Vancouver Foreign Film Society
IN TOO DEEP Reviewed by Ian Merkel
In Too Deep
United Kingdom
Category: Family Adventures
This disturbing UK short about a couple grieving the death of their young daughter won a number of best awards in various Short Film festivals both in Canada and the US. The Awards were for Best Director, Best Score, Best Cinematography and Best Short
A couple loses their young child and are separated. They deal with the loss in completely different ways. Carol, the mother is barely managing to cope with her daily life while grieving. The father Ben is determined to keep the memories alive by re-creating scenes and future life with A.I. This is achieved by altering photos and videos and creating the daughter as she grows up.
It would be the daughter’s 8th birthday and Ben is supposed to meet Carol for counseling but does not show up. Carol goes to Ben’s house (we assume where they both were living) to confront Ben and discovers the re-creation through A. I. manipulation.
The film was created using A.I and is a statement on the power of A.I and what affect its misuse can cause.
BIG BANG Reviewed by Ian Merkel
Big Bang
Brasil
Category: Not Your Every Day Drama
Big bang is a wonderful short directed by Carlos Segundo who burst on the scene in Brazil in 2021 winning numerous awards at Cannes for his previous short film ”Sideral”
We see Chico, a little man small enough to fit into an oven, which he does to repair them. He is good at what he does and gets paid nominally for his ability. It is a way of him dealing with the world he lives in because of his diminutive size and how people may see him with pity or with wonder.
He hitches a ride in a full car by climbing into the trunk on the way to his father’s funeral. The car is involved in an accident with 15 other vehicles and there are many fatalities, but he survives and is mentioned on the news. At the hospital waiting for his X-Ray, he has a wonderful discussion with a mother waiting for her ill daughter. Their conversation is a reflection on how he deals with life. They discuss their work situations and his description of what he does. He says” I break whatever I gets inside of”