The short films at Cinequest are proving to be very exciting this year.
With so many short film series to choose from with artists and filmmakers from around the world, the films show a vast array of talent from country to country.
Short Program 3: Choice and Effect, focuses on life choices human beings make every day.
The films in this collection features characters that make decisions that lead to various journeys in life.
In each of those films, the main character makes a decision that changes the lives of not only them but the people around them.
The short The Last Remarks is a project developed by Umar Riaz, who wrote, directed, and stars.
It’s an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Telltale Heart, and set in a time where the British government has control over Pakistan.
The lead, played by Riaz, recounts the tale in which he chooses to murder the man he works for, and how he did it.
The music, also put together by Riaz, sets the tone of the film nicely. It is one of the more memorable films in the series.
Abigail, directed by Matthew James Riley, follows the story of a young girl from a small town who is running away from home.
On her way out of town, she runs into many neighbors, who all ask where her mom is.
Everyone has a bone to pick with Abigail’s mother, whether it’s money owed or a broken fence, and they rely on Abigail to fix it.
This film is very ambiguous but concise, and it is easy to make assumptions about what is going on in the film’s 17 minutes.
AutoDrive is the very twisted story of a man who buys a new GPS device for his car, only to find out that the voice behind the machine is a real person, trapped in a GPS jail.
The lead character has to choose to follow the path laid out for him by the girl behind the voice, and what he finds will change his life forever.
The short Hark was directed by Jonathan Fung, and follows the story of a young man in trouble with some bad guys.
In order to relieve his debt, he is sent to drive around a young girl in a human trafficking ring to earn money.
The man must choose to either help exploit this girl, or live according to his conscience.
In Punched, a young father in Europe is dealing with the police in a city that has experienced crime and terrorism.
Punched was directed by Michael Rittmansberger.
Earlier harrassed by uniformed officers while waiting for the bus stop with his son, the man chooses to help a boy on the bus who seems disturbed and anxious.
The boy did not have a bus pass, and the man chooses to punch a bus pass ticket for him and tell the fare-checkers that it is his brother, so he can stay on the bus.
This nice gesture by the man leads to a crazy and unexpected twist ending.
The comedic coming-of-age short The First Hope, directed by Jeremy David White, is about a young boy who is being babysat by a teenage girl who is having boy trouble.
The boy is learning how to kiss by watching Star Wars, and is trying to impress the girl by being a real man.
It’s a cute story about the things many young boys go through.
A Night at the Office, directed by Eric Eppinger, is a humorous tale about young people working in an office late at night, and the dialogue is about escaping a monster who is running around the office killing people.
Although humorous at times, A Night at the Office is a silly story that appeals to a younger crowd of moviegoers.
Of the hundreds of short films shown at Cinequest this year, the Choice and Effect series in certainly one that cannot be missed.
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