awareness about the very serious nature of several concepts explored here throughout the varying projects.
We dove into circumstances of untimely demise and the devastation left or about to be revealed in its wake first through the darkly comical yet highly impactful and thought-provoking short “Death Homework” from director Ashley Teague which finds a brother (Will Turner) and sister (Gwen Kingston) at odds but strangely brought closer together via the passing of a parent while also bringing about a whole new viewpoint of “shaken not stirred” and breakfast shakes. Then there was Jaclyn Gramigna’s ultimately hard-hitting but initially, eccentrically humorous “Seven Fishes” where the upcoming Christmas holiday is about to yield beautiful and tragic occurrences that celebrate life plus paint a blatantly solemn and vivid portrait of just how damaging words can be. There was a central motif found at the core of both of these films, but you need to watch to better appreciate it.
The ever-present reality of social media and its ability to destroy rather than nurture our society gets put on full, freaky, and disquieting display through Patrick Andrew Higgins’ shadowy thriller “House Hunting”, where a simple, somewhat benign prank video turns into a sensation that sees its prey (Caitlin Rose Williams) become more than just an originally unwitting accomplice–while the events that started it all birth new and more deadly consequences. Next, heartbreak and confronting it through means so often employed while attempting to find inner reconciliation get top billing in director Shane Allen’s also darkly comedic but poignant, stirring short “Kumquat Kelly” as it follows a man named Larry (Alex Correia) battling internal strife (in more than one way!) from a recent incident through both an online personality (Tricia Alexandro) and a kind-spirited neighbor (Farrah Crane) who may be a bigger solution than expected.
Straight up quirky silliness provides at least a moment of consolation and calmness in the storm through director Michael Codispoti’s experimental comedy short “I’m With The Band” which provides us with a glimpse of reflection on what makes the parts we’ve played in life important and yet somehow distant, even mysterious via the real life commentary of comedienne Cathie Boruch as she expounds about a character she’s getting ready to bring back to life that pays homage to a rock ‘n’ roll staple–the groupie. Sorry “Band aid”. Finally, we venture back into not just the dark, but into a purposefully campy, horror-centric, hilariously over-the-top, vintage 1980’s-set turn on beauty contests via writer/director Sarah Kennedy’s “Miss Blueberry Beauty Pageant” where three finalists soon discover the hard way that in a world of contests where everything is already just “surface”, there’s MUCH more lurking at the core of this particular pageant’s foundations, and it has a nasty bite to go with it!
With such a diverse cross-section of themes being placed in front of us, what makes this more brooding selection of short films viable and necessary is that we very much need the prompting and/or nudge in our minds about the existing condition of chaotic unease this world is currently enduring, especially in an age of broken race relations, political unrest, and COVID-19. So, while we CAN encounter the ways TO elicit humor from even these circumstances, which again many of the aforementioned films DO achieve quite well, this critic finds himself hoping these cinematic snapshots wake viewers up and cause even the incentive into-actions that we can take to ensure those that need sincere help get it while otherwise being able to just sit back, take a breath, and relish an entertaining slab of Stygian cheer to make us realize how overtly we actually desire to see MUCH sunnier times.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
